Is this a virus or too much sun?

Tillamook, OR(Zone 8b)

I just got this passion vine in today's mail, it's called violacea, I don't know if the name is correct, but the leaves are spotted.....I don't know if it;s a virus, or just too much sun and heat, and I'm hoping someone here will be able to help me out some. If it is a virus, can I do anything, or will it slowly kill the plant and whatever other plants were in the box with it? Here is a picture of one of the leaves, the lower leaves have it pretty bad, but the topmost leaves don't. Thanks so much for any help you can give me, I'm just starting out with passiflora and don't know much yet.
Raven

Thumbnail by raven_locks
Ventura, United States(Zone 10b)

Raven, many Passifloras and other tropical plants have viruses, and usually they can do quite well in spite of them. Cucumber Mosaic Virus is the particular virus that all Passiflora Incense plants have because they were all propagated from the parent plant which had the virus. CMV does affect blooming of the P. Incense vine. If your vine has a virus, it should not affect its performance or vigor or life. Here's a link that might be helpful: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/424923/

Tillamook, OR(Zone 8b)

Thank you Clare for the link to the thread, but what I found when I read the other thread is that the virus WILL affect the plant's growth, vigor and flowering, and that it CAN be passed to the other plants.

What a bummer, I really want to try the passiflora clan, the other one I had last year mysteriously disappeared, and then next one has a virus!!!

Raven

Deep South Coastal, TX(Zone 10a)

Raven, turn the leaf over and see if you have rust. If it's rust, there will be rusty colored powder looking stuff on the back sides of the leaf and spots on the topside. CMV is usually more mottled and yours looks like spots. You did say the new growth doesn't have the spots right?
Wonder if the person who sent it to you had sprayed it with an insecticide and it damaged the leaves?
CMV can be spread and lots and lots of different plants are susceptible to it. It can be spread by insects like thrips, and by mechanical means like taking a cutting from an infected plant and not washing your clippers before going to a healthy plant. I read in a trade magazine for the greenhouse industry that there are millions of plants out there with CMV and ajuga(a ground cover) is one of the worst carriers of it.

Tillamook, OR(Zone 8b)

I took a look at the undersides, and there is no rust but the spots go all the way from the underside to the top side. This looks like a cutting that was rooted, there is not much new growth on it~the leaves at the bottom have it the worst, but it appears that the leaves that are farther along the cutting are begining to get the spots too, they are very faint right now, but they are there. Here is a picture of the entire plant, it's pretty blurry, but you can see the spots....

I don't want to keep this plant if it's just going to get sicker and also infect the other plants, do you think this is curable or should I just send them all back to the person I got them from?

Thanks so much,
Raven

Thumbnail by raven_locks
Deep South Coastal, TX(Zone 10a)

Guess it would be best to toss it then. It's better to throw one plant away so you don't infect your collection. Maybe someone here could root you a healthy cutting?

Ventura, United States(Zone 10b)

Raven, yes, CMV can be spread to other plants and vines, but I agree with Calalily that yours does not look like CMV.

I'm not convinced that yours has a virus. It could be a deficiency of some sort.

Some tropical plants and vines do carry viruses, but most of the time it doesn't affect the vine or the plant adversely. For example, many variegated Abutilons have a virus, and it is the virus that gives the variegation. Most tropical plants and vines propagated in commercial greenhouses have been subjected to all sorts of viruses. There is no cure for a plant virus.

If you purchased this vine and are concerned about the appearance of the leaves, then I would send it back and ask for a new one.

When I wrote to Logee's to ask their opinion, I received a very nice response. I think this part was the most helpful:

"As for your plant what to do with it? I would enjoy it and not worry about your other plants in your collection for if they are older cultivars they most certainly have been exposed to viruses. If you want to take precautions make sure you disinfect your cutting utensils between varieties when pruning. It's always beneficial to have virus free plant material and much of the high volume annual and crop material in contemporary horticulture is clean, but if we're to grow the multitude of unusual and exotic plants found in the world, we'll at the present time have to live with the reality of viruses in our plants. Incidently, some plants when infected with viruses are killed. Example of this are the New Guinea Impatiens which when infected go into a decline and die. Other like the passionflower show the symptoms yet have been growing with the viruses for years. The bad new is that we don't get to experience the full vigor of the plants we grow."

San Diego, CA

Raven, did you get this plant from me??? I am looking at it looks like it might be P. Atropurpurea which actually has bigger, more colorful flowers, but is really similar. The Atro (for short), does have the spotted leafs like this one does, but I currently have it growing, and litterally intertwined with about 6 other vines and it has not spread to one single other vine. If you haven't gotten rid of it, hang on to it, this is not a very common plant, and it will do just fine for you.
Mark

Chariton, IA(Zone 5b)

Have you all seen this page of passiflora? Awesome pictures.
http://www.kwekerijgommer.com/passiflora_foto's.asp

Mark, I just saw your picture of P. Atropurpurea at Ransom Gardens. Awesome photo.

This message was edited Oct 23, 2004 8:16 PM

San Diego, CA

Brug, thank you. if you'd like to see all my photo's, go to www.clubphoto.com and where it asks for the e-mail address, enter zostropz@aol.com You'll see 2 albums of passiflora, just click on either one to see all the photo's
Mark

Chariton, IA(Zone 5b)

Gosh, thanks. I'm heading there right now.

Wow, awesome photos. You must have a huge place to be able to grow all of those passiflora and orchids. Your butterfly pictures are wonderful too. I'm totally impressed with your photos. Thanks for sharing them.

This message was edited Oct 24, 2004 9:43 AM

San Diego, CA

Brug The Orchids are not my plants, just took pics at the nursery, but the Passiflora mostly are all mine.
thanks,
Mark

Chariton, IA(Zone 5b)

You must have a good sized place to grow so much. I'm in awe. Just beautiful. Again, thanks so much for sharing. It was a real trip!!

Shirley

Tillamook, OR(Zone 8b)

Hi Mark,

I don't get on the computer on the weekends, :O)

Yes, I got this plant from you, I think that's the photo I sent you in our email...I had not known that you were a memeber here too, neat!

I still have the plant plant because the same time I emailed you, a caterpillar had just been hatched on it and it was so exciting for us to watch him grow and eat and then form his crysalis, I just didn't have the heart to toss his food! He ate most of the leaves and only left the really spotted leaves at the bottom, and now he's hanging at the top!

Anyway, are you saying that you don't think it's actually violeacea? I will trust your judgement that it is not going to hurt the plant or any other plants in the area.

Thanks much,
Raven

San Diego, CA

Raven, contact me at zostropz@aol.com so we discuss this further. I wanna make sure your happy with the plant.
Mark

Post a Reply to this Thread

Please or sign up to post.
BACK TO TOP