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emarks41

mushy leaves killing one leaf at a time!

11 years ago

Hello, Im new to this forum and have searched all the threads that talk about mushy leaves. No one ever says whats really going on. My sans is hardly ever watered cause the water meter says it is in the "moist zone". When I bought it at Home Depot, it was thoroughly soaked and it took at least 6 months to finally dry out. I did repot the plant and used a 50/50 perlite/fast draining cactus mix. At the time the roots were moist but not damaged. Over time, a leaf will get mushy on a side of the leaf, not at the base. If I do nothing, the mushy spot gets bigger and bigger. I eventually trim it off. It happens all the time. The once full plant is not looking mighty thin and no end in sight. Sorry I have no pics cause I trimmed everything. Does anyone know whats going on? It is not over-watered, gets good indirect sunlight, tho does get to 57 degrees , worst case scenario, in the room where its in during the winter. During the warm months, it still experiences the mushy leaves.......perplexed...thoughts? Thank you!


Comments (4)

  • 11 years ago

    Pictures are always a big help. Do you ever take it out side during summer? Try some sulfur power on the base and around the roots. Do you fertilize? If so, how much and who's?

  • 11 years ago

    Thank you. Ive only had it a year so I have not fertilized it. So where does one get sulfur powder? Also, does this sound like a fungus of sorts?
    thanks again!


  • 11 years ago

    Stush knows way more about Sans than I do, but I think a watering or temperature issue is more likely than a pathogen, or is at least the root of a problem if it is a pathogen. I recently learned with a little experiment that heat is the most important element to growing Sans. Your room is too cool for it to grow, so it isn't using any water. Under those conditions, even a 50:50 mix will retain too much moisture, and the "moist zone" of your water meter is almost certainly too wet. I lost 3 of 4 Bantel's Sensation offsets before I learned this lesson. You might check my post titled "what a difference a little heat makes" to see for yourself how heat affects sans, and a cheap way to warm them in a cool room.


    Different cultivars are easier or harder to grow, also. Those with lots of variegation, e.g., less deep green tissue, don't have as much chlorophyll and therefore grow more slowly and are more susceptible to rot. Bantel's Sensation, Silver Hahnii, and Golden Hahnii are just three common cultivars that are more challenging to grow. If you don't know your cultivar, a photo would help. You might have a particularly tough one.


    If I encountered the problem you're having, I'd 1st take Stush's advice, but I'd also forego the water meter and let the plant all but dry out. I use a bamboo skewer to test my soil. I stick it all the way down to the bottom of the pot, wait a few seconds, then pull it up. When a Sans isn't actively growing, the skewer should just feel cool to your upper lip or cheek about halfway up the height of the pot. That means there's just barely enough moisture to keep the root hairs from shriveling up.


    I have a large Sans in less-than-ideal soil and too cool over the winter. To prevent rot, I use a strong stream from a squirt bottle to shoot a few streams right down into the soil every couple months or so (depends on your humidity, etc.). The moisture is quickly dispersed in the soil without me ever having to soak any part of it. When the weather warms up, I'll have to soak the plant in a bucket a few minutes to rehydrate any peat that has become hydrophobic from drying too much, but the squirt method kept it from rotting over the cold, damp winter (70% humidity and 55-65 degrees).


    Hope those ideas help, and you don't lose your plant.

  • 11 years ago

    Thank you very much!


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