I am no expert at these plants, but I started growing them 10 years ago when I just took some cuttings, put them in water, got roots, and shoved them in the clay soil.. and they never looked back (except middle of hot summers when they dried out a bit). But now I have some plants yhat were in pots for a couple years planted in a brick planter, that always is a bit damp (drains very well, but soil always wet)... and the plants are slowly shrinking. They have flowered well, but the branch tips keep rotting and getting shorter and shorter. I cut off the rotting ends, but then they start up again, and now my plants are nearly half the size they were when I started (two out of three.. the third, a peaches and cream, is having no problems)... They are slowly shrinking and dying back. Why?
Is the soil too moist? Some other malady I am unfamiliar with? I will have midget Brugmansias if this keeps up. Any ideas?
Too wet?
i have never seen this in brugs. I had my Japanese Maples do that. Slow die back. Terrible to watch. Tips down they die back. They all had Verticillium wilt. Killed me. And killed them. LOL
I would go look at the roots, maybe root rot. Pull one up and look. If the roots are rotting, you may be able to save them. I would cut the roots back to healthy ones, repot it in a fast draining soil and only water when very dry. You may have to cut back your canopy if you cut back the roots a lot so they can support the top. If the roots are real soggy, before I repotted them, I would leave them open to the air after I cut them back to good roots. For just a while to get them drier. But do not let the sun hit them, it kills the tiny feeder roots.
If it is a fungus disease, I have no clue. Maybe spray with a general fungicide
I sure hope they start improving for you. It must be so sad to watch them decline.
palmbob, I have a 'spot', 'place', right beside other brugs and nothing will grow in it, even tho I changed the soil out and did everything I could think of - never figured it out, so I keep a pot of caladium there on a flagstone...I might try the spot again next year...
Even though your planter drains well if the soil stays wet all the time I would definitely check them for root rot.