Question about Crops

[Amariel34]

This is for outside crops specifically. How long does it take before they die? I tended to mine before bed last night. It's not even been 24 hours and they were all dead when I logged on. I never had this happen with the ones in apartments. Do outside ones need tending more often?

[Urthdigger]

I've never heard of crops dying that fast, they always seem to just need tending once a day. Perhaps you tended others but not those ones?

[Airget]

They'll most likely die, best off not doing any gardening before the 24-48hr maint.

[Amariel34]

Well I know about the server move stuff. But I just tended to all of them last night. It's been less than 24 hours, I'm sure of it. So yah I was shocked when I logged in to fertilize them and it said they were "beyond hope." Unless.... Is fertilizing them different than tending to them, specifically? If so then that is where I messed up.

[Urthdigger]

Well I know about the server move stuff. But I just tended to all of them last night. It's been less than 24 hours, I'm sure of it. So yah I was shocked when I logged in to fertilize them and it said they were "beyond hope." Unless.... Is fertilizing them different than tending to them, specifically? If so then that is where I messed up.

YES. Fertilizing just decreases the time until they grow by an hour (since it can be done every hour, one could theoretically halve the time it takes to grow). Tending requires nothing and can be done any time, and basically resets the death timer to 24 hours.

[Alien_Gamer]

Fertilizing decreases the growing time and does nothing for tending. Plants will go from healthy to wilted (purple) to dead if not tended. Each stage takes 18-24 hours.

Also, fertilizing decreases growing time by 1 hour each time you do it.

[Amariel34]

Oops. :P My fault then. Lesson learned.

[SakurazukaSeishirou]

If plants go purple 3 times they die on the 4th. Rare plants that grow for 7+ days wilt faster - 18h.
It's best to tend them first thing when you login and then once more before you logout for the day.

[raela]

Also, fertilizer effectiveness does vary by plant, both in the time it knocks off, and there's possibly a cap of total time. Fertilizing shards isn't worth it, just as a BTW. I don't think the timing has been figured out for most crops, but one hour per application is safe to assume on big ones. I have seen timing spreadsheets for chocobo food.