Log in

View Full Version : Fungis among Us?


mbfirey
10-02-2009, 04:03 PM
I've had 4 small starter plants I got from an Ebay seller- and they all have some problems and I'm wondering if it's some sort of disease or fungus. I ordered an Alocasia Portadora, Musa Basjoo, Black Ruffles EE, and an ensete.
They all looked decent when they came in- the only concern was that the basjoo had a few brown spots. The EE had a shriveled leaf but I thought it was normal transplant shock. I sprayed the Basjoo with a Neem fungicide.

Now roughly 1 month later the plants are in the following condition:
I
1.The Basjoo still has some brown spots on the leaves and stem actually bigger spots- though the plant itself has gotten bigger.
2.The Portadora keeps putting out new leaves but these quickly develope white spots- and eventually the leaf dies. Right now it has 2 with severe spots and a new one coming up.
3.The Black ruffles is worst off- it, at the moment has no good leaves, it seemed that every time it sent out a new one the previous one shriveled up. It's about to put out another but they seem to be smaller each time, not bigger, as one would expect.
4.The Ensete is best off though some of it's leaves do have some browning similar to the basjoo.

As far as care I've given- they were all repotted right after arrival in 6" pots with potting soil straight out of the bag. I kept them in shade for the first few days- they're now outside in the sun. I haven't over watered or used extra fertilizer.
My biggest fault with plants is over-car but I know it's got to be something else because there are problems with all 4 plants. Also the EE is worst off and it's literally impossible to overwater an EE (as they can be grown as aquatics.)
Any Ideas as to what to do or what could be wrong?

planetrj
10-02-2009, 04:13 PM
I am glad to hear that someone is bringing up this issue again.

This is my concern, and there is a couple of the most BASIC rules that should be followed on ALL incoming, especially since there's an uprising again of fusarium, phomas and other fungus, and Bananas are no exception.

1) Isolate each and every incoming plant for at least 4-6 months and keep notes on it's growth habits and any irregularities on the phytostem and the foliage.

2) HIGHLY RECOMMEND - Go to your local Hort. College extension and have them test soil samples from the 4 corners and center of your property for soil disease. If you test out positive for anything that can affect whatever you're growing, you know you should keep all of them in pots and elevated at least 6 inches from ground water or soil.

3) Dispose of or mulch pile any decaying matter. Don't let your musa's phytostem rot in the mat. This is a great home for fungus and harmful nematodes. However, it also makes a highly nutrient rich mulch...so don't throw it away!

There's so many other things that need be mentioned, including soil pH tests, nutrients and possible chemicals to use, but as a start, these three things will help keep away most of the 'nasties'. :)

mbfirey
10-02-2009, 05:03 PM
As far as care I've given- they were all repotted right after arrival in 6" pots with potting soil straight out of the bag.
These weren't planted in the ground and are still in the post- no organic matter from anywhere else. Just the soil they came with and some potting soil from a brand new bag.

planetrj
10-03-2009, 02:19 AM
These weren't planted in the ground and are still in the post- no organic matter from anywhere else. Just the soil they came with and some potting soil from a brand new bag.


That makes sense, and completely understood... I think a good thing to do is always keep these isolated from the rest of your healthy stock, just in case they have a fungal or other issue, so it doesn't infect your healthy stock.

In your situation, it seems that what you may have is something that was pre-existing. A couple great solutions for this can be to treat them with liquid Copper and Sulphur fungicide to begin with. Then, check your pH to see if you are in the correct zone. Sometimes wrong pH can look like illness. Also, flushing the soil can help a bit too.

Good luck!

mbfirey
10-03-2009, 06:47 AM
Good Idea I figured I might have needed something stronger than the Neem.
I'm guessing since they all came from the same seller in the same package, and the basjoo had a those spots- it's probably be from the seller or the packaging- I've sent an email but no response yet. I already left good feedback, that's the thing with ebay and plants- it takes at least a month to see what you've really got. So many "bad" signs can be mis-attributed to "transplant/shipping shock).

planetrj
10-03-2009, 01:32 PM
stronger than the Neem.

..."bad" signs can be mis-attributed to "transplant/shipping shock

I like to use Neem and Tea Tree Oils when I can, because I have pets. I really don't like to use anything stronger than what's safe. I pretty much say 'ics-nay' on Ortho products altogether.

I wish more people thought like you..
You see, I don't believe that anyone would intentionally send out diseased stock, unless they have a vendetta out for you personally..lol!
However, I know that many (if not most) sellers on ebay don't even know what a viral or fungal infection looks like if it hit them square in the jaw. For this reason, I wouldn't really blame the casual seller of the end results. I would chock it up to the discount we get, lack of business license, agri license, phyto cert's, hort. degree, and overhead that we all have to pay for with the larger commercial growers. It's really a roulette wheel when it comes down to buying off ebay. I can tell you I haven't bought bananas from ebay in 6 years, because the last time I did, I got a Basjoo when it was supposed to be a FHIA 2. Frustrating as it was for me, I waited 20 months to find out it wasn't when it had it's inflorescence. I can only imagine how heartwrenching it would be for someone who lives in the north, where they may wait 3 or 4 years before seeing fruit.
So, the bottom line, is we should always be careful when introducing new stock, and always keep an 'isolation area' for all incoming plants so we can keep a closer eye on them and know when to hold 'em, and know when to throw 'em. ;)

mbfirey
10-03-2009, 01:51 PM
Yeah, I hope they all just survive- the neems says treat for 7 days... so it will still be a couple till then. They'll hopefully grow till it passes.
I''m glad I didn't put them in the ground...