Share The Seeds
Gardening Area => Growing questions and answers => Topic started by: Frog Pajamas on February 02, 2014, 04:41:13 PM
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I have a sick looking viridis, and am hoping it is still salvagable. The color is more yellowish than the healthy plants and it has some spotting on the leaves. I sprayed it with a hydrogen peroxide dilution yesterday in the case that it's mold/mildew and quarantined it from the healthy plants so it can't pass it along.
I'll add that I changed from T5 lights to HPS and these guys seemed to prefer the T5. Is too much heat or light a possibility? How hot is too hot for these guys?
Does anyone have any suggestions for what the problem might be or ideas to help it? Thanks.
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Have you done anything to change the soil's pH recently? How soon after you switched from the T5 to the HPS did it begin to look like that? It does look a bit like you're burning the leaves, but it also looks like a reaction to a change in the soil....
Maybe someone with more experience can help you better
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What type of nutrients have you been giving it and how often? Is it root bound in the pot? How much fresh moving air is your grow area exposed to?
Remember viridis is a under story plant, loves the heat but hates strong direct light. This is especially true with young plants and indoor plants.
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I would check the underside of the leaves closely for spidermites. The mottled coloration of the leaves make me think they might be around. TBM might be on to something...check the pH and EC if possible. With the newer leaves showing the most yellowing, it's likely to be due to iron or sulfur deficiency. Both of those are directly tied to soil pH (high pH - Fe deficiency, low pH - sulfur deficiency). Even if those nutrients are abundant in the soil, the plant has trouble taking them up if the pH is off.
On another note... My Psychotrias never look great in the winter, but bounce back nice in the spring.
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Thanks for the replies.
I switched to the HPS about 2 months ago, but I moved the viridis into a terrarium that is in more direct light just a couple weeks ago. I'll move them back out, since burning may be the issue.
This one was up-potted about a month ago and had been doing fine. I haven't added any additional nutrients since then because the potting soil had some in it. What type of nutrients would you guys suggest and how often should I be adding them?
I increased sir flow yesterday and prior to that had been opening the terrarium at least once a day for 15 minutes or so for air exchange.
I'll get a soil test kit today. I don't think I did anything to change the pH, but hey, I'm wet behind the ears when it comes to plants, so it's possible. What is the ideal pH range for these guys?
I looked pretty thoroughly for pests, and all I saw was a water bug. I do know that spider mites are a problem in my area (they destroyed a mint plant last summer despite my best efforts to get rid of them), so I'll look specifically for those.
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Late to the party here, but I'd put your viridis back under the T5's. They don't need a ton of light and HPS is likely FAR too much light to move into suddenly.
P. viridis is an understory plant and often lives it's entire life in pretty deep shade under those rainforest giants. Mimic that and you'll be successful.
Re: Nutrients: Since my plants are large I try not to re-pot if I can help it so I top- and bottom dress the soil with Osmocote and worm castings in the spring. This keeps them happy through our long hot summers. And boy can they pump out the leafage when they are happy! ;)
How's it doing now?
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Well, the one that got totally yellow is alive but not looking well still. A few that had a few leaves that yellowed have put out new green leaves and seem to be recovering.
The HPS is definitely overkill, and while I haven't gotten around to replacing the broken T5 bulb, I have moved them all to an indirect area of light under the leaves of a larger plant. They've also been outdoors in the spring sun for a few hours on days it's been warm enough, and seem to like that quite a bit.
Thanks for the tips and for sharing leaves of these great plants! Really an amazingly generous share.