Tree Collards are DYING !

12 years ago

Hi,
I already have tree collards, and they were doing extremely well.
I planted them from cuttings last fall. They did well over the mild winter, without any damage from the one cold spell we had.
I planted them along the side of the house in a raised bed where they get full sun most of the day. Irrigation is via Netafim drip tubing that wraps itself well through the planting area with (0.9 gph @ 12" spacing) emitters running twice a day for 10 minutes a day.
Soil is moist, but not saturated. There is good drainage at the bottom of the bed so there is no standing water there.
They were planted in a mixture of commercially available planting mixes. The planter depth is about 2 1/2 feet deep.

They were about 5 feet tall, when there seemed to be a die back of the lower leaves,
first yellowing, then browning and falling off. The problem progresses upward, killing
off more and more upper leaves.

Downed leaves, extremely dry, have the consistency of rice paper, disintegrating when crushed.

This is the first summer they encountered. Since it's Las Vegas, the temperatures
reach well over 100Ã¯Â¿Â½ daily with night time temperatures in the 80Ã¯Â¿Â½s. Almost no humidity.

Could it be that they were getting too much sun?
I have looked and don't see anywhere how much sun they need.
Could it be just too hot for them to survive?

I am going to salvage a few cuttings to root before whatever is affecting them kills off the entire plant.

My question would be, will they do well in partial shade? I have some areas that are
tree shaded part of the day.

Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated.
Randy

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Comments (6)

aniajs
12 years ago
I've never heard of that plant, but if they are indeed related to cabbage as a quick google suggests, your climate might be too hot for them, especially in full sun. You might try reposting (pictures help to diagnose environmental stress vs. disease) on the vegetable gardening forum (http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/cornucop/), which is more active and has a lot of collective experience.
Reisod
12 years ago
Hey Randy,

I'm not sure if you explained that your soil was getting watered all the way through, from top to very bottom?

As your plants get bigger, their roots get bigger to obviously, and you should set your watering times much longer.

Normally I have heard to water for about 45 minutes, 2 times a week, so that way it waters completely through, and the roots grow deeper.

If you water just the top soil, then the roots will grow shallow, and then will require you to constantly be watering all of the time, and the growth will not be as effective.

Just my thought, that maybe the plant growing larger is not getting adequate water? Maybe you should change your watering intervals to once per day, but for 30 minutes? If the soil is still wet the next day when it goes to water again, you then would only need to water every other day, or once the soil is dried out. Living in Las Vegas, I know the soil around here drys out pretty quick.

Another thing you might want to check is what nutrients your plant requires. Generally I have heard you want to fertilize once a month, but I think once every 2-3 months is fine. So your soil could be lacking the proper nutrients....

This post was edited by Reisod on Mon, Jun 30, 14 at 18:52
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grannypeck
11 years ago
Go look on YouTube for John Kohler... Growing your greens... or contact bountiful gardens... They are the two experts... I also have 3 purple tree collards... got them in June 2014... just had our first few nights of freezing temps... they look okay so far... but may not make it through our snowy winters... even if mulched... best of luck...
mojave_gardener
Original Author
11 years ago
Two of my plants have made it through the hot summer. One is doing OK, the other is doing fantastically. They are about 4' apart, with lots of well developed side shoots off the main stalks.

I did change the irrigation, moving them from a shrub circuit, to the vegetable garden circuit. They get watered several (up to 8) times a day, for 2 minutes at a time during the hottest parts of the summer. I have scaled the frequency back according to the fall weather. My brussel sprouts, kohlrabi, & cauliflower are doing well, so I think the watering is good.

Next summer, I will set up some 50% shade cloth over them. I think it was just too much hot sun for them. (Las Vegas, NV).
albert_135 　 39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.
11 years ago
Maybe something here: Perennial Tree Collards - Perennial Tree Collards
grannypeck
11 years ago
Just an up date... I lost one of my three tree collards to over watering... the remaining two have made it through two light snowfalls here at 5500 elevation and have several small off shoots. Watered them for about 2-5 minutes daily from mid June to late September and nothing but a few light rain showers since. They look good purplish green and rubbery.