HELP! What's killing my plants???

Hi,
Wondered if anyone can help me figure out what's wrong with my plants. I'm relatively new to gardening so maybe there's something I'm missing. I have small, low-growing hibiscus in my front bed. (Just planted last weekend). I know I planted them correctly. Mixed 1/2 soil from ground with 1/2 top grade potting soil plus some Fertilome Start-n-Grow plus watered well. Crown above soil level, mulched around but not on top. Now it's less than a week later and the plants are starting to get yellow leaves (mostly near base of plant). I can't see any bugs on or around the plants with the exception of ants that have been crawling on them. Leaves start to yellow, gets worse, then plant just shrivels and dies. I know this because I had impatiens in the same spot and they did the same thing.

Any idea what's going on and how to fix it? I REALLY don't want to lose these plants. BTW - in the picture the broken leaves are from me trying to pull them off the plant -- not from something chewing it.

Hibiscus usually show yellow leaves when they are moved as they don't like any kind of stress ... but if impatiens are doing the same it could be a fungal disease due to overwatering. Try spraying with a fungicide.

Regards

Carlos

What is the ratio of fertilizer in your Fertilome Start-n-Grow?
Is this a Hardy or a Tropical?

I know from experience that Hibiscus don't like a high middle number. I usually use one like HVH 17-5-24 Water Soluble Fertilizer, or I use Space City Hibiscus Fertilizer
18-10-28. Both are excellent.

carlo, good to know. I transplanted some from pots to inground, and they had yellow leaves. I was wondering what was wrong.

The Start-n-Grow is only 18-6-12 so I doubt that's the problem. It's probably a fungus or an insect problem. I went to my local nursery and bought a fungicide/miticide that should take care of both problems. I'll apply it tomorrow morning and see what happens!

Look at the roots; if they are white and plump they are OK, if on the other hand they are more like a brownish color, it means that they might have a fungus problem from high salinity, drying out, water logged media or another cause.

And it could be just transplant shock (although the impatients are a warning it could be more)
Hibiscus quite often drop their yellowing leaves after any kind of stress, but this does not kill them. Just be patient and the leaves will re-emerge.

I sprayed them with the fungicide/miticide and they look much better. I'll reapply in 7 days just in case. Now if I could just get ants to stop crawling on my other hibiscus....

Ants most likely are a sign of aphids, which are fairly common on the blossoms and new growth of hibiscus. A normal spraying routine will be able to take care of that. They have combo insecticide and fungicide sprays. It may be worth it in your area, although we have been overly dry this year, once the rains hit, the 2 together will be a big help.

Hi,
I'm new to Dave's Garden and the forum and hope not to be to dumb since I'm only a self educated amateur with some experiences living and gardening for 10 years on the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico's Caribbean coast.
But keep in mine it is just my experiences and common knowing in our area.
I agree with MerryMary. A combo spray would be the most helpful. It looks like one of two problems we fight here in the tropics for years. Some say it were brought in with grass seats used for the golf places.
1. It's a fungus brought in by ants. It is said that the ant transport the fungus from plant to plant. So you should watch other Hibiscus in your garden. Often there is a black fuzzy spot right on the steam of the leaf. I'll post a photo soon I find an infected leaf.
2. It's some kind of spider mite [?] or another very small insect [see picture]
In both cases the leafs turn yellow, and somehow crippled. Sometimes showing spots were the moister seams to be missing. I don't know what a part ants have in it. But in our experiences ants in the gardens are always a thread.
Hope that helps.
Heidi

I'm going out on a limb here; I hate to "diagnose" plants from other areas. But some things are the same, wherever they are. Cleo's leaf looks like it might have thrips damage. Thrips are teeny tiny, and often suck juice from the new cells, along the leaf edge. As the leaf grows, those cells have been permanently damaged, and cannot expand. So you see the disfigured edge, or cupping of the leaf. That happens to other plants too, not just hibiscus. The black spot of fungus that you refer to at the base of the stem of the leaf (petiole) where it is attached to the leaf is not a plant destroying fungus. It is caused by high humidity and weather conditions that cause the leaf to secrete excess moisture which is high in sugars (sap). A mold grows on that sugar, but doesn't affect the plant. Spraying will not help this. It is cultural and will go away.

garden4moi: Your problem doesn't look fungal. As someone said before, ants often signal aphids (because the ants "farm" the aphids' honeydew) and you can see these small soft-bodied insects in masses on the new growth and on the buds of the flowers. Personally, I do nothing, because they will soon be taken out by parasitic wasps and predators such as lady beetles. I use this as an insectary and then the beneficials are in place for the rest of my yard. Sorry, but I figured that out years ago and it works for me. However, if that doesn't float your boat you can use soapy water (1 tablespoon dish soap to 1 gal water) and spray it directly on the aphids. It dessicates their soft bodies. You don't need to resort to heavy stuff.

And like someone else said, I would wait and let the newly planted plants acclimatize and get going, especially before I started spraying them with stuff. They've got it tough enough right now.

Now, why did the impatiens die? These are two different types of plants, and what affects one doesn't necessarily affect the other. It sounds like it may be cultural. Something is wrong with the growing conditions. Too much water (does it drain well?) or too little water? The symptoms are very much the same: Yellowing leaves. But I have another thought. Impatiens are grown in the shade. Hibiscus are grown in the sun. So which do you have? Sun or shade?

There is just more here than a quick spray is going to resolve. I would like to know what that is....
CJ

This message was edited May 14, 2006 11:29 PM

Thanks for the help, everyone! I don't know whether it was transplant shock, too much/too little water, bugs, etc. but I sprayed them with a fungicide/miticide and they've been perfectly fine since then. Very healthy and no more yellow leaves. So who knows what it was.

I planted these in my front yard, that gets shade most of the day (which is why I planted impatiens there). But the sun it does get is the hot afternoon sun that was too much for the impatiens, but seems to be perfect for the hibiscus. I knew the impatiens were not handling the sun well so I kept watering them. Live and learn I guess!

Thanks so much for all your help!

Thanks CJ
Your Post is very helpful. Literature about pests in our area seams not to exist or being not available. So the Internet is our only source. We are still third worlds here in many things. Gardening and agriculture is one of them.
Nice Day to everybody. Please forgive a German any violations of the English.
Heidi

Heidi, You did much better than I could do in German!!! LOL I will have to look up PaaMul, Mexico. That's a new name to me...

I am a new member as of today and was reading your emails about the hibuscus problem. It is rather ironic that Garden4omi had the probelm on the hibuscus and impantiens, only her problem was one year apart. I just noticed today that my hibuscus and my impatiens have what sound like the aphid problem. I joined Dave's today to find an answer to what was wrong with my two plants. After looking at the photos. I think I have my answer. I will try spraying them with dish detergent, as was suggested. Can I ask all of you gardening experts should I spray all of my plants, about 50 of them, for good measure. Or shouldn't I try to fix what isn't broken? Thank you.

Just a note from personal experience but it looks like spider mite damage. The hotter and drier the area the worse the problem. Mites especially the two spotted mites tend to develope a resistance to sprays as well. So if you spray you should rotate the chemical sprays that you use. I have a massive outbreak of mite right now on mine and have started the spraying ritual. Impatients are also suseptable to spider mites as well as marigolds. Just my two cents. Tanarae

You are right about spider mites Tanarae...they're horrible to get rid of, and impatiens DO get them frequently. Here in Florida, it's what wipes out my tomatoes every single year.

Oh no! When I went out to spray my hibuscus and impatiens I took a closer look at my plants. My Tomatoes and my golden dew drop were especially covered in these white specs, mostly on the bottom of the leaves, but some also on top. Nothing moved while I was spraying the plants, until I got to the tomatoe plant. When I lifted the leaves little bugs were flying everywhere. What do you think, Aphids or spider mites? Your opinion would be very helpful as I don't know what they look like.

If they're flying, definitely not spidermites......Most likely white flies if they're flying....
Spider mites are close to invisible, the damage is what shows. You can occasionally see very fine webbing under the leaves, but more likely a lack-luster look to the leaves, starting to yellow, get slighty fuzzy and yellowish.....
Whiteflies are the ones that fly away from the leaves once disturbed......
Aphids will suck the juice out of blossoms (especially hibiscus) and you'll see them dotting teh blossom before it opens....Ants sometimes follow aphids, as aphids leave behind a sweet sticky substance.
I'm guessing from your description of them flying, you have white flies....they can be controlled with a simple spray of a pesticide made especially for vegetables....

Thank you for your help. It is really appreciated.

I have two tropical hibiscus which are planted in large containers. Both are growing and flowering beautifully with help from a systemic fertilizer, disease and insect control. However, I too have a yellowing leaf problem that is minor one day and then major the next. Spyder mites or fungus? Never gave these a thought. I will try a fungicide/miticide spray and let you know the results.
Thanks for the info. Ceejaytown: is their a commercial name (brand) for imidacloprid? I have humming birds and would hate to sicken (or worse) these beautiful creatures.
I sprayed my plants with a combination fungicide/miticide tonight as I found very small white mites on some of the yellowed leaves. I will let you know the results after a sufficient time.
General question: is it okay to specify brand names for products that work?

This message was edited Jun 10, 2006 10:11 PM

With regard to tropical hibiscus---not sure about hardy hibiscus---not liking a high middle number, I have found the oposite to be true, both in New Jersey and in Illinois. I keep mine in pots anduse dilute "blossom boost" type fertilizer---very high middle number---frequently, and have excellent success---a great many flowers and much foliage. I do get a few yellow leaves, which I pick off, but that is par for the course, and the plants look over-all great. I keep them in full sun by my swimming pool, and water them at least once a day, and have found that even daily dilute "blossom boost" liquid fertilizer works fine.

Since hummingbirds are attracted to hibiscus, may I caution you abut the use of some pesticides? Orthene and Orthenex are taken up by the flowers, and the hummer gets a dose too. Not good. There are two excellent systemic insecticides that do not cross over into the flower (or fruit) - one is imidacloprid - registered for use on ornamentals, and cygon - registered for use on vegetables. Imidacloprid can be watered in, thereby reducing the chance of bees, butterflies, etc getting into the poison. Cygon, although excellent and really the only choice for vegetables, must be sprayed on. Now these do not protect the flowers, only the vegetation. If you have an insect problem with flowers, it is most likely aphids, and soapy water or insecticidal soap will take care of them, without killing the hummers...

Thanks for the warning, ceejaytown. Hummingbirds are far too beautiful to risk dosing them with pesticides! (Now, if there were some way to get some pesticide into some of the starlings and grackles that make it impossible to for me to feed the birds in the spring and summer, and that wreak havoc on the songbird population, that would be a different story...) :+>)

Actually, for me, one of the pleasures of growing tropical Hibiscus is that they do not suffer from any pests except white fly, and the white fly only becomes a problem if I do not properly spray the plants before bringing them indoors for the winter. Otherwise, outdoors there is so little white fly that it's not a problem.

This message was edited Jun 9, 2006 11:15 PM