This is a picture of a Perlmutt x Ecuador Pink from seed that went very, very bad. Halfway up the stem the leaves became long and deformed. I can't see bugs - Jeanne says cyclamen mites?
A real Sick Plant
Liz, i don't know, but i did read that if you submerge a plant in the pot in 100F water for 30 minutes it will kill cyclamen mites. my kind of organic if a plant is small enough, could be sun heated down here.
or use DE with pyrethrins if you can get it. There's a name brand something that Cala said you can use. It does look like how mine started, and then the leaves turned a tinge red. Mine are almost all cleared up, and I used these on them. Am down to just DE mixed in sprayer right now.
Does it speed up the recovery if I cut off the top then apply the pesticides and the hot water?
Liz, don't cut out the top, just treat it. the top will recover!!!
Will do - don't want to lose this one but it's now alone and friendless untill it's better.
Gosh Liz, I hope you have another one of these or can figure out how to save this one.
I've cut out the top and also sprayed the top, doesn't seem to speed it up one way or another, but if you cut the top, it won't bloom as fast. They will recover, but even after recovery they will need a periodic maintainence spray.
i'm still dying for someone trying the 30 minute soak in 100 degree water. this is off UF ag page. they do it with strawberries.
I did the water soak thing yesterday on a few seedlings I had. I wanted to see how they'd handle it before I try it on any of my good brugs. I did 4 plants ... and I made sure to pick a couple with fuzzy leaves. I just filled up my wheelbarrow with luke warm water and made sure they were all completely submerged for 30 minutes. They seem to be fine today - I was worried the warm water would hurt them. How well it works on the mites ... I dunno. These weren't too bad off to begin with but I wanted to test this method. Now if i could just figure out how to submerge a 5 foot plant :o)
Poppy, got any neighbors with a hot tub?
Liz, what happened to this plant?
I knew when I posted this picture a few months ago that it was going to come back to haunt me. I've been spraying it every two weeks, it is the healthiest looking culebra-looking plant around. It just gets bigger and puts out more culebra looking leaves. If I didn't know that it wasn't supposed to look like that I'd think it was perfectly happy the way it is. I'll take a picture.
Boy, they never let you forget your mistakes around here! LOL
Liz, it could also be a mutant. That is the way, that many of the Sibondoy hybrids came into existence. I think, that the indians started out with normal Brugs, but fell in love with the odd ones. It is just an idea, Liz, because if your plant still looks as healthy as in the picture and there is no bugs on, I would guess on a motant. *lol* If it continue to form strange leaves and you consider throwing it on the compost I have to consider how to become a bee again. :-)
Liz, was it by chance a Pearlmutt cross? I have a couple that are like Culebras too.
I have one. it's not growing, but it's living fine like it is.
Yes, it's the Perlmutt x Ecuador Pink. Has your's not changed either?
nope, if I can get one more picture out of these batteries, I'll post it.
I've had chemicals cause the same leaf distortion on seedlings and full grown tree's. You'll find that the leaves will revert to normal in a few weeks to months in most cases.
I haven't sprayed it with anything in months.
Did you use a systemic? Is the new growth showing the same signs? I wonder if these chemicals might alter these more sensitive seedlings genitically. I have had only two or so such seedlings that had deformed growth such as this and on my seedlings it was very weak growth.
Nope, no systemic either. I think I have a picture. I'm checking in my files.
Mine did this before I had sprayed with anything.
The above picture...that is how several of my hybrids and others hybrids react to too much of any number of insecticides. However, I have to add that as your hybrid did this before spraying with insecticides...and the resulting Culebra looking hybrid it has apparently become...well I must confess none of mine have ever warped or mutated that completly...even with systemic. I had one hybrid that I was certain was going to be varigated from a seedling once...its color went very pale yellow in patterns similar to many of the other varigated Brugmansia I have seen. Upon the first signs of this though I through out handfuls of a mild fertilizer and the discoloration ceased and filled in. I have often wondered if perhaps if I had of let this hybrid alone if it would have gone varigated and I caught it in the nick of time or what. To be honest, I just don't know, but one could theorize that perhaps it is possible that some plants are more prone to mutate either by a lack of nutrients at just the right time or through an application of a chemical at just the right time and in the right amount. This is similar to how tetraploids and partial conversions come about. If one treats a plant with colchicine and kinetin at the same time one may find that the one counteracts the other and what I am proposing is that perhaps something similar may be at hand here. Perhaps at a critical moment some hybrids may be more prone to mutate...of course I could just be completly wrong...but still I ponder.