Leonotis leonurus turning yellow

[prier]

i've been growing Leonotis leonurus for over a year now quite well and have not run into any problem up until now.

I just recently bought another wild dagga plant (a really nice one too) from a nursery, and since i've had it, the bottom leaves have been turning yellow and dropping off and it doesn't appear to be stopping. the only thing i've done to it is simply repot since i got it and i've been watering, feeding and putting it in the same area as my other wild dagga plants which are doing really well. i'll post up some photos as soon as i find somewhere that will let me upload things (i use the internet at the library at the moment).

does anyone here have any idea what might be wrong?

[apothecary]

I ordered 2 from SAB at the end of last season. 2 small clay pots housed them.

They went well for a while, then began yellowing.

I potted one up (the other succumbed badly to red mites and had to go) this spring and it began powering along.

It began yellowing again recently too, but at the same time it is now flowering.

They were always well fed and in good conditions (as attested by consistent and constant new growth), the yellowing is unexpected.

I also want answer!

[Torsten]

They tend to rot from the top down in cool wet conditions. sometimes even in warm wet conditions. Maybe keep the water off their leaves until they get older.

[prier]

cheers, so when it rains should i be bringing it inside? also it's started to go to flower will this yellowing make any difference to how it flowers, i mean will it be to stressed to flower properly?

[Torsten]

its a tough plant. a bit of yellow won't hurt it. Keeping the rain off during the cooler damp months might be a good idea.

[Qhorakuna tantani]

My plant is doing a very similar thing except it is also yellowing and browning at the end of main stems and they are drying up and folding over... I have been using a foliar fertilizer so I will stop that now... thanks for the info. It also seems to have a little bit of browny coloured, mold i guess it would be, on the main stems mostly at the tops... could this also be caused by foliar feeding?

[Torsten]

Not providing any cultivation help for people who haven't filled in their 'climate/location' field in their profile, or provide relevant details in their posts. obviously these symptoms would have totally different causes in the northern hemisphere compared to southern, or victoria compared to far north Qld. Providing such basic information is an essential courtesy when expecting help from others.

[Qhorakuna tantani]

I'll assume you don't mean just me... I'm sorry I haven't filled mine out I didn't think about how useful it is until you brought it to my attention and your right, I should mention where I live.

I'm in South Australia and have only had the plant since late autumn and it hasn't been all that cold while I've had it. It has really only had these symptoms since I've put it in the ground and been foliar feeding with an organic seaweed fertilizer so I had come to the conclusion that that was the problem and had stopped before I made my post anyway.

[Torsten]

I'll assume you don't mean just me.

Not in general, no, but certainly in this instance.

I'm sorry I haven't filled mine out I didn't think about how useful it is until you brought it to my attention

No time like the present.

I'm in South Australia and have only had the plant since late autumn and it hasn't been all that cold while I've had it. It has really only had these symptoms since I've put it in the ground and been foliar feeding with an organic seaweed fertilizer so I had come to the conclusion that that was the problem and had stopped before I made my post anyway.

In SA I doubt it would be humidity , so I hink it is more likely to be winter cold or foliar fungus. They can handle the lightest of frosts, but no more. And only an occasional one. So if you get a few of these then expect it to die back in winter. Light frosts won't kill it, but it will have to start from the base up every year. Foliar feeding is never a good idea with plants from arid areas. It encourages fungi.

[Qhorakuna tantani]

Yea didn't think the overwhelming SA humidity would be a major factor...

I haven't had the plant in winter at all and I don't think there has been much, if any frost since I've had it and since the symptoms only arose after I started foliar feeding... I'll put it down to that. Just on the location thing... maybe I'm just a little paranoid. :ph34r: Do you know if the SA climate is classed as temperate or mediterranean?

[Torsten]

Just on the location thing... maybe I'm just a little paranoid. :ph34r: Do you know if the SA climate is classed as temperate or mediterranean?

LOL. You can use a nearby location with similar climate features if you don't want to use your real location. What's the difference between temperate and mediteranean? Do you get frost?

[Qhorakuna tantani]

I get very little frost where I am... usually only occuring in the mornings. I have googled the climates and a some places say that SA is mediterranean and others say temperate. I looked it up on a government climate site and they list where I am as temperate with "distinctly dry and warm summer." Now I know what climate I'm in... so it should be all good so long as the polar caps don't melt too much faster. Sorry about the hijack btw.

[prier]

back on the subject. i've been keeping it out of the rain and the leaves are still turning yellow and dropping off, is there something else i could be doing wrong? i'm really worried its going to die.

[Happy Cadaver]

Give it some fertiliser. They are pretty sensitive to under fertilising from experience. Drop a teaspoon of osmocote around it.

[AndyAmine.]

I jst had this happen and it was through a case a really bad red siper mite and some other little black dots.. maybe black spider mites? buggers can be hard to see sometimes.

I decided to cut it down to the base and start again.

[Torsten]

any chance of a picture?

is it in full sun? have you checked for spidermite?

[prier]

Different plant same problem, first photo is of a healthy plant being grown in exactly the same conditions as the second plant (unhealthy).

It's damn confusing when you use one method for several of the same plant yet they all turn out differently.

[planthelper]

i haven't read the whole topic again, but as darcy said and proly others aswell, you have to fertilize, this yellow means nitrogen defiecency, and other nutes are lacking too.

use liquid fert or pellets or whatever, but don't give too much fert, starved plants hate the sudden change...

that some of them are still more green doesn't mean much, even those ones could look much better.

often this happens if the potting mix is a cheap crappy one, the woodchips need nitrogen to break down, and as such even compete with your poor plant for the same, and the chips are winning.

as this is an ongoing problem, your best shot might be osmocote or similar.

[transDiMenTional]

ok im confused! The plants that I have which i thought was wild dagga (seeds from free stuff thread i think) looks nothing like the plant in the picture!

Mine have much more heart shaped leaves than that..

Can anyone explain this to me?

edit: heres a pic of the flowers.. No picture of the leaves unfortuantly..

Edited May 15, 2006 by Alice Dee

[prier]

Your dagga looks like Leonotis Nepetifolia where is mine are Leonotis Leonurus.

Here's another one of my (unhealthy) plants.

[Rev]

i think its just the normal semi deciduous habit of LN in cooler climes

its happenning here and no sign of unhealthiness in the wood

IMO

temperate is summer rain with a wet or dry but cold winter

cold is the limiting factor to growth

mediterranean is a hot dry summer and cool wet winter

drought is the limiting factor to growth

temperate is most of seaboard NSW, vic and Tas

meditarreanean is parts of Vic , SA and SW WA

in general....