how to deal with heat stress??

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smartie2000

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I'm having some phrag problems right now.

My two growth Phrag popowi (warscewiczianum) has lost many leaves recently. Leaves I had to pull off since they were rotting from the base. I think the oldest growth only has two leaves now, but the newer growth hasn't rotted yet. I am thinking it is from the heat we are getting since I only get this rot when there is a hot day. It's growing in a mixture of sphag and different rocks and gravel. It was growing so fast when I got it, but now it seems unhappy.

My wallisi doesn't have any problems. It is growing in medium bark.

Phrag Jersey (or besseae, whatever) has sent growths. one growth has died, second one soon to be rotted, but it is sending a third one. I'm not 100% sure if it is heat related on this one. If I don't correct it soon it will run out of places to send new growths. It's growing in sphag.

All three plants were on the same end of the shop light. My other phrags haven't had any problems, they are also on the same shoplight but closer to the middle. All phrags also sit near the humidifier.

How do you deal with this rotting?
More air movement? I can place them closer to the muffin fan.

For now I have taken these two phrags out from underlights (they were underlights, near the humdifier, a muffin fan was installed on the other end of shop light) and it will be sitting next to a opened window for now to give it some air circulation. I'm leaving for over a week vaccation in a day.
My plants will be under someone elses care who hasn't aquired a greenthumb yet. The rest of my plants will be set up underlights in my closet with a humidifier, fans turned off so he doesn't have to water all my plants.
 
Not sure what your growing area looks like, but I would probably increase your airflow. A muffin fan is pretty small.

I would also remove ANYTHING with any hint of rot. I say this mostly because you are going away. Rot can spread like wildfire. With you not there to watch, removing the affected areas and dusting with cinnamon should help some. If there's any way you can instruct the person who will be caring for them on what rot looks like, so they can remove anything in your stead that might arise, I'd make sure they can identify it.

Sounds like you have already isolated them and increased the air flow so that's a step in the right direction.

FWIW, popowii is known for this problem and besseaes don't like it warm and wet (in my experience) they start to ooze...
 
I just got PHYSAN 20 (I was told it is illegal in Canada too for some reason) but I have never used it before. Are phrags sensitive to this stuff?
 
heat stress?

Hi Fren,

I think Heather is on the right track here. Although it has been warm (75'F) the last few days in the greenhouse I think that the high humidity with all the rain lately and your small fan are contributing to your rot problem. You also need to watch with sphagnum because its good until all of a sudden it compacts and rots in fairly short order. I use a 16" fan in an 8X8 greenhouse running on high speed right through the summer and the plants love it.

Jack
 
thanks for the quick responses. I will have to go to work soon. I can also pick up some cinnamin there.

The reason why I grow it sphag is b/c I thought they liked an acidic environment. My water is very alkaline so I decided on sphag since I don't get to use RO water all the time. Most of my other phrags are in sphag too like euca-bess (they are all hybrids). I actually don'y know why I don't use RO water since I do have it at home, maybe I'll start when I get my kovachii since they are so expensive. I gotta fix this mess up so that I can also grow kovachii properly too, they are cool growers too...

I should probably repot my popowii soon but I keep forgetting. I think the mix is not very good more me, but good for the previous owner. I thought wallisi was in a growing in a bark mixture that I thought was too coarse but it is sending roots like mad, and very happy. I hope popowii can do that too.

I hope to read more responses too tonight

I also found a local source for hydroponics finally too, if it is a technique that may potenially work better
 
Physan 20 on Phrags

Hi Fren,

You can use physan on adult phrags at a rate of 1 tablespoon(15ml) per 20 gallons of water. Soak entire plant for 10 minutes. Repot in physan soaked new compost. This is what I do for rot. Seedlings however are hit and miss. Some do not like physan at all. (Kovachii for instance). You can use it at a rate of 2 tablespoons per 20 gallons as a preventative spray once a month on adults.
 
All my phrags loved spag. though I recently turned them over to s/h. Your problem, Fren, like the others have said is the combination of the heat, lack of air movement and humidity/water acting together to create rot. These 3 components acting together are what's causing your problem. Up the air flow, and try to not let water sit in the leaf axils. I grew them all in spag and never had rot problems, but I've got very good air movement.

For heat stress in the summer, today is supposed to be 104, so it will most likely get into the low to mid 90's in my greenhouse....I add some Protekt to my watering. It's made by Dynagrow and is formulated for stress protection. Can't prove it does anything, but my plants handle the high temps. well... This won't help your rot issue however, and I'd guess once you make some corrections your plants will be happier.
 
Besseae like to be cool. You can try putting it into a clay pot. The evaporation from the pot will help to cool the root zone. Up the air rate to increase the evaporation rate (and cooling).

Kyle
 
I just got PHYSAN 20 (I was told it is illegal in Canada too for some reason) but I have never used it before. Are phrags sensitive to this stuff?

I don't understand the reasoning here.
You said it is heat stress, so why do you want to use PHYSAN. Does this stuff cool the plants?
 
Sorry Hien,
Physan 20 was for just incase the the rot on the popowii was fungal/bacterial.
I forgot to pick up cinnamin because I was too concentrated on work...oh well
 
I use physan only when I've got a leaf w/ rot, a few drops in a 1/2 gallon of water combined w/ a few drops of OGW Dragon's blood. I used to clean w/ physan and the fumes can be very nasty, but it works. BTW it's illegal in NYC also!
 
Physan 20 dosage

Hi Fren,

I did not read my own post on dosage yesterday and its wrong. Its 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of physan 20 per gallon of water. Without seeing a picture it is immpossible to say for sure that it is rot but using the physan will not hurt the plant but may save it. Sorry about the haywire dosage but if you've already mixed it just use it for watering water. It will be fine.

Jack
 
RIP Phrag popowii
when I got home the first fan had already rotted, and then also the second one... I decided to dump it. I still have phrag wallisii to keep me satisfied.

I heard that the days here were very hot too. The garden plants in the yard have been fried, including one cyp parviflorum that was not watered. It will live but has lost some growths.

And phrag besseae/Jersey is starting a new leaf in a growth that looked like it was dying. Its probably happier next to the opened window.

I need to get dragons blood now, reading its success. I also read not to pull leaves off, but to cut, in another thread with similar issues. I've been pulling leaves...
 
sorry to hear you lost them.
yeh, the cutting vs pulling is absolulely correct as the surface will be able to heal itself more easily than a ripped surface.
i think that if you only have one little fan then there isn't nearly enough air circulation. if you stick with muffin fans, i'd add two or three of them...
 
yeh, the cutting vs pulling is absolulely correct as the surface will be able to heal itself more easily than a ripped surface.
I disagree, I have lost plants to cutting. If you can cut to retain a leaf, i.e. only a section is damaged, do that and then treat the cut edge. I use Captan, better living thru chemistry. If the whole leaf is damaged or dead then I pull them off at the base. P.S. Glenn Decker taught me this.
 
I think Fren was referring to a post I made about treating infected tissue with Dragon's Blood. I recommended not to pull off a leaf that was infected near the base but rather to cut it and then split it open to let in air and treatment. The idea is to not cause any tissue damage to the adjoining leaves by tearing off the damaged leaf which could cause an infection to spread more easily. After the cut leaf has dried out it should be removed from the base by pulling it off.

Leaves that are dead or dying on a healthy plant should be removed by pulling them off and not by cutting.
 
Wow! I am glad that you cleared that up. I have been pulling leaves for years, and never had a problem. But, only older leaves. My first problem started this spring when I repotted my 'Cardinale.' New growth started to die back. I am now treating with Phyton. I don't know much about the DB, however it looks like I will need to add it to my arsenal.

C
 
Wow! I am glad that you cleared that up. I have been pulling leaves for years, and never had a problem. But, only older leaves. My first problem started this spring when I repotted my 'Cardinale.' New growth started to die back. I am now treating with Phyton. I don't know much about the DB, however it looks like I will need to add it to my arsenal.

C

Dragon's Blood is proving to be very effective in treating bacterial infections. It has zero negative environmental effects and causes no damage to plant tissue unlike Phyton or Physan or other dangerous synthetic compounds.
 
I disagree, I have lost plants to cutting. If you can cut to retain a leaf, i.e. only a section is damaged, do that and then treat the cut edge. I use Captan, better living thru chemistry. If the whole leaf is damaged or dead then I pull them off at the base. P.S. Glenn Decker taught me this.

you wanna take this outside? i mean, um....
i agree that it should be cut if it's only part of a leaf and to pull off dead/damaged leaves. the only time i don't is when i'm afraid i'll break off the crown from the roots...
sometimes i rip a leaf down the middle and pull them off to make it easier to take them off each side.
if you cut, though, it is important to sterilize the cutting tools between plants.
 

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