Most of my Brugs are green and healthy looking, except a few that are staying a bit yellowish. Then there is Jean Pasko, she is not only insisting on being pale, but also is getting brown around the leaf edges.
The plants are under a Metal Halide lamp and they get Miracle grow every now and then.
Is Jean Pasco just harder to grow inside? Could the air be too dry? Or does it look like a deficiency?
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Kerstin
Gee, I wish I knew! I have noticed on mine, some leaves are just a different color than others. If the edges weren't brown, I would tell you to slip some iron in the water for the soil and spray the leaves with a foliar feed. I am big on foliar feeds for anything that ails a plant. LOL! But the edges could mean it got a burn. Were you heavy handed with the fertilizer? I tend to be at times. I hope Monika will post for you!
No, I don't think I was heavy handed. Since they are still in the house, and I don't want them to knock a hole in the ceiling,I have only been giving them half strenght MG.
I was going to mail order for some of the foliar fertilizer you have posted about. Maybe I better get around to it.
Kerstin, If you have a magnifying glass take a peek at the underside of the leaves and see if you see any tiny dots. Might be spider mites. Monika's Brug eye is much better than mine and I'm sure she will post in the morning.
Do you have buds happening? I seem to see that it's a sub-equal leaf.
boy Liz, you are so observant!
Not really Kell, I spend my life these days looking for subequal leaves. LOL
soon Miss Lizzy, very soon!
Kerstin, it seems to be a defiency of potassium because of to heavy feeding. Brugmansias do not need much fertilizer during winter, just enough to maintain the functions of life. For instance too much of phosphorus in the soil prevents the pick up of others nutriants such as potassium or Iron. Fertilizers for ATs should not have more than 10 % of phosphorus. Too acid soil also hinders the pick up of nutrition.
Also,leaves grown under artifical light do age faster.
OH NO......is this true for humans also?
Yep! That's got to be what is putting the wrinkles here.
Too much artificial light.
OK Liz: What in LOL's name is a sub-equal leaf? Dawn
If you look at the leaf picture above, Sunrize, you see that one side of the leaf forms farther down the leaf stem than the other side of the leaf. A sub-equal leaf is a sign that it's getting ready to bloom.
Monika, it the K deficiency the brown edges? I haven't seen this before. Thanks PL for posting your photo, we can all learn from this.
K defiency is seen on these brown edges. A distinctive sign is that the leaf will not be dropped but stays on the plant for a long time.
That goes for humans also kell - when you like the artifical light for humans - the solarium!
Thanks for explaining Monika.
Thanks Monika and everybody for the answers. Now lets see if I understod this. Miracle Grow is 15-30-15, so it's the middle number that is phosphorus?
And the last number is potassium?
Basically, then MG is no good for Brugs.
What should I do to cure this deficieny? Can I just put some wood ash (I think that is potassium, or is it bananas, can't remember) on top of the soil?
I have one of those rapitest ph meters. I don't know how accurate it is but it's showing 5.5. Is that too acidic?
The reason I fertilized in the first place is that they were growing like crazy, but some cuttings just wouldn't green up. And the reason they are under artificial light is that I don't have a cool place to keep them for the winter. If I can afford it I will get a greenhouse this fall.
Liz, you are right. The leaf is above the Y, and there are a few buds here and there. I never would have thought about the leaves being different above and belov the Y.
I don't have spider mites, but a few white flies that I'm trying to get rid of.
5,5ph is already too acid. 6,5 - 7ph are ideal. There is probably enough potassium (Kalium) in the soil but the roots are unable to absorb it because of too much phosphorus in an acid soil.
The middle is always phosphorus and your fertilizer has too much of it. Try to find a fertilizer with about 16-8-22 +3 Mgo + minors.
Do any of the Canadians know if this sort of fert is available? I have shopped around and have not seen it. I use 20-20-20/15-30-15 plus epsom salt (Mg) and Iron supplements. They work ok but they are always deficient in something. Thanks!
I can not believe this, but it seems I must have got one very acidic bag of pottingsoil some time ago. I went around and tested every pot I have, and all the nice green healthy plants are living in a ph between 6.5 and 7.
All the bad looking ones are in ph 5 to 5.5. Also there is one plant that has stayed awful looking. It's ph was 3!
I never would have thought to check ph on potting soil. I just assumed it would be right for potting. From now on, that will be the first thing I check when something don't look right.
I put some lime on top of the soil and watered that in, hopefully it will be corrected pretty soon.
Thanks again Monika!
I hope I will get my book soon.
I can't remember the pH (5.5???) but peat is very acidic and the main ingredient in most mixes.
Dennis, the mixtures of quality soil contain always lime or calcium to achive the adequate ph-value. Here in Germany the cheap soil are either too acid or too alkaline.
I never thought of the PH either. I have a couple plants that have yellowing leaves. I bet that's it. I don't have a PH tester. Should I just throw a little lime on them and see if it helps?
No, you have to test it poppysue, because it could be might as well too alkaline. The symptoms are similar.
Dennis, have you tested what our ProMix is? Does perlite do anything to reduce the acidity of the mix? Or is it just inert?
perlite doesnt reduce the acidity, Liz. Only Calcium does.
I don't think I've ever seen calcium sold here. Dennis suggested maybe substituting dolomite lime. We add it to our lawns here to lower the acidity because of our winter rains. It keeps down the growth of moss. Can we use that added to the soil mix?
Liz, I said I had promix, but it is 'sunshine mix'. There is no calcium or dolomite lime.
I don't think it is in promix either. In school I remember weighing lime out, for each specific crop, and we used these same brands of soil mix. I think Germany has higher quality soil than us.
Hi Liz...You can buy horticultural lime here but only in large nurseries! I'm guessing it does the same trick!
Best of luck,
Bruno
I can get calcium (as in ground seashells) at feed stores,we feed it to the chickens when they are laying,it helps build better egg shells....
would that work?
I have to look for my old chemical books..
CC as I know you canīt use the calcium for chicken for soil,it doesnt work in soil.
Liz, Dolomite lime or something like this you can use.
Dolomite lime does it too, Liz. Better would be chalk (crayon) lime (calcium carbonate).
Don't laugh Monika! This is one of the things I found looking for CaCo3.
http://www.nursespdr.com/members/database/ndrhtml/calciumcarbonate.html
Antacid stomach tablets!
You will have very healthy brugs,Liz...
LOL Liz!
I use finely crushed egg shells in the planting holes for my tomatoes and brugs. If the chickens are fed calcium to make better shells, wouldn't the shells also work if ground finely enough? I know, stupid question, but tomato growers talk about using the egg shells, so I thought it might help.
I found a PH meter that I've had. It's reading just at the 7.0 mark. I guess the PH is okay...
I've got to get one. Promix is treated so the PH is supposed to be neutral or close.
When you say neutral,tiG, do you mean a ph of 5?
well, not sure now where I read it, but I found their home page and it's got lime and minors in it.
