Argyreia nervosa woes..

[ErraneousHerbalist]

Hey,

Recently I bought a bunch of seeds and co from SAB and they arrived this week. *confetti* But the HBWR I bought isn't doing so well. I've re-potted it; thought about a humidity dome but can't find altogether that much info except trips reports rofl.

The issue is that the leaves appear to be losing their chlorophyll and eventually die. The second leaf died today

Please tell me what to do with this baby, I am at a loss at what to do.

Here's some images of her:

All of her foliage:

Edited November 7, 2011 by ErraneousHerbalist

[santiago]

Looks fine, just needs a water. Put it in the ground.

[ErraneousHerbalist]

Well.. I feel stupid... In my head ---> "You idiot!"

[poisonshroom]

Maybe its a bit sunburned. Where is it growing? In the wild they usually germinate under the trees they are going to grow up (but I have seen them growing in quite exposed locations too), so they can tolerate a bit of shade when they are young (full sun when they are adults though, or they wont flower). A humidity dome of some kind may help.

Whats the temperature and humidity like where you are at the moment?

[H.E. Pennypacker]

What kind of soil is it in? How many times have you watered it? You sure that's all dirt on the leaves and not spider mite?

The tiny white spots looks like it's spider mites to me, the mottling and leaf dropping looks like it stems from too much water, not too little. But that's about all I can say, you should post a little more about the growing conditions she's in, as much as you can, always makes answering easier.

[santiago]

Do they regrow from dormancy? I have seen some that die totally off but then magically sprout from base. Im pretty sure the ones i have seen were dead from a cold Perth winter...still hopeful of a regrow still no action mid spring for those puppies. Think perth just aint the natural place, greenhouses and specialty enviroments aside.

[ErraneousHerbalist]

Maybe its a bit sunburned. Where is it growing? In the wild they usually germinate under the trees they are going to grow up (but I have seen them growing in quite exposed locations too), so they can tolerate a bit of shade when they are young (full sun when they are adults though, or they wont flower). A humidity dome of some kind may help.

Whats the temperature and humidity like where you are at the moment?

 

Temps are going up to 27-9*C lows of 19*C; at the moment current humidity is 83%. It's growing in a shaded but well lit area.

What kind of soil is it in? How many times have you watered it? You sure that's all dirt on the leaves and not spider mite?

The tiny white spots looks like it's spider mites to me, the mottling and leaf dropping looks like it stems from too much water, not too little. But that's about all I can say, you should post a little more about the growing conditions she's in, as much as you can, always makes answering easier.

 

It's in a soil that if I remember rightly is a mix of premium potting mix and perlite. It's watered once per day and does not seem to require any more. I don't want to over water it. Yes, it's definitely dirt. It was on my hands from sorting a different plant out before I took the pictures.

Current growing conditions are: In a shaded well-lit area, it may get around an hour of direct sunlight during the day mind. Soil is never completely dry, nor soaked.

Edited November 2, 2011 by ErraneousHerbalist

[poisonshroom]

Well sounds like the conditions are right. Maybe it is mites like pennypacker suggested. If you have a magnifying glass you may be able to see the little buggers.

Santiago - perth is definitely out of their preferred habitat. They are pretty tough though, and I think they do regrow from seemingly dead plants. I had a cutting that that was growing in a little pot that fell over and was half forgotten about, which kept getting whipper-snipped and mowed, and it looked dead a lot of the time, but every now and then Id notice a new leaf or two on it, so I wouldnt doubt it. As long as there is green (living) stem, even if its under ground, then its not unlikely.

[2Deep2Handle]

the only thing i can add is i agree Pennypacker...looks like old spider /two spotted mite damage. Looks old though, and if you keep em wet, i doubt this will remain a prblem.

Temp has never been a prob for me and my 7 agreiyas copped a mad frost last season...all were young cuttings...2 boomed on and are now full sized vines, and the other 5 lost all their leafs over winter and looked like abused stalks until about 4 weeks ago.

try and blast the undersides of each leaf whilst you hold them in your hand when your watering, and this will keep any mite populations very unhappy....water once every 3 days....Gold Coast climate

I started them under some shade cloth in with all my bromiliads and they loved it.

They get rootbound fast. And the ones i let get root bounds are the ones that went into dormancy.

2Deep

[2Deep2Handle]

And if you do discover it is indeed some sort of mite, Yates tomato dust is awesome for everything and is considered organic and safe. Combination of Sulfur and Copper and Spinosad, so tackles fungus, bacterial disease, and creepy crawlies (who are supposedly slowly becoming immune to the spinosad)

Steer clear of other brands , especially David Grays, as most other brands still contain Carbaryl (nasty ass stuff and should only be used for the Cycad moth/beetle when new flushes of growth appear on cycads) Powdered Carbyl is incredibly dangerous without correct respiration-mask. It is however, the only known effective target against the larvae of

Many other brands (including David Gray's) Also contains rotenone, another one that is getting a bit of bad publicity lately as another nasty.

Edited November 2, 2011 by 2Deep2Handle

[ErraneousHerbalist]

Thanks for the top-notch info! Upon closer inspection on the bottom of the leave there are small black dots, I'll have a look with a magnifying glass when I find one. Also it seems that it is oozing a white froth from below one of the leaves and on the main trunk.

[Zaka]

Irie,

I second or third that!

Spider mites!

Respect,

Z

[H.E. Pennypacker]

I always use a little Bayer Masai for spider mites, sometimes coupled with Pyrethrum to really tire and weed them out. Watering sounds alright if the soil doesn't get too wet, you probably have a better grasp of how much water it needs than me anyways.

[2Deep2Handle]

The black dots, if not actually alive, sound more like the dropping of fungas gnats, which are a form of fruit fly that lay their eggs in the soil up to an inch deep.

They are not usually problematic for established plants, but their lave feed on roots, and can greatly damage and even kill young plants.

They feed on organic material, and wet rich soils are almost impossible to keep em out of.

Pots with 1 inch of fine sand in bottom and 1 inch on top will stop the adults getting into the soil to lay the lavae.

Dry and let the soil dry out a little.

Spider mites if you let get to too dry and fungas gnats if too wet.

Damed if you do and damned if you don't

Look for little mini fruit fly things flying round the base of the plant and soughta rough the top inch of the soil to see if you can spot any running round.

Neem is the only chem/solution i have ever even had relative success with gnats.

[2Deep2Handle]

ow and ty for the heads up H.E. Pennypacker...I will try the Masai next time my precious brugs get infested with "moving red carpet syndrome

Edited November 5, 2011 by 2Deep2Handle

[ErraneousHerbalist]

Hey there, the plant definitely has spittlebugs could these have caused this? Or is it a combo of fungus gnats/spittlebugs?

[DarkSpark]

Thanks for the top-notch info! Upon closer inspection on the bottom of the leave there are small black dots, I'll have a look with a magnifying glass when I find one. Also it seems that it is oozing a white froth from below one of the leaves and on the main trunk.

 

White froth ? see if it brushes off. mine had mealy bugs not long ago, they are like little furry oval shaped bugs that crowd around the nodes.

Irie,

I second or third that!

Spider mites!

Respect,

Z

 

yup bastards, the leaves getting spots of the wrong color are spidermite damage, it is a very obvious type of attack as you get little spots where the color is "sucked" from the plant by the bugs, although in my experience they are red so should be little red bugs.

Hey there, the plant definitely has spittlebugs could these have caused this? Or is it a combo of fungus gnats/spittlebugs?

 

Gnats atack the roots, well their larvae do so the damage yo uare seeing isn't gnats. gnats will kill the root system of the plant whereas mites will suck the life from the leaves. i spray my leaves with water then rub them all pretty vigorously and this smushes all the bugs and kills them *insert evil laugh here* i often add neem to my spray bottle to help out a bit too.

what 2 deep was saying is taht just spraying them with water and keeping the leaves moist is enough to get rid of spider mites. They drown, bastards hate water. and with HBWR there is so such thing as too much water !

Edited November 7, 2011 by DarkSpark