悟る · diagnose & fix

Cannabis Root Rot

Disease / mold · also: pythium, brown slimy roots, hydro root rot

Brown, slimy, foul-smelling roots that stall the whole plant — root rot, most common in warm or low-oxygen root zones.

Not sure it's root rot?

Snap a photo and get a free read — no signup. Satoru weighs the visual against the conditions that cause look-alikes, so you treat the real problem.

What it looks like

Healthy roots are white and firm; rotting roots turn brown/tan, slimy, and smell foul. Above ground the plant droops, yellows, and stalls despite correct feeding — symptoms that mimic over-watering.

Symptoms

  • Brown, slimy, smelly roots (vs. white and firm)
  • Drooping, yellowing, stalled growth
  • Symptoms that don't respond to feeding
  • Worse in warm reservoirs/medium

Causes

  • Warm root zone / reservoir (over ~22°C/72°F)
  • Low dissolved oxygen, stagnant water
  • Over-watering in soil/coco
  • Pathogens introduced to the system

How to fix it

  1. 1Cool the root zone / reservoir into range
  2. 2Increase oxygenation (air stones, fresh water changes)
  3. 3In soil/coco, dry back and improve drainage
  4. 4Use beneficial-microbe or oxidizer products per the system type

Prevention

  • Keep reservoir/root-zone cool and oxygenated
  • Don't over-water; airy medium
  • Clean equipment between runs

悟る · how satoru tells it apart

Root rot looks exactly like over-watering from above. Satoru weighs your root-zone temp and watering log to point you below the soil line, where the real problem is.

Commonly confused with: Overwatering, Nitrogen Deficiency.

Not sure it's root rot?

Snap a photo and get a free read — no signup. Satoru weighs the visual against the conditions that cause look-alikes, so you treat the real problem.

More plant problems

Educational reference for cultivation troubleshooting. Symptoms overlap — when in doubt, match against your own conditions. Satoru fuses your photo with your logged environment for a grounded read.