Sudden Wilt?

9 years ago

So within the last week or so, about half my violets just... gave up. Two of my semi-minis lost the bottom tier of leaves (turned black and mushy) and the rest of the leaves are droopy and soft. Neither has flowered in over a year despite my two standards being just fine and flowering semi-frequently.

My standard Chimera also has soft, slightly curled leaves so it's not just the small plants who are freaking out. Not sure what that's about. It is still making new growth, but it doesn't seem to be able to get more than a couple inches across before the bottom, longest leaves fall off. It's weird because I know its a standard size chimera.

I also lost the Trinidad II and the Scorching Sun a few weeks ago to crown rot. Although that was my fault. The soil was really damp so I must've watered them too much.

They've been getting the exact same amount and kind of water they always have. Bottled spring water only, only from the bottom. Same light they've had all summer, same room temp (even more consistently warm now that I have a heated fishtank in my room). Same soil (1:1:1 av soil/perlite/vermiculite).

The one I'm most worried about is my Rob's Lucky Number. She's so delicate compared to the other sick ones that I'm not sure it'll make it. But it lost a huge chunk of bottom leaves to wilt (and turning mushy brown) and I had to repot her in a tiny pot since the one she had been in since I got her was far too small now. I have pictures below.

Right now I have the Lucky Number bagged with a bit of humidity. Is that all I can do or will that make it worse? The others seem to be recovering slowly so I'm not going to bother them. I have no clue what I did differently or what went wrong. It's really strange.

The Lucky Number, with a few of the lost leaves:

The Chimera with its weird leaves:

My Coral Carillion who is perfectly fine and growing with no problems.

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Comments (5)

irina_co
9 years ago
Check your chimera for Powdery Mildew. Leaves are suspicious. Some varieties are just more susceptible to it. This time of the year...

Lucky Number - several days under the cover is good, more is not

When you mix your own soil - !:1:1 - do you add dolomite?

It is a season of PM and crown rot - because of the temperature variations. Cold and wet is aq bad combination.
User
Original Author
9 years ago
Is there an easy way to tell the difference between dust and PM? I can never tell the difference and my room is quite dusty.

I've never heard to add dolomite, although that not to say it isn't a good idea. As I mentioned above, I do equal parts Miracle Gro AV soil, perlite, and vermiculite. It seems to be fine for my bigger violets but maybe it isn't fine enough for my semi minis and minis?

ill give the Lucky another day or two under the cover just to be safe and keep an eye on her. Thanks for that advice! I killed a rooted leaf once by keeping it too humid so it's nice to have input on how long to keep the Lucky covered.
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irina_co
9 years ago
Sorry - when I saw 1:1:1 - i thought peat-perlite-vermiculite. It needs dolomite. AV soil - perlite vermiculite probably ends in a good pH range.

Rob's Lucky Number has 2 strikes against it- it is vey small and it is very variegated. So whatever is missing - it will show you like a canary in a coal mine. The rest will still look good, while this one will be ailing.

I personally wouldn't use a clay pot for the mini. Water evaporates faster, salts accumulate faster..bothering small roots.

Powdery mildew - If you wash your leaf off - even when the spores of PM are gone - you can see the pitted surface of the leaf. The fungus eats into the tissue.
User
Original Author
9 years ago
That's great info about the Powdery Mildew. The chimera doesn't appear to have a pitted surface, although another one of them does. What treatment would you recommend for PM?

The rob's lucky number probably isn't going to make it. I took it out of the clay pot and put it into a plastic cup, but the leaves get droopy if you take it out of the bag and it just seems generally unhappy. Dunno what happened :/
irina_co
9 years ago
Immunox fungicide.