Alice, it could be the heat and humidity + spider mites. I have the same issue with a couple of my young plants. I gave it a drench with Bayer systemic and it seems to have curtailed it for now.
Tropical Garden #122
Alice, Did it recently get very wet and then you lost your largest leaves? Is it in a larger pot by itself? Check for spider mites on it also. Chunk all that dead tissue, dunk the whole plant minus the soil in a mixture of 1 part Clorox to 9 parts water a few times. Place roots, in a pot, with a gallon of water and 2 teaspoons of Superthrive in it for 30 minutes. Put it in new soil and downsize that pot. Give it a couple of weeks. I think it will be fine.
The brug has been in the ground for over a year and we certainly have not had any water to speak of other than the irrigation system that runs several times a week while we are in this drought. It poured for exactly 4 minutes here this afternoon, never even wet the ground under the trees. That is the kind of rain we have had, nothing measurable and it evaporates as soon as it hits the hot ground. No mites or any other pests either. I am just a Brug killer, that one was the first one I had ever gotten to bloom for me. I'm keeping my fingers crossed the white one stays healthy.
Drew, the Culculata is in a 20" pot, shouldn't be too root bound. It was originally in the ground and did not do that well so I potted it and it did fine last year, this year too - until recently. Guess I will dig it up and see what's in there.
Alice, as KayJones said, high heat plus spider mites will do that. Mine all had a plague of spidermites in May and they looked like that. It was hot and dry in May here, cooler now. Go figure. Give it an extra big shot of water each day for a few days? You really can't overwater them.
I routinely treat all my brugs weekly with soapy water spray (with a little Windex in the mix, as per Deb) on the assumption that they just will always have spider mites if I don't. Try running your fingers over the bottom surface of the leaves that are left. IF they feel gritty, they've got (or had) da mites. Often their webs are not in the leaf axils, but all over the backs of the leaves instead.
First pic, my brug 'Damien' doing a weird thing, too. All the new leaves are sort of crinkled up, and rolled under at the edges. No sign of any bugs, or caterpillars and two others the same size in the same bed, 3ft. away are blooming happily. (they're all in big pots, not in the ground) Ideas Anybody? Otherwise I'm blaming the solar storms.
Second pic, my start of blue ginger doing great.
This message was edited Jul 16, 2012 5:19 PM
wow, everyone must be busy in their gardens, they look so lush and tropical.
it has been pouring here.
the blue ginger is finally opening!
prita do you recognise those lime zingers above?
Oo, Cassie those blue gingers are a lovely color! I can't wait for mine to bloom.
If tradition holds, yours will bloom before mine does. LOL My B. Odorata alba is really nice but yours is over the top fabulous!
Just checked my brug leaves with a lens and just as I thought, they are clean as a whistle. 'Tis a puzzlement.
Some Formosa lilies peeking out from a salvia and a new resident in the pond.
Wow, Alice - my formosa lilies quit blooming a month ago - must be all the rain we've been blessed with.
That's a pretty little leopard frog you've got there, Alice. They have a really deep croak. We had a family of them in our pond last year. This year we have another type I haven't id'd yet. Little plain green ones.
Sorry the answer wasn't spider mites on the brugs. I'm mystified. Maybe roust it out and put it in a pot? My big Charles Grimaldi is still making flowers half the size they're supposed to be, and I'm faced with finding an even bigger pot for it now. ))sigh((
Elaine, if you need really big pots, and don't mind the black nursery pots, contact a nursery or landscape company that installs mature shrubs and trees. I found 15-gallon pots that were free - I just had to drive a few miles to where they were doing an installation.
Beautiful X. aureum and other plants as well Cassie
Elaine, I'm always looking for bigger pots! My portora in the 45 gallon pot is going in a 65 gallon pretty soon!
Me to Kay!
Maybe a virus Alice?
Alice, cut the tallest stalk off, coat the cut part with some wax, treat it waith bayer three in one, spray for mites. Elaine, you need to de-leaf and do the same of the mite control on damian. there are other kinds mites you can't see, they live inside the leaf tissue. no feeding high phoshourous to brugs. when they have leaves coming out, be sure and keep an eye out for signs of mites and worms. the leaves do curl in the exteme heat of some brugs. They love to eat and be fed thru the leaves with a sprayer. I use buffalo chip tea for watering and spray with kens mix for foliar. beautiful pictures everyone.
got the lasanga bed done, yay!
Nice job, Debra!
Well, Pooh! I prefer not to use chemicals except for RoundUp and Dynamite or my less favored Osmocote when I can't find the favorite. I will cut back the dead stem to see if I can find anything.
Buffalo chips??? Too funny, no Tonka here, do you think alligator chips would work? LOL
Debra, your metabolism constantly amazes me, where do you find that energy?
Are you using Magnesium when you water your brugs Alice?
My 15' tall Ensete maurelii was blown down yesterday in a horrible storm. Straight line winds gusting to over 50 mph did it in.
thanks, i just write what I need to do on a sticky note and mark it done when I finish. G O A L S is my .life.
aww gee Drew, can't ya stand it back up?
sometimes I uproot the brugs if they are weird, and check out the root system..
off to work .. .
Just one picture in between rain showers. This is Eye Of Kali.
Ooh, that's a shame, Drew. Is the trunk broken or can you set it back up?
We've had rain here, but no winds to speak of since TSDebby moved on.
Thanks for the mite strategy, Deb. I will treat Damian accordingly.
Poor ensete, try and stand and stake it I bet it will make a comeback unless it was snapped off the roots. What freaky weather you have been having.
Going to sprinkle some epsom salts on that brug, maybe magnesium is just what it needs. On another vein, we have way too much phospherous in our soil naturally, maybe that is the problem. It was mined here in the early days and I still find chunks of it sometimes. It may be it needs to be in a pot but frankly,I have too many pots to worry about now.
LOL, I can just see all those sticky notes Debra, with all you do, your refrigerator must be plastered with them.
Alice, give it a top-dressing of some compost or potting soil each spring and fall. Maybe that would be enough to keep the soil from getting too saturated with the natural phosphorus? IF the roots were in the original potting soil, and now have started reaching out into the native soil with all that phos, that could explain how it did well last year and is waning this year.
I do the top dressing with my two that are in-ground. Our sandy soil just lets all the organic material wash through, so need to keep renewing it. Down here, they get nematodes though, I discovered. I'm resigned to just renewing the ones in the ground every 3 or 4 years. When I finally bit the bullet and yanked my old original NoID pink one, the roots were completely knotted up with nematode damage.
Just came in from dousing all the big ones with Epsom salts solution. Had completely forgotten about that!
1. Monster white c/w top dressing and mulch (please ignore all those weeds . . .)
2. Cypress vine self-sows all over the place
3. Gingers and cannas are lovin all this rain!
I can attest to Deb's energy - she thinks she's a buzz saw - she puts a Hummingbird to shame!
I top dress with compost too, several times a year, I usually use my own home made stuff when I have enough or I buy mushroom compost. My dog does not seem to eat that like he does the cow manure. Also, I mulch with hay because it breaks down quickly into the best compost. The worms just love it and I love the worms.
Been planting a small bed, about 72 square feet, with dwarf mondo grass this morning, Boy is it hot out there today.
Thanks everyone... Didn't snap, just pushed over by a huge gust. Got it propped.
Alice, Googled this for you...
http://aggieturf.tamu.edu/files-2005/phosphorus_Provin.pdf
This message was edited Jul 17, 2012 3:05 PM
Good to hear your ensete is OK, they are resilient and it should be fine but it sure is scary when you see it on its side.
Thanks for the TAMU link, that is interesting and I do have some areas where I have used iron sprays in the past The soil tests came back perfect but the leaves were still yellowing. I never use ferts with any "P" and the mushroom compost is .05 .05 .05, so I don't think that is too bad but I guess I should just use pine straw for mulch and see what happens. The brug is not really showing signs of chlorosis though, the leaves are fine - at least the ones that are still there. I hate to dig it up but a look at the roots is called for at this point.
My passion vine in bloom this week! I think these smell like fresh cotton. . .
floridA, THAT IS BEAUTIFUL!
Alice, if u lose that brug, I will send you one.
*non tropical topic*
I know this is not the thread for this, but would you all say a prayer for my little sister, Sherry, please? I am sure she will be alright, but I know a partial collapsed lung isn't good. There is a growth on her other lung. Dr asked her 5 times she said if she had ever smoked. I swear she has never smoked. Her lung doctor told her it looked like she did. I think it is from the radiation.
She has been calling me about her plants. I am hoping as long as she can walk around the block, mess with her plants and do her job at work until they decide what they are going to do, she will be ok. The wait time until she can get in for the tests and stuff is a week.
Thank You
Debra, this IS the forum to ask for prayers for Sherry! I will send her a card today - Bless her heart - please keep us posted on how she's doing.
Will be thinking of her Deb.
Alice, I concur! Maybe dig a huge hole and refill with some good garden soil.
Debra I'll be glad to add your sister to my prayer list. No problem!
1st. This is a 1st time bloom for me. It's called Cajun Princess.
2nd Spinach Tree
3rd Miniature Banana
Debra hope your sister is doing well soon...
Passion Flower Incense reaching for the sky...
Hoya cummingina
Oh, Martha I do miss my P. incense - have to idea why it died - maybe I kept it too wet?
Cajun princess is beautiful!
Spinach tree? Very pretty - reminds me of Jatropha blooms.
Thanks Kay. Here is a link to the spinach tree on DG.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/54381/#b
Why do the ones in the Plant Files have WHITE flowers?
I think that is a different variety. Mine is always orange. The 3rd picture down is what mine looks like.
Those leaves in the PF look exactly like the leaves on my Papaya!!!
Debra - sending warm wishes to your sister. I had a friend who went through something similar. She was a health nut and had never smoked a day in her life and was diagnosed with lung cancer. They were able to remove the cancer and she did recover well.
Jeri11 - I just bought the same plant for my husband this year. He really likes the unusual, and I thought this looked like something from Dr. Seuss! Mine is orange as well.
Mjsponies - Love your P. Incense and your hoya is to die for! I think they have such unusal blooms.
Kay they root real easy if you would like a piece when & if it cools off some. I have one that I think is already rooted.
Jeri11 -
Do you just put a leaf stem in dirt to propogate?
floridabunnie, no it needs to be a branch. I remove the bottom branches so it looks more like a tree than a bush. I just stick them in some soil and sit them in the shade on hot concrete. They usually are showing some roots within 2 or 3 weeks. I don't even use rooting hormones.