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Is it Dieing
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Posted by mistymorn Brisbane Qld (My Page) on Fri, Feb 10, 06 at 1:08
What is the matter with my Abutilon ( Chinese lantern ) it looked so pretty last week so I took a couple of Pics.
Then three days later the plant looked like this:
Today it looks even worse I think it is dieing, just out of the blue this happened it is not a old shrub certainly no more than three years. It did have a lot of those small green grasshoppers on it a few weeks back that Hubby and I picked off by hand. I cant work it out no diseases on it that we could see it has just decided to cark it very strange, has this happened to any one else would love to know ...Cheers..MM. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Is it Dieing
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| Abutilons go like this when dry or windblown however they are very susceptible to root rot when they are planted on clayey soil in our hot wet summers - I know this sounds ridiculous in view of our lack of rain but I know that there have been odd showers south of us in your direction. Im near Ipswich and have had absolutely none. Have you been watering it a lot? They do just die virtually overnight if they get root rot. Robyn |
RE: Is it Dieing
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| I used to grow them years ago but with the grasshoppers and root rot I gave it away. They are a beautiful bush. |
RE: Is it Dieing
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| Thanks for that, that would explain it, root rot it is then, it gets watered once a week like the rest of the garden except the jolly roses.. Funny you mention wet as we had that 102mm of rain a few weeks back I live 32 kms south of brissie just before Beenleigh and as it is sitting right at the end of the sloping garden where the brick edge separates the roadbase driveway it got a lot of water as the water could not get away. O well so much for that I wont be planting anything to replace it as yet as the bucket watering looks so real now with no rain since and not much before that either, next time I will pick something that does not mind the occasional huge downpour.....Cheers...MM. |
RE: Is it Dieing
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| That seems to be the trouble with our weather - dry periods followed by heavy rain then dry again. All the recommendations to plant drought hardy plants are fine in the dry periods but they suffer during prolonged wet.
When we had a break in the drought a few years ago many plants died, they survived the extra cold dry winter and then long, hot, dry summer only to die when it did eventually rain and the ground became saturated. But what do you do plant for drought or plant for the occasional long wet. That's nature in Australia I suppose - extremes. |
RE: Is it Dieing
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| Take cuttings, if you can, may get it started again. I find mealies scale and red spider are the finish of them here, but smaller plants than yours. So would have to agree with above comments. Pity, such a nice plant, I love them. |
RE: Is it Dieing
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Too late Alison today it really looks dead. Yes it was a big shrub more than one metre high and wide.
Tomorrow I will dig it out and look at the roots. I find it hard to believe it has gone in one week.
It looked so pretty last weekend thats why I took the pics, thats gardening for you always surprises.
Cheers..MM. |
RE: Is it Dieing
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| Misty-If you want to try another one try planting it on a reasonable slope. I now have them growing on a bank and have not lost any since the early ones which were on dead flat ground. And as Alison says they are very easy to grow from cuttings if you can get some. I carried cuttings back from Melbourne in the car and had 90% success rate. Robyn |
RE: Is it Dieing
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| Thanks Robyn for that tip...I will give it a miss for now maybe later on in the year...Cheers..MM. |
RE: Is it Dieing
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how bizarre (and unfortunate), so MM did you dig it up and see any causes?
Its an interesting dilema indeed. |
RE: Is it Dieing
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Yes Hubby dug it up for me yesterday ( Iam on light duties bad back ) The ground was very moist
He said it had a type of mildew on the roots, but they had formed outward as well as downward.
Maybe too much clay so perhaps waterlogged as well due to weekly watering.....Cheers..MM. |
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