Unsure if this is related, but saplings won't grow into trees either. I set the random tick speed to 9000 and nothing has grown. Seeing as both plant growth and leaf decay is based on RandomTickSpeed I can only assume these problems are related.
I've atatched a video showing what happens to me when I experience this glitch. I also purposefully summon a creeper when in the glitched state to show that hostile mobs can still interact with the player while in this glitched state.
After looking at some of the duplicates, the result I get from the glitch is slightly different. The chunks never reload until I save and quit, but when I save and quit my world doesn't corrupt. I've added a video showing the bug in action.
What's strange is that hostile mobs can still interact with, and kill the player while stuck in this glitched state.
My issues isn't exactly like yours Vinni. I can click respawn right away with no lag, but when I respawn the world hags on "waiting for chunk" and never recovers until you rejoin the world.
Just my luck, lol.
I actually was searching for "respawn" and the search result turned up negative.
As you can see in both images, attempting to smelt both Dark Oak Logs and Acacia Logs into Charcoal does nothing, even when attempting to use Oak Planks.
This affects all growth of any and all plants. Saplings, Potatoes, Seeds, Etc/