please help my butter blues

Hi,

My butter blues started blooming around 6 weeks ago so I had a try at pollination.

I got two big seed pods and the plant is still flowering with 6 flowers at the moment.

The problem is that the leaves have died. Even the very small ones got limp. I have the feeling that the plant is using all its energy for the seed pods and it is fast dying.

Is it possible? Can I do anything to help it? Should i cut the flowers off the other plants so they don't die?

Thank you for any tips/advice.:o)

Oh Spider, I am so sorry about your plant. I have no clue about pollination/hybridizing as I am a novice grower but it does sound like your plant is using all of it's energy for reproducing with those seedpods, as well as expending energy to bloom! I hope someone more knowledgeable about this stuff will respond soon and I hope you will be able to save your plant.

Spider a pic would really help..is there any way you can post one? Its hard to tell what might be wrong with your plant without seeing it..I have never had anything like that happen..sorry..Well I am alot of help huh??..hoping someone who has had something similar happen to them will be along to give you some advice...

is the pods anywhere near brown? have they twisted at all?if so you can cut the pods off & lay them on a piece of paper to dry, then when they have dried all the way, you can open them. i do this most of the time.

mrsbonnie

Hi everyone,

thank you for your posts.

Ms Bonnie, they are green. I think they are still very young. Should I cut them off?

I took some photos and I hope I will be able to post them.

When a seedpod is forming you need to be super careful with watering.If the seed pods are green,they can't be saved detached from the mother plant.

Hi Ibrabec,

Thank you for your message.

I always underwater my streps.:o) Could it be another reason?

Hi Spider,

I've never had that situation occur, but have read about some Streps (and other plants as well) that will literally bloom themselves to death. If it were mine, I'd cut off all the flower stalks, both seed pods and flowers, to try to get the plant to reroute energy to saving itself.

Have you checked the roots? They can die from overwatering and underwatering.

Is it too hot? Streps don't seem to like hot weather. Several of mine suffered horribly, and one died, going limp like you described, when I left them in an east window as the weather got hot. If they're in a window, I'd suggest moving them to a cooler place.

Hopefully you can get your pictures posted soon and we can get a better idea and give you better advice, but in general I suggest disbudding (and removing seed pods) any plant that seems to be suffering.

I hope that helps a little and that your plant survives. ^_^

Some Streps naturally die after 4 or 5 blooming periods.I agree a picture would help.

Hi Rain and Ibrabec,

I took some pictures yesterday but can't upload them. My son promised me he will help with it, hopefully this evening.

I think it is too late. The leaves are too wilted. Now i am worried that all my flowering streps will do that. I am thinking of cutting their flowers off.

Hi Spider; you might as well cut the stalks off as you said the plant looks bad.i would let them dry anyway & who knows, you might get some seed,seed pods do take alot from a plant,if you don't want seed cut them off.
mrsbonnie

From this: (on the left)

To this in 3 weeks.

All the big leaves wilted so I took them off. There are two small leaves left but they are wilted as well. I didn;'t overwater it nor let it dry.

Oh Spider I am so sorry about your plant... I don't know allot about streps but I am learning... I talked to a lady from Brennan's and she told me I could cut the seed pods off the plants and save them until they curl and then plant them.. she told me it did not matter to the seeds weather they were on the plant or off.. I am only telling you what she said...She grows some very beautiful plants so I cut my seed pods and time will tell... When I bought plants and they wilted like yours I cut all leaves to almost 3/4 off.. then let them sit in what I call the baby place which is closer to the lights... Once again I don't know allot but I am only telling you what has worked for me....
Hugs,
Susan

I'm so sorry about your plant.It is so pretty.If all else fails you can try giving it a rest period in a very shady area with very limited water and see if new growth starts.
Lynn

It's only my opinion, but I would cut off all the seed pods and flowers. Then I'd move it away from the window, just in case that particular plant is sensitive to the heat. And I'd probably pull it out of the pot to check the roots, pot it up in a very light mix (1 part each of potting mix, perlite, and vermiculite), dampen the mix and put it in a ziploc bag, and only about half close it, so it still gets fresh air and doesn't build up heat. It doesn't look like a very promising situation, but I feel certain it won't survive if you leave any of the seed pods or flowers on it. It's going to have to put all its energy to survival.

This came from an article I rea about streps.
Unifoliate and/or "annual" species. Some of the species are "unifoliate", meaning that they produce only one mature leaf. Though not necessarily difficult, these are not recommended for novices--i.e. if the leaf dies, the plant dies. Many other species are "annuals" in that they will bloom, set seed, and then expire. These are best kept growing by continually sowing seed and/or rooting leaves.(This could have happened when yours made a seedpod).

I agree with Raingazer that it need all of it's energy if there is any hope for it to come back.

Looks like you are receiving some excellent advice here Spider..Hoping your plant will survive..keep us posted please...

Wow! what a caring helpful bunch you all are!

Thank you everyone.

I took all the flowers off yesterday. Will the seeds be viable if I cut them off?

It's all my fault. I just thought about pollinating and having some seed pods to grow. If I knew it this would happen I would never have done it:o(

I am going to remove the seed pods as well but the plant looks even worse today. I have also removed the old mix and potted it up again. It has been inside a bag since Wednesday.

I lost all the hope. I am going to get another one from Bluebird. that is the place I got it and the plant looked very good.

I just have to remember not to go around trying to pollinate everything that looks green!!!

lbrabec is correct that there are "annual" types of Streps, but the hybrids, such as 'Butter Blues' aren't really that way. It's certain species that grow as annuals, but yours wouldn't fall into that category, as it's a hybrid. Even if one of the annual species was in its parentage, I can't imagine the plant would have become as popular as it is if the annual tendency had been dominant in its growth habit.

Streps tend to self-pollinate, and that's not an indication that they're about to die. Many of us have had plants just covered in seed pods and flowers and the plant didn't suffer at all because of it. If your plant was struggling for some reason, then it might have been just too much to support itself as well as the seed pods and new flowers.

There's certainly nothing that says it's your fault either! Some Streps are more sensitive to warmer temperatures. Maybe that's it. Perhaps a bit of rot had set in some time ago and it was on the decline anyway. Any number of things could have been wrong, and most of them wouldn't have been your fault. Don't blame yourself!

Pollinating Streps is perfectly fine! There are lots of us that pollinate every flower that opens! LOL In most cases, there's nothing wrong with that, and you could plant literally acres with the seeds from just a few Strep pods! ;o) Don't give up on pollinating and getting some seeds to sow. It's a lot of fun, and very rarely ends up causing the situation you're facing.

I agree.It's fun to pollinate and even more fun to cross-pollinate.As RainGazer stated,Streps that are sold by hybridizers or greenhouses would most likely not be a short-lived cultivar.I suspect there could have been a little rot or another problem.
All of us lose plants from time to time and a lot of times there is not a readily apparent cause.Have fun.Enjoy your plants.That's what it's all about!!!
Lynn

Thank you everyone.

I just re read the post about annual streps. I had no idea that they existed. That is soo interesting.

I have to read more on the subject.

Just my 2 cents worth. Those look like 4 inch pots which are waaaaaay too big for such small plants. That in itself is enough to drown the root system. Do you know what size pots you have those planted in?

I try and keep mine in 21/2" pots as long as they can stay there.

Here is one that I may lose...........my fault....she was in a 11/2" square and I tried to move her up to a 3" pot........which was way too big of a pot. Now I have had for several days on dry paper towels and under a dome.......we shall see......

I didn't know that Gail. Most of my streps are young are kept in small pots or Solo cups.

This one I kept in the same pot it came in. It's the pot from Bluebird. I think it is a 31/2.

I alwasy keep them on the dry side. I water them with something like 2 tablespoons of water at a time. the compost feel OK, just slightly humid.

I will start repotting them to smaller pots.

Thank you for the tip.:o)