Things ain't always what they seem

17 years ago

Hi everyone

Some time ago I posted a message on this forum about what to call some Ae. Lueddemanniana seedlings which were the result of seed from a plant with a name tag identifying it as Ae. Luddemanniana Mend forma Alvarez. I have since found out that it was wrongly named and the correct name is probably Ae. Mend Inverta

Since then I have noticed a percentage of the seedlings (about 18 in all) showing various shades of red coming through on the leaves not unlike the colour of the leaves on the plants of Ae. Alvarez, shown on the FCBS site by Shirley Grills- Konefal's "Nature Collection"

At first I thought I'd really cracked it in a big way until Kerry told me she had a suspicion that all was not as it seemed.

On checking more closely I noticed all of these plants were putting up multiple small pups which I thought was a bit unusual. On looking closer still, I found that the plants in question all had rotted in the centre and the coloured leaves were all part of the dying process. What a bummer!

When trying to identify the cause, the common denominator was that these plants had all been hanging just beneath the roof of the shade house (about 18") and I suspect that, plus one very hot day in January (43 degrees C) probably boiled the little bit of water in the centre and cooked them. All of the remaing plants which were lower down on a bench are unharmed; no coloured leaves but no rot either.

Can anyone suggest other possible causes?

Before anyone suggests drips from CCA treated timber residue, that's not the case either, as I was caught that way once before and don't have treated timber overhead any more.

Please put on your thinking caps, all the best, Nev.

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Comments (6)

paul_t23
17 years ago
Hi Nev,

I suspect you are right about the seedlings being cooked on that really hot day in January (Saturday 10th from memory). Every plant in my "full sun to midday" area was affected if it had the tip of a new leaf sitting just at the level of the water in the cup. No damage to any other leaves, just the very tip of each leaf sitting at water level was very obviously cooked, in every case where there was a leaf tip sitting at water level.

These included some Neos (C. Tiger, Hannibal Lector, Red Macaw), a Vriesea Milky Way and a couple of Ae. blanchetianas. All fair sized plants and pretty tough, hard-leafed plants at that. If leaf tips on these plants cooked in the water, I can easily imaging that the whole centre of a seedling would cook, even if it wasn't exposed to the sun to quite the same extreme.

Lets look on the bright side - my plants will grow past it and by the sound of it, you've got a whole lot of seedling pups! Cheers, Paul
purplestar
17 years ago
I remember that horribly hot day The thermometer in my verandah read 52 celsius! and the brom house floor was 46!
80% of my neos were bleached and 3 or 4 were just plain vapourized LOL! Sydney south west, we have deadly hot days here.

Nev I'm not sure how it works but a good heat wave will turn brom leaves all sorts of shades of orange through to ruby. I actually love it when some of the older mums get that 'oxidised' effect as they reach old age. I guess you could call it a suntan?

I would also agree that the water 'boiled' in the cups Nev. it wouldn't take much to heat up that tiny amount of water on a day like the 10th of Jan.

Cheers Rossana
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splinter1804
Original Author
17 years ago
Hi Paul and Rosanna - Looks like my assumptions were possibly right after all.

Thanks for the feedback, All the best, nev.
splinter1804
Original Author
17 years ago
Hi all,
Now that I can post a pic, I thought I would show you the damage to the plants mentioned above.

What a bummer!

{{gwi:451766}}

{{gwi:451768}}

{{gwi:451770}}

All the best, Nev.
paul_t23
17 years ago
Hi Nev, what a shame - hope you can rescue something. Cheers, Paul
pinkbroms
17 years ago
i also have both these plants purchased as follows,
ae. lued. mend is albomarginated
ae. lued. alvarez is variegated
plain green seedlings should now only be tagged as ae.lueddemanniana unless albo. or variegation shows in any of the seedlings & then that seedling can be tagged accordingly.
stressed plants show great colour, unfortunately not a good sign of health in your case.care for them & they will come through.