Post by hcarlton on May 20, 2018 21:15:19 GMT -5
So, this is recurring every spring and I'm getting sick of losing 1-3 dozen plants or more every year, especially some of my favorites, so hoping I can get some help...
Sometimes it's after repotting a plant, or just happens to be some random one that's had its trim of dead stuff, but every year I end up with a handful of plants that begin rotting either right where the growth points meet the main rhizome or in the region where either old dead leaves were removed or the very oldest leaves are still present, more often on the soil side of the rhizome than the top but not always. The rot typically spreads from the outer rim of the rhizome straight through the middle, then progresses into the older rhizome and the crown. It might appear very shortly after trimming the plant, or weeks later after they've gone outside and perhaps more prominently when a cold front comes by, but always seems to progress in the exact same manner. The plants invariably wake up every "spring" (late winter really) long before I'm able to put them outside, so I know that stresses them somewhat (I try to help this by putting them near the basement windows and setting up what lights I have downstairs), but the majority all seem to do just fine and it's just random plants that fall. Sulfur seems to do little to prevent it, the systemic fungicide I have currently does little other than weaken the plants, make the leaves rust and old parts of the rhizome die when they're finally in the sun, and only very rarely does just removing the rotted portion or changing soil seem to ever be able to save the plants that it occurs on. Additionally, I doubt it's Botrytis since visible mold only rarely show up, usually when plants are still indoors and after a fair portion of the plant has rotted, but otherwise I have no clue the culprit or what other method I can use to treat or prevent this.
Sometimes it's after repotting a plant, or just happens to be some random one that's had its trim of dead stuff, but every year I end up with a handful of plants that begin rotting either right where the growth points meet the main rhizome or in the region where either old dead leaves were removed or the very oldest leaves are still present, more often on the soil side of the rhizome than the top but not always. The rot typically spreads from the outer rim of the rhizome straight through the middle, then progresses into the older rhizome and the crown. It might appear very shortly after trimming the plant, or weeks later after they've gone outside and perhaps more prominently when a cold front comes by, but always seems to progress in the exact same manner. The plants invariably wake up every "spring" (late winter really) long before I'm able to put them outside, so I know that stresses them somewhat (I try to help this by putting them near the basement windows and setting up what lights I have downstairs), but the majority all seem to do just fine and it's just random plants that fall. Sulfur seems to do little to prevent it, the systemic fungicide I have currently does little other than weaken the plants, make the leaves rust and old parts of the rhizome die when they're finally in the sun, and only very rarely does just removing the rotted portion or changing soil seem to ever be able to save the plants that it occurs on. Additionally, I doubt it's Botrytis since visible mold only rarely show up, usually when plants are still indoors and after a fair portion of the plant has rotted, but otherwise I have no clue the culprit or what other method I can use to treat or prevent this.