I have had jackfruit seedlings planted in 2 liter soda bottle, this latest about 14 inches tall now. It seems to love it by this northwest-facing patio door where I have germinated it. It gets sun through a thin curtain between 1 pm to 4 pm, if I remove the curtain the plants all get sunburn, the leaves literally dry up. Lots of ambient sunlight around that time. I wrap a paper towel around the bottle/pot to shield the roots. It gets watered once a day, in the AM, with water/MiracleGrow, water sits in the bowl for 20 minutes, then is drained. It is growing in the same pot it was germinated in, filled with a 50/50 mix of soilless potting mix and perlite. It likes the medium slightly moist but not damp.

The problem I get is after a new very healthy leaf pops out on top, the leaves at the bottom going up start to curl downward, but don't die. They remain a healthy green and just seem to shrink by a third while curling under. I also usually get two or three branches off of the main stem as well, all seemingly healthy until the curling starts. Weird. After it hits about 2 feet tall, it dies.

Does anyone know why this is the case? I cannot put the seedling outside or it dries up (this is my third one). Might this be a vitamin deficiency?

Here are photos of the latest:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/101033404@N04/9633896030/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/101033404@N04/9630660023/