Forgot to mention, its a NOID. The tag faded long ago, no clue what it was "supposed" to be.

Hey ryan,
How have u been? Most times when cannas have wrinkled and mottled leaves it is due to canna virus. Maybe your brug has a virus, you should move it away from the others!
But im not sure lol.

Siam

Mine do this when I fertilize too much,especially with Superbloom. Have you been fertilizing alot?

I use a weak liquid fert with every other watering.

Its only this one brug that's funky. The rest are growing like weeds.

Are your brugs inside now or outside? The top leaves look very healthy but I see the yellow on the old lower leaves that you are talking about. I think if it was a virus the newer leaves would be the worst looking ones. I have no clue, maybe a nutrient deficiency or just the winter blues if they are inside.
Shawn

Shawn, my brugs are outside all year. I'll bring them up close to the house when cold weather threatens (or extreme heat in the summer), but for the most part they get direct sun every day the sun shines for at least a few hours.

The yellowing is a new symptom. Like I said, it gets the same water/fert as the rest of them. But I'll try cutting back for this one. Its already one of the slowest growers. Siam could be on to something with a virus, but surprising it hasn't spread since the plants are always in the same general vicinity.

I hope its not broad mites. They can cause leaves to curl like that. If it starts affecting new growth thats what it is. The tips will usually start dying.

With Virus on cannas the symptoms dont always show on the new leaves. As the leaves age they begin to have steaking and mottling and get brown spots which die, which on cannas are sometimes mistaken for over fertilizing. Virus is mostly spread by insects. Sap from one plant needs to be transfered to the other plant. If you are using the same tools to prune the plants virus can spread. Now this is with cannas, i dont know about virus with brugmansia. So we need to find out more.
Siam.

phoenixryan, first move this one away from the collection as I feel fool4flowers might be right. Strip off the leaves and if it's small enough I'd hit it with hot tap water a couple of times. Do you spray your brugs for critters on a regular bases? Best of luck.

I agree to move it away from the others, and treat it for pests, see if that helps. I would also soak the pot real good to wash out anything that may be building up in the soil. Maybe even re-pot it completely.
Good luck Ryan, I hope she gets better soon!

I used a systemic fertilizer/pesticide in January on all the brugs. But I haven't used anything since. I'll hit all of them again just in case.

I'll completely re-pot as well. I think while I'm at it, I'm going to prune it. It had "y'd" very close to the soil level. The two main branches have grown quite long in opposite directions and now the pot is unbalanced and I have to lean it against something else to keep it upright. Removing one side of the "y" should reduce stress on the plant from being repotted.

It definitely looks like it's over-fertilized to me.

I recently did that to a couple of my plants. I got a little over-zealous.

I'd say cleaning off the root ball and repotting should do the trick.

I advise you to check out Tonny Surrow-Hansen's Brugmansia book. It has a lot of info on the various nutrients and their effects, whether it be a lack of/too much/or just right.

I do find it odd that it would be a fertilizer issue, unless this particular variety is just ultra-sensitive. There's a dozen potted brugs that get exactly the same treatment as this funky one. He (or she) has been different from day one. If its mites, they've had over a year to spread, without doing so. These pots spend most of their time lined up like soldiers along my front walk.

That being said, I will repot it. Prune it, and strip the leaves. I have ordered some of the SucraShield miticide that should be here in two days. And I will segregate it from the rest. And will reduce fertilizing.

As a precaution, I will treat ALL the brugs for mites.

Sigh, this poor brug won't know what hit it when I get home from work today! LOL

Some varieties are definitely more susceptible than others.

All mine turned that dark green, almost blue color.
One of my aurea's looked kind of like that, then there was 'Maya' which lost a few leaves, then there was vulcanicola 'Zunac' which lost all of it's leaves and looked like it was dead. Then there are the ones that didn't seem too affected.

I hope everything works out for you.

Sometimes enviromental changes can effect your Brugs ..has your weather been Crazy like mine?? 80* one day and 40* the next?? I would not rule out any of the advice above!!! I just know it does affect mine..
Kylie

If it is really hot and I do not water my brugs, all their leaves drop off!
Ryan i hope you find out what wrong with your brug soon.
Best wishes
Siam

For segregating the plant, how far away from the others should it be??

I'd say at least 20'. Personally, I would move it across the yard. That's just my opinion.

I can do that. Thanks!

My brug, too, has this leaf curl. It has had it since last summer. It has sat outside in a pot all summer and fall for three years now. I have to admit to stressing it by not making sure it always got enough water - it had to live in full sun on a sidewalk outside my office for two years, and I couldn't find a reliable coworker to faithfully water on the weekends. Now it's at my new condo, in a bigger pot, on our rooftop deck, and will be shaded from the strong mid-afternoon sun. And it will get watered every time it needs it!

When I first noticed the curling leaves last year, I stripped it - no good. I sprayed it most every day with soapy water, especially on the undersides of the leaves, to get rid of aphids - no good. The leaf curl continues this year, even after being stripped and kept dormant in the basement all winter. It affects even the new leaves, when they are small. When they get bigger, they fall off. Sometimes they fall off small.

I noticed it kept trying to sprout out from every pore along its stems, I assume because it had given up on growing large leaves. Needless to say, I got no flowers last year - the bloom pods would fall off if the plant was jostled in any way.

I read somewhere that nematodes can cause trouble like this. Anyone agree with that assessment? I thought there could be some merit to it because, when transplanting, I noticed that the root ball of this 5' tree (trunk is 1.5" or just over 3cm in diameter) seemed quite small relative to its spread. Is that normal for brugs or could something be eating its roots? Is something else to blame for the curl?

I forgot to mention, I know what problem Ryan's brug has! In researching the cause of my sick brug, I discovered that Brugmansias are related to tomatoes, peppers, and Irish potatoes enough (nightshade family) that they are susceptible to many of the same diseases. The striping of yellow on the leaf at the left of the photo gives a strong indication that his plant has Tobacco Mosaic Virus. Apparently brugs can get this by being near tobacco smoke, ash, and cigarette and cigar stubs, and can even be transmitted on the fingers of smokers.

In reading more on this virus just now at Wikipedia, it appears that mine has this virus, too (the plant was near the door of the office, where all the smokers took their breaks.) I have never seen a large leaf on it have the striping, but the Wikipedia article says that it also causes curling and puckering, especially in young leaves.

There is no known cure, according to http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG1168.html

In other words, a plant with TMV will always be stunted and a low producer, and its fallen leaves, stems, etc. can be infectious for up to 50 years.

So I guess I answered my own question, and Ryan's too. And I guess it's time to throw out that pot (even the root tissue left in the pot can transmit the disease to another plant!) and get another pot, soil, and Brugmansia. Sigh.

Ryan,

How is that Brug doing. It really doesn't look like a virus to me. It definitely looks like a nutrient issue. Perhaps the downward leaf curl is from broad mites.

I think people jump on the virus train a little too quickly. More than half the time it is just environmental damage.

For example: I had a Vulcanicola that I sprayed with neem because it had some bugs on it. I moved it out of the sun because the combination of pesticide and sun burns the leaves. Well...... within a week there was a lot of black necrotic spots along the stems and some on the leaves. Most would look and say it was tomato spotted wilt virus. I have learned not to panic. I have seen 10's of virused plants in my life. And this was not one of them.

I knew it was just a fungal attack and that with an improved environment (soil, light, humidity, etc) it would fight the attack off and resume growing perfectly.

Sure, it still looks a little messed up right now, but it only gets better, and it is sending up shoots from the soil.

Remeber the words on the cover of 'The Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy'

"Don't Panic!"

I would just isolate and be careful.

1st symptoms of mites.

"all curled and wavy, although lately the older leaves are getting mottled with yellow."

That is my exact my description I look for when mites start their attack. Listen to Karma she saved my as>>> a couple of years ago when I did not know the symptoms. F4F also hit it on the head. Always figure mites and you will be 95% correct all the time.

Sorry, we all get them from time to time.

Good luck,

Jim

I'm inclined to believe it was a mite attack. I did spray for mites, and the plant has since started growing more normal leaves. Although with the weather being as hot as it is now (100+), my brugs are in survival mode now, and not actively growing, so the new leaves are quite small.

I also stopped fertilizing just to be sure. It just seems odd to me that no other brugs were affected, just this one.

Either way, it seems to be resolved at this point.

Rizzir, I will continue to monitor the plant, just to be sure it is not the tobacco mosaic virus. Thanks for the info.

Thank you to everyone who offered advice.
Ryan

Ryan I am glad it is better. Do you water more when it gets this hot? I fertilized throughout the hot summer last year. I just watered 4 times a day.

The mites might not like ALL brugs...just that one :-(

A little while ago I was outside and saw these tiny little bugs all over the 3 Adenium babies I have. Next to it was another container with 3 newer ones...and not one bug on it.

Little example from my garden that only they know why they go here and not there lol

Lucy

Help..I too, live in the phoenix area...temps got up to 118 degrees a few weeks ago...I've lost so many plants...my question is my Brug has lost all of it's leaves, now the tips are dying, today I noticed the tips look bad about 4 inches down...do I cut them off or what...I started with about a foot tall cutting last year, it now is about 3ft tall, and looked beautiful even the flowers were beautiful...all of a sudden it is sick.
Deb

Deb if it was me I would cut the tips until you get to a healthy part. My thought is that it will stop the dying to continue to go down. That is just my Opinion. Never had it happen thou.

With THAT HEAT...what CAN stay alive? :-(

Lucy

All of mine look like dead sticks right now. Keep watering them, put them in a shady spot if you can. The best thing about these plants is that as bad as the above ground parts may look, the roots are usually good and healthy. As soon as the weather cooperates, they'll hopefully come back.

If you notice them dying down too far, sanitize your clippers (hot water and bleach, rinsed thoroughly), cut down to healthy growth and then dust with an anti-fungicide (rooting hormone powder will work in a pinch). That has stopped the die down for me in the past.

Lots of mine I'm going to lose down to the roots this year, if not lose them completely. They just can't handle our heat. In the future, I'm going to take cuttings in May and grow them indoors under grow-lights, so I don't lose anything.

If you've lost anything once we cool down, let me know, I'll see if I can replace any with what I have left.

Phoenix Ryan

funny, here we worry about how to get ours through the winter and you Ryan have the same worries about the summer :-( that sucks.

Lucy

It really is true, Lucy. Our seasons are just reversed of most people. Although we still have to protect them from freezing in winter, it's not nearly as bad as most people. Maybe 10-15 nights where it'll get down close to or below freezing.

I was looking at my BIG brug, a NOID I think is 'Charles Grimaldi', it stands about 6 foot tall right now, no leaves to be seen, until you get up close, lots of little green buds ready to sprout out from the stems. So today, Charles gets a good trimming! He was starting to get a bit too wide. Going to try to prune him so he'll grow in a more tree-like shape.

Glad you plant is ok. I have a day dreams that does that and if they aren't dark and curly they are light green with spots. Its never looked good since I got it. Had my first bloom and it was pink spotted, lol. It might get sent to the railroad tracks, lol.

Kristy

Not sure if there's a railroad track this way or not! :)

Mike

Mike rofl...that is a good one. I was just going to tell Kristy I am coming over ha ha ha

Ryan hope you succeed! What am I saying..I know you will! As hard as it is for me and my 2nd season growing them...Got a lot of unshapely ones myself and when I took a cutting to share...I just love the way it grows below that cut..coming back with TWO or what have you, new growth :-)

I guess come wintertime I will do a good trimming to get the shapes I think they would look best with.

Lucy

How good is your pitching arm, Kristy? There's railroad tracks not too far from my house, if you can get it past that point... ;-) jk!