My indoor columbine bloomed today for the first time. But along with the outdoor ones, the tips of the petals are shrivelled and unhealthy looking. The ones in Google don't have the tips withered off like mine.
Does this mean I'm watering too much/little/often or fertilizing too much/little? Or something else?
Can you give more ideas as to the treatment / care you give these plants as it looks to me like the damage was done while the buds were forming, something like cold nipped the tips of the buds, or sunburn, maybe if you can tell us what feeding you do and is the indoor plant sitting in a window getting strong sun onto the buds as they are forming.
Could be a number of things but unusual for both indoor and outdoor plants to have the exact same problem if grown separately, More info please.
WeeNel.
I water the indoor one right at the crown a little every couple of days. The rest of the top layer of soil is dry usually, and less frequently, I will water the whole planter. The outdoor one gets a sprinkling from the watering jug, but I don't pour water on the flower stalk. I water it every couple of days outdoor because the soil dries quickly, and the rain never hits my garden. I use 10-15-10 "Liquid Plant Food" as per directions (7 drops per litre every time you water), but sometimes skip fertilizer for the outdoor one. The indoor one gets a chamomile tea bag in the water bottle because it has antifungal properties, and there isn't much airflow at this window.
Window gets about 5-6 hours of sunlight per day, outdoor gets 7-8. No pests to speak of. Indoor temp is pretty even, although when sun hits, it will get hot. Outdoor is zone 5. The other buds indoor are green and pointed.
Damage does seem to have happened during the bud stage. Perhaps too dry or buds touched the window or rested against something.
I would not imagine any plant needing that amount of feed especially indoors, you are giving the indoor plant too much strong direct sunlight and as it is by a window also the soil will be baking with the heat from the window sun, I still think the buds were damaged as they formed, remember these plants are perennialsperennials and should be dead headed to make the plant form even more flower buds, when you remove dead flowers the plant is tricked into thinking it needs to make more flowers so it can make seeds to scatter as in nature. Look very closely at the next lot of flower buds to make sure they are free from damage as it will give you a better clue as to what is really causing this marking on the ends of the petals.
Good luck. WeeNel.
Nooo the second flower had a nice healthy bud yesterday, but it bloomed today and the ends are colourless and curled. The first one actually did have brown tips as a bud, and I have no idea about that. But I guess the common symptom is colourless and curled tips.
The fertilizer is a constant low dose type I think, rather than a big meal every day, but I will try watering without it for a while.
