U. humboldtii assistance

[RL7836]

On Aug 10, I received 3 U. humboldtii plants growing together in a pot of live LFS. I separated them into their own pots - 2 into 100% live LFS and the other in a peat, live LFS, sand, aps mix. Since the repotting, all 3 plants have grown well - put up new leaves & 2 of the 3 have also put up aerial stolons. All 3 are growing in my basement with temps in the middle 60's (~18.9*C) at night and lower 70's (~22.2*C) during the day (*F).

3 days ago I notice that the largest of the 3 plants (in live LFS) developed a reduction in diameter on the stalk of it's newest developing leaf. Today, this developing leaf wilted to the side from this smaller section of stalk. In addition, the leaf that formed 2 weeks ago (largest one on the plant) has darkened significantly and is severely wilted. This pot is sitting in a tray with 1/8 - 1/4" of water & the leaves are ~2" (~5 cm) below 2 T-8 fluorescent lamps.

There are no other visible changes. Other utrics nearby are still growing well (so far) - including the 2 other U. humboldtii from the original pot.

This has the appearance of a fungal attack. Have others experienced this? What are the recommended approaches to resolve this? Is there any hope or should I remove the plant to try & keep the pathogen from spreading? All input is welcome.

 

[RSS]

Any chance of getting a picture of the distressed plant?

I have not had the best results with my U. humboldtii so I'm not the best source of information about this species, mine is growing in size but my leaves only last about 1-2 months before browning but they are not wilted they are standing upright and very sturdy. You said yours wilted, or just browned?

If you are able to seperate the plant and keep it in the proper conditions I would do that, just in case you have a fungal issue. I would avoid fungicides with Utrics unless you have tried that brand on them in the past, I have had nothing but bad experiences with fungicides and Utrics, they seems very senstive to them.

This sounds like your having a similair problem to the one I've been having with this species.

 

[rattler]

where did you get it? there are atleast two very different varieties of U. humboldtii here in the states...

with the, ill call it terrestrial, variety ive seen die back with the growth when i first got it and initial new growth was smaller until it got settled.....havent had much luck with the more common......bromiliad?.......form....

 

[RL7836]

Any chance of getting a picture of the distressed plant?

Yup - see below.

I have not had the best results with my U. humboldtii so I'm not the best source of information about this species, mine is growing in size but my leaves only last about 1-2 months before browning but they are not wilted they are standing upright and very sturdy. You said yours wilted, or just browned?

What you're describing sounds more like my U. reniformis. I can't get any of them to hold their leaves for more than a month or so (although the underground growth is very robust & I have to keep putting them into larger pots).

If you are able to seperate the plant and keep it in the proper conditions I would do that, just in case you have a fungal issue. I would avoid fungicides with Utrics unless you have tried that brand on them in the past, I have had nothing but bad experiences with fungicides and Utrics, they seems very senstive to them.

Great!

This sounds like your having a similair problem to the one I've been having with this species.

I don't think so. This problem 1st affected an immature leaf - not an older leaf going downhill from age. That leaf deteriorated very quickly & basically disintegrated. The other leaf that was impacted was the newest full size leaf (& largest) & up until a few days ago - was the best looking. Again - not a leaf deteriorating from age. Just since I posted the initial cry for help - it has started to fall over from the wilting (see pic).

Here's a pic of the plant. The new leaf that disintegrated was at ~7 o'clock from the 3 primary leaves (in the lower depression). The aerial stolon also originates from this group and goes into another pot off to the right. The 3 original leaves have not significantly changed since I received the plants. Although it cannot be seen in the pic - there is also another new shoot just emerging from this original group of leaves.

Leaf closeup.

Since I originally posted - the other possibility that occurred to me is some type of munching critter eating away at the below ground growth. Are utrics like dews in being sensitive to most pesticides?

where did you get it? there are atleast two very different varieties of U. humboldtii here in the states...

These plants are from the Barry / Travis seed giveaway ~1.5 years ago.

with the, ill call it terrestrial, variety ive seen die back with the growth when i first got it and initial new growth was smaller until it got settled.....havent had much luck with the more common......bromiliad?.......form....

Maybe I'm mistaken - but this doesn't seem at all like a dieback from shipping shock (or new conditions). The plants never missed a beat after they were repotted and were all growing very well until a few days ago - - then BAM!

 

[RSS]

This is clearly not the problem I'm having, my initial instint is saying overwatering and too much heat, but this is a Utric and your temps are fine. I've used fungicides/pesticides on Utrics before and have always had the same response, all the leaves on the Utric quickly died. The plant recoved after a while. I'm planning on trying neem oil next time in a hope that it would work out better but I would only use it as a last resort or on the advice of someone who has successfully used it.

Maybe flush the plant with some good clean water just in case some chemical was introducted into the pot? It would not hurt.

At this point I would take a look at what is going on under that moss, you should be able to do this without bothering things too much, and that would give you an answer to your pest question.

Humidity been stable? If it was high and suddenly went low it would cause just this. The older leaves would not have been affected, the new leaves would have grown in the high humidity would not have been able to survive in a lower humidity area. But that should have affected all 3 plants not just this one. Best I could think of. Hopefully someone can come up with something better.

 

[rattler]

pics make it clearer......doesnt look like normal die back....could be fluctuations in humidity....temps look fine....

have never used pesticides....have dealt with scale but just used alcohol.....

 

[RSS]

I've used alchohol with good results also, that completely slipped my mind last night, just keep in mind alchohol dehydrates whatever its applied too, so you would need to increase the humidity in the short term. I usually just mist around the plants for that day to help them out, then they are on there own.

 

[Jefforever]

USE NEEM.

I've used it on all my macros at one time or another with absolute success. No side effects.

When you touch the leaves, do you get white powder on your fingers?

I've lost several macro utric stalks due to this fungus stuff.

Also, you say this is from the seed giveaway? I've heard these plants may be weaker/more sensitive due to self pollenation. Mine certainly were.