mrhappyrotter
Grand Chupacabra
Short version:
I've had several Phrag. Jason Fischer x Beauports for almost 10 years, that suffered from constant and severe leaf tip die back. Leaves would turn brown and dry out to the point that entire leaves would die. I've tried many, many remedies under the assumption of issues like too much fertilizer, nutrient imbalance, too little water and too warm of conditions. Nothing worked and I finally gave up last summer and grew them in deep shade. When moved to deep shade, the plants thrived, had almost no die back and even managed to bloom most heavily.
Flash forward to this fall after moving the plants inside. They stay constantly in cooler temps (upper 60's to low 70's). They were receiving standard phrag lighting, and the die back happened again. So, again, out of frustration, I moved them off the light shelves and onto a stand next to the lights and the die back has stopped again.
So, as the title says, is leaf tip die back a symptom of too much light?
Longer version:
Over the years, I've tried lots of different "remedies" assuming a number of different potential causes. I reduced feeding rates, reduced potassium levels, increased watering and took steps to keep the plants from getting too warm. My running theory was that they were not heat tolerant and/or that they were very sensitive to salts or excessive nutrients. Nothing ever worked. The leaves would pretty consistently die back pretty severely. Sometimes, 1/2 a leaf or more would turn brown and dry out over the course of a week or so. I even tried growing these plants indoors year round (where temps never exceeded the mid to upper 70s) and watered with RO or rain water pretty much exclusively.
Then last summer, I gave up entirely. I set the plants outside (in the heat) but in the very shadiest of spots I have. To my surprise, they thrived and even bloomed heavily. The die back ceased almost entirely. At the time, I didn't think it had anything to do with the light, I thought they had perhaps matured enough to out grow the die back.
This fall, I replaced all my lights with T8 fluoros and placed these plants close to the bulbs like all my other phrags. Shortly after, the die back started happening again, despite the moderate temps (upper 60s and low 70s) and reduced feeding regimen.
Once again, I gave up and decided that these plants weren't going to thrive for me, no matter what, so I moved them off the light shelves and onto various stands near the lights, but not directly under them. Then, very noticeably, the leaf tip die back ceased again.
What I don't get is that all this time, the leaves have never showed the typical signs of excessive light. They've always been dark green (as if they weren't receiving enough light).
Obviously, I can't say for sure if this will prove successful in the long term, but for now, in the short term, the leaf tip die back hasn't returned -- and this is the longest period of time with no die back since the summer when they were in deep shade.
Any thoughts? Comments?
I've had several Phrag. Jason Fischer x Beauports for almost 10 years, that suffered from constant and severe leaf tip die back. Leaves would turn brown and dry out to the point that entire leaves would die. I've tried many, many remedies under the assumption of issues like too much fertilizer, nutrient imbalance, too little water and too warm of conditions. Nothing worked and I finally gave up last summer and grew them in deep shade. When moved to deep shade, the plants thrived, had almost no die back and even managed to bloom most heavily.
Flash forward to this fall after moving the plants inside. They stay constantly in cooler temps (upper 60's to low 70's). They were receiving standard phrag lighting, and the die back happened again. So, again, out of frustration, I moved them off the light shelves and onto a stand next to the lights and the die back has stopped again.
So, as the title says, is leaf tip die back a symptom of too much light?
Longer version:
Over the years, I've tried lots of different "remedies" assuming a number of different potential causes. I reduced feeding rates, reduced potassium levels, increased watering and took steps to keep the plants from getting too warm. My running theory was that they were not heat tolerant and/or that they were very sensitive to salts or excessive nutrients. Nothing ever worked. The leaves would pretty consistently die back pretty severely. Sometimes, 1/2 a leaf or more would turn brown and dry out over the course of a week or so. I even tried growing these plants indoors year round (where temps never exceeded the mid to upper 70s) and watered with RO or rain water pretty much exclusively.
Then last summer, I gave up entirely. I set the plants outside (in the heat) but in the very shadiest of spots I have. To my surprise, they thrived and even bloomed heavily. The die back ceased almost entirely. At the time, I didn't think it had anything to do with the light, I thought they had perhaps matured enough to out grow the die back.
This fall, I replaced all my lights with T8 fluoros and placed these plants close to the bulbs like all my other phrags. Shortly after, the die back started happening again, despite the moderate temps (upper 60s and low 70s) and reduced feeding regimen.
Once again, I gave up and decided that these plants weren't going to thrive for me, no matter what, so I moved them off the light shelves and onto various stands near the lights, but not directly under them. Then, very noticeably, the leaf tip die back ceased again.
What I don't get is that all this time, the leaves have never showed the typical signs of excessive light. They've always been dark green (as if they weren't receiving enough light).
Obviously, I can't say for sure if this will prove successful in the long term, but for now, in the short term, the leaf tip die back hasn't returned -- and this is the longest period of time with no die back since the summer when they were in deep shade.
Any thoughts? Comments?