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Guest Glenn

What the fuck is wrong with my viridis?

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Guest Glenn

Dear Plant Doctors,

I bought a small psychotria viridis on the internet at the start of spring (perth). It only had 4 leaves and was quite short. It has been through the full spring, summer and now the start of winter and it is looking really scraggly. Every leave looks like it has been nibbled on. The problem is, when 2 new leaves get born, they are delicate and thin and they get eaten or burnt by the sun, not sure which and by the time they grow up to be full leaves they look really cheap and nasty. There is not one perfect leave on the plant. Is there anything i can do to get the new leaves to form properly? Should i spray it? Also, it is starting to get really cold now and i heard they dont like frost, what can i do to get him through the winter?

Thanks for any advice.

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What's your fertilising regime?

If the problems are nutrient related rather than environmental, I would say it's most definitely nitrogen toxicity. Nitrogen toxicity leads to brittle and deformed (curled) leaves and stunted growth.

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Guest Glenn

Thanks Kenny,

I dont have a fertising regime. I just put potting mix in a pot and planted it and water it each day. I did put some seasol on it a couple of times but other than that its on its own.

What food do these things like? I will buy some today and give it aa try but i fear that it will die in the cold of winter anyway regardless.

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In that case it's probably not nitrogen toxicity. I was thinking you were over fertilising with an ammonium based fert.

I doubt it's micronutrient related either. Any other takers?

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Guest Glenn

Could it be bugs eating the new leaves?

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Don't know. Have you seen any pests?

Going out on a limb here... If you are watering everyday, it may be waterlogging the soil. In this situation, unavailable manganic ions are reduced to manganous ion which can be taken up by the plants, thus causing manganese toxicity. Mn toxicity is a funny one because it's symptoms are not uniform from plant to plant. Soybeans will accumulate Mn in the older leaves while Navybeans will accumulate it in the young leaves and as for P. viridis, I don't know.

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Hi Glenn,

looks like Bugs and the color of the lower leaves indicates a small nutrient Problem. I don´t know which particular one. And it couldnt hurt to higher the air humidity. The leaves will be healthier. bye Eg

Edited by Evil Genius

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Guest Glenn

Thanks guys.

The dead looking leaves at the bottom are the original 4 leaves so maybe they just just died of old age :) As you can see i'm no gardener :)

I might just buy a bug spray and some mild fertiliser and see how it goes.

I am also going to build a mini greenhouse around it so hopefully that will protect it in the winter because i cant go hydro indoors.

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hey glenn,

dipel is a great organic product u can use to spray on the leaves to ward of bugs particularly caterpillars. Could it be that ur plant is to cold (being winter) and is weakened against any predatory advances. Viridis are quite sensitive to cold temps, especially at such a young age. Move to a warmer spot and be vigilant against any visual attacks u can see. Maybee implement a low dose dose seasol (seaweed-great for plants recovery and helping enable them to deal with the cold , or heat for that matter)

My viridis seem fairly prone to scale, so maybee take a closer look for those blighters.

Good luck, u will find(i have anyways) that if u get ur young plants through their first winter okay they will do alot better the following winter.

Good luck mate and let us know how they fare.

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Guest Glenn

Thanks a lot Jono. I will get some of that dipel. I dont think its because of the cold weather because the leaves were like that throughout the spring and summer. I'll see how the bug spray goes and hope it makes it through its first winter :)

Cheers

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Hey Glenn,

Your climate/location states Arid. I was about to say up your humidity even before I saw your location. I have had the same problem trying to grow Pv in SW Sydney (but I didn't really try too hard to rectify)....but I think this was my problem.

Cheers...........Bongchitis

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In perth you are unlikely to get a better looking plant unless you have a misted greenhouse. Increase humidity and provide 50-80% shade if you want a perfect plant. Then again, most plants are more potent if they are stressed :wink:

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Guest Glenn

Thanks Torsten :)

So I shouldnt worry that my plant looks feral? I doubt i will go to the trouble of figuring out how to achieve misted humidity in the middle of winter.

Cheers :)

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Guest Øskorei
maybe it is trying to commit suicide?

Why ? because Glenn says he's no gardener ? :drool2:

Anyway mate, I reckon it looks like bugs are def. having a munch. Spend some time looking out at different times of the day or night, establish what they are, then apply a nice natural spray to deter them (not kill them) when they're not on the plant.

Wise words too in relation to climate. No matter low much love you give to some species, they simply won't thrive if your in a zone that's not mirroring that of it's habitat - unless you get building !

All the best, experience is a practical aquisition.

Ø

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I think your bad karma and negativity have had an adverse effect on your plant. Maybe if you change your attitude towards everything your plants will grow healthy and happy.

Just a thought.

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my viridis in Perth looks just like yours! I thought it would make a nice indoor plant but the leaves scar too easily. try the carth it does much better.

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Maybe insulate the bottom of the pot from the ground, it can help quite a bit. Also, the pot it's in seems to be ceramic, which would get nice and warm during the day, but would get bloody freezing at night time too.

If you get frost where you are, you definately need something to shield your plant. I've got 4 viridis that i recieved in April sometime. They are in a non temp controlled hothouse and have survived a few night time temps of about 0 degrees. Enough to put a layer of ice on my windshield. They look a little scraggaly and the new top leaves have curled at the tips a bit, but they are still alive. So it seems fairly inportant to just shield them from the moist cold air ie frost. Carth do definately grow much easier in cold weather tho, mine is still booming in the hothouse. No browning at all.

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Glenn, you can increase local humidity by placing your plant in and amongst many other plants in a sheltered location. Due to the fact that this plant enjoys some shade (per T's respons,) an exposure that provides morning light only in a large grouping of other plants that also like plenty of water will really help this little one. Something about being surrounded by other thriving, living things seems to help also, but maybe I'm just "schizophrenic" for picking up on the intangible :P Just kidding, but not really :lol: Also, those yellowing/drooping lower leaves look to me like over watering. I would decrease the frequency of watering a little for now and apply a light, well balanced liquid fert as previously recommended. All this combined should make it a lot happier.

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Guest Glenn

Thanks Monk.

It currently lives under a bottlebrush that gives it shade and morning light. I just moved it out into the open to take pictures but moved it back. Thanks for the overwatering tip.

Edited by Torsten

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Haha, good to see neither one of us taking ourselves or others too seriously at this juncture :) I'm not sure what other plants you have around, but I think something that is a little more thirsty i.e. bigger, wider, more fleshy, more-apt-to-transpire leaves than a bottle brush may be better for providing local humidity. Think rainy forest floor plants like a P. viridis would be surrounded by in nature. Sort of a shade grown, tropical coffee plantation feel. Do you have a heavily watered area with big leafed lush plants in a corner near a hose bib that leaks a little? I know that's ultra-specific, but I'm trying to convey the feeling of a spot that this plant would like to feel i.e. more touchy-feely-half-naked-hippy-gardner stuff :lol: , which is true, but it works.

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Karma will catch up with you one of these days and then you will regret insulting people in our community little man.

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Aye, tort speaks the truth. While I'd like to say that my viridis is a picture of health, they have actually gone to a better place as I slowly killed them over the course of two years in perth. You really should get one of those mini greenhouses from bunnings, in winter in full sun the moisture in the pot can maintain humidity and in summer with a shade cloth draped over the greenhouse or partial sun... those fuggers get real baking hot in full sun.

Actually, I think the primary reason these fine specimens lived for as long as they did is because I brang them in for winter (this was before I made the greenhouse investment). Viridis is a high maintenance bitch in perth.

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Mine are going strong so far in SW Syd. with absolutely no attention, but who knows how long that will last, I try to give as little attention to my plants as possible as to aclimatize(?) them if they don't survive so be it, and try again. You gotta find that balance where you give them as little attention as possible and get a healthy plant, you would be surprised, I really haven't lost many...plants are pretty resilient life forms

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