|
Post by tom on Jun 24, 2006 10:43:17 GMT -5
Hi there, I'm not a Nepenthes expert: my recently acquired Nepenthes gymnamphora is freaking out these days... Stranges symptoms appeared, as yellowing leaves then browning, rust like spot (but the cells under these spots seems to collapse) and a few blacks dots on leaves. None others plants I have show these things. The tissues are still firm at the touch, so it dont look like a type of soft rot... It grow in a terrarium under 2 compact fluo (Fluorex type, 65W each). For the moment I putted it in a shadier spot of the terrarium thinking it could be a light induced stress... Any thoughts on this?
|
|
|
Post by jay on Jun 24, 2006 16:44:36 GMT -5
hi , what is the temp of your growing area , it might be to warm . And what is the soil medium your using ? , you could be cooking it , or the plant might be poisoning it's self , acidic soil mixes tend to hold onto a chemical the nepenthes gives (plumbagiun) , it controls plant growth around it , like its own personal herbicide . If the soil mix is really acid or old this chemical defense could be working against your plant.... It doesn't look fungal at lest in the photos , i could be wrong thought.
jay
|
|
|
Post by tom on Jun 24, 2006 17:07:58 GMT -5
I would say that the temp is around 25 Celsius these days with the hotspell with had, but i've read somewhere that N. gymnamphora is suppposed to withstand heat well in comparison of others highland Nepenthes... Others highlands (N. muluensis x lowii, ephippiata, ramispina, sibuyanensis, petiolata) are growing very well.
Th growing mix is inspired from the one Flytrap (I think) post: about 40% sphagnum, 40% orchid bark, 10% vermicullite, 10% perlite, topped with 1 inch of living sphagnum on top. The pot don't stand in water. Once again, all my Nep are growing in this mix (all highland named in the last paragraph plus a few intermediate and lowland), and none show those signs.
One cper on CPUK suggest that it might be fungus, but i dont see either soft tissue, mycelium or reproductive structure. Unless it would be totally endogenous (?) for all its life cycle, im not sure it could be this... but i want to be sure before doing any fungicide treatment, im not a big fan of the chemical way...
|
|
|
Post by sdeering on Jun 24, 2006 22:37:39 GMT -5
I would guess too much light too. It looks like its getting buds at the main stem, that’s a good sign. I should be getting the same plant next week. I will have a close look at it when it arrives. Stephen
|
|
|
Post by Flytrap on Jul 25, 2006 11:49:34 GMT -5
Hi Tom-
I saw your earlier post on this on the CPUK forum...
I know it's been a month since you posted this, and I had wanted to reply earlier...but was away. Anyways, I hope the plant is still around. I believe it's a bacterial infection and/or a viral infection. Could have been brought on by an infection caused by pest (aphid bite), broken root, infected scissors ... the plant was probably infected by the time you received it. Stress brought in by enclosed humid conditions would 'activate' the worstening of the infection.
In the past, when I had plants like this, I quickly isolated it...take it away from other healthy plants. Take a pair of scissors and disinfect the blades (in a weak solution of bleach), start trimming off all the infected leaves (and into some of the adjacent green leaf...taking care to disinfect the scissor before each new cut/trim). You will end up with a spindly looking stump.
Take the entire plant out of it's medium, trim off some of it's older roots and wash off all media etc... dip the entire plant in a very weak solution of bleach (5% bleach/95% water) for about 10 seconds; rinse of with luke warm water; air dry for about 5 minutes; repot in clean fresh sphagnum and keep in a bright location (no direct sun) with air movement.
I did this to my ampullaria 'cantley's red'. In this case, my amp had succumbed to root rot brought on by my moving home...it had grown used to a nice warm locale in the basement next to the furnace. But when I moved, the ambient temps were lower by at least 10 degree F (from 74F down to 64F average). The plant stopped growing. I had thought it was readjusting to the new environs when (approx. 6 months later) the same sickly looking plant took over.
I trimmed off all the leaves, cleaned it in a weak bleach dilute and dropped it into a sphagnum ball. New green shoots appeared approx. 12 weeks later, and today there are numerous shoots all over the stems.
good luck.
|
|
|
Post by tom on Jul 25, 2006 14:42:18 GMT -5
Back from my fieldtrip with Olivier! Unfortunatly David, it's already too late for the gymnamphora... and by the day we were off for the Reserve Faunique des Laurentides (7 days ago), my talangensis shown a few similar symptoms... Upon my return (today) the plant is almost entirely black, infections seems to came from the roots/stem... Too late for this beautiful fellow too. It's the first time in almost 10 years I have to cope with such losses apparently due to fungi/bacteria... I think I will not have much choice and go for the chemical way to avoid further damage... But even if it's too late, thanks for your post, you have been the ones who gave the more info for now I'll know what to do now Now, back to my Image software so I could be able to spam the forums with image from our fieldtrip by tonight or in the next days
|
|