What happened to the plants?

[cindy]

Both plants are side by side and became like this at the same time. Interesting, the N. x bauensis basal is not affected and remains uniformly green (2nd photo, bottom middle).

N. x bauensis




N. 'Viking'

[sockhom]

Hi Cindy,

It could be a fungus?


François.

[Dave Evans]

Hello Cindy,

Could you give a brief history about these plants? I looks like they are having a problem but what, I can't tell from just the photos...

Have they been making pitchers?

[cindy]

Both have been making pitchers. The bauensis is continuing making pitchers but the viking has stopped. But it could be the lack of light at my balcony this season.

[kentosaurs]

Hi Cindy

Lack of light???Mine is getting direct sunlight everyday...wait a minute well depends where your balcony is facing.Lack of sunlight does not cause discolouration like that.If it wasn't for the wilting leaves you would have thought that your plants mutated and became variegated neps.

Ken

[cindy]

Ken, I was replying to Dave's question. The inclusion of "lack of light" was to explain why my viking plant stopped making pitchers. Perhaps I should have elaborated.

[wijaya]

Hi Cindy,

I had the same problem with my vikings, one had died at start the leaf turned yellow then it turn brown like sun burnt. I check with a friend in Thailand and he said it is called "chlorosis" lack of some micronutrients. I have another one still not recovering.

I am thinking of adding amino acid to it, any ideas of this will help or not, please do give some input on curing this.

It attacked only to vikings and mirabilis???

Ed

[rainforest]

It may be a combination of problems, perhaps stemming all from one effect of the other.

First, get a hand lens and look for mites. While there doesn't seem to be any new shoot deformities, the dusty wrinkled appearance can be due to mites. The fungus or bacterial infection may be secondary from the mite damage.

I would definitely check the root system and see if roots are healthy-intact.
Since the chlorosis is extra veinal, this would suggest that the roots are not absorbing enough of something. Either the media has a toxicity or deficiency problem.

What is your fertilizing regime? How often do you fertilize and at what strengths?
Out of curiosity, when you water with plain water, do you encounter a disinfectant-like smell coming out with the water from drain holes?

M

[cindy]

Ed, your vikings are like that all the time or only recently? For me it is odd that bothe plants started the same "chlorosis" around the same time.

Thanks, Michael. I'll take a good look at the plant tomorrow to check for mites and if there is any problems at the roots.

[wijaya]

Michael: I supposed I will do the checking as well.

cindy: nope, those plants were well at first even already making pitcher and just suddenly turned yellow, I have tried changing media and move them around. Of the plants infected, two dead, several growing new basals and the old stem just died off, some still stuck until now, one recovered with two deformed leafs made then I noticed now this particular one already making the regular leaf so it looks like this one already recovered.

Plants infected: globosa, bical x globosa, mirabilis x rafflesiana, mirabilis, mirabilis echinostoma and ampullaria.

Hope this help.

Ed

[nepenthesfreak]

Didn't something similar happen to your truncata? I remember the debate on that issue and I think the conclusion was it was from too much water. Not sure though.

[cindy]

Was that the thread on pitcherplants@proboards? Thanks for reminding me, nepenthesfreak. That truncata belonged to a friend so I didn't think of reading the thread when my own plants became like that. Hmmm.....I started that thread on 5 October last year and this thread on 15 October. Seems that there is something during this season that caused the leaves to become "variagated"!

Recently, I found more of my plants in the same condition. N. bicalcarata, N. x Emmarene, N. gracilis, N. truncata x veitchii and a couple of others. Some of them already have new leaves which are uniformly green so I missed them out when I saw the discolouration on the N. Viking and N. x bauensis. All of them are along the parapet at my balcony.

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Latest update! I just checked with my friend via SMS who owned that truncata. During the same period last year there was refurbishment of his apartment block. And my place had that a few month ago too! So it is the chemicals released from the paint used on the exterior wall!!! OMG

[cindy]

N. bicalcarata

[wijaya]

Hi, I just carefully checked on my neps and I tried to change media on some of them, when I checked the roots still in tact and normal looking, also no particular mites/bugs in media.

Probably it is something else, I am thinking of probably something else that give this kind of yellowing leafs, I used the ground water for all my watering and lately it had been raining a lot, might be contaminated with something? As Cindy mentioned about apartment refurbishment, then will that be cement? paint? or any other things?

It is quite frustating seeing the healthy green plants suddenly turned yellow, you can tell even in the dark the yellow is so bright for lol.

Any senior growers ever had this happened before?

Ed

[Dave Evans]

Oct 23, 2008 18:42:56 GMT -10 cindy said:

Latest update! I just checked with my friend via SMS who owned that truncata. During the same period last year there was refurbishment of his apartment block. And my place had that a few month ago too! So it is the chemicals released from the paint used on the exterior wall!!! OMG

Wow, sounds like a possibility, considering how many plants have been affected... Chinese paint by chance? If that is the culpirit, I wonder what it does to the human liver...