Dried petal edges and white marking on blooms-Thrips? Mites? Or....?
This was a store bought bulb....one of those dried bulbs that are sold in nets. It ended up being a mislabel ( was supposed to be 'Carmen' ) and turned out to be a rather nice orange ( I'm very fond of orange ) so I was not unhappy. But, the first time it bloomed the buds and petals opened with very dry-looking shriveled edges, and the petals had many white marks over the surface. From day one, it had the look of an old bloom that had been battered about by inclement weather and was at the end of its days. I put this appearance down to mistreatment of the bulb through it's journey from the original grower to me, and that the next year would see it bloom clear and normal.
As you can guess, this wasn't so. The next year it bloomed in exactly the same condition. The bulb is fat and healthy-looking and multiplying, and the leaves are clear of any blemishes, but the buds and petals still have that dried look, and the blemishes on the surface of the petals are one again there. I thought of thrips...but have seen no sign of any. I have had bulb-mites before with the tell-tale saw-like edging of the leaves...but never has it affected blooms, and the leaves on this bulb have always been perfect.
Tried the hot water treatment this year, and hope this will fix the problem.....but I still don't know what the problem originally was........have any of you had anything similar or know what it could be?
(Any markings on the leaves and stems is where I have sprayed Seasol- in case you were wondering about that.)
Comments (9)
berkeleysgr8
5 years agoJulie Wignell
5 years agoRoots were perfect- in fact, they were very extensive and filled the pot. Bulb was healthy looking with four good sized off-sets that were also in great shape. Leaves were perfect.
I know! It has me mystified as well!
It's shortly to come into flower again for this season ( see below ), and this time round the buds look plump and healthy- due to it's recent hot water treatment, no doubt. So far as I can tell, it looks as if this treatment has cured the problem ( I'll know for sure very shortly ), but I still have no idea what caused it in the first place. I was thinking some kind of bulb mites, but have never seen them repeatedly affect only the bloom, and not be evident in the rest of the plant.
I would like to know the cause!
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5 years agoStill another day or two needed to be able to confirm, but at this stage, it looks as if the 'hot water treatment' has done its job! The petals are looking normal, with no indication of either pest or disease showing.
dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
5 years agoJulie Wignell
5 years agoDonna, whatever was in there, has now been eradicated ( hurrah! ).
For the first time I can see this bloom for what it is, a lovely very, very deep orange.
All signs of petal malformation are gone, and I am left with a beautiful clear healthy-looking bloom ( with only a dusting of pollen over the petals ). The bulb itself has not had a lot of time to set down roots after the 'hot water treatment', and I expect next year I will - at long last - see it at its best. The flowers are not all that large....but after all it's been through, that's not altogether surprising. I was rather hoping it would be a ' Orange Sovereign', but the smaller flower size makes me wonder. It is a nice strong growing bulb with sturdy scapes, and the leaf tips are very slightly rounded.....but??? Do you think it may still be an 'Orange Sovereign'? We don't have them readily available here in Aust. so I don't have anything but photos to compare. Maybe it is only a generic orange of some sort, after all.
I would still like to know what type of bulb mite it was that was munching away on this bulb- as it only affected the developing flower buds and never the leaves! But I'm happy that whatever it was, it's now gone, and I can get on to growing this thing healthily.
Julie
Brian Sakamoto (10a, CA, USA)
5 years ago
blancawing
5 years agoJulie Wignell
5 years agoHi Brian,
I'm located on the east coast of Australia, so I'm about as opposite to North America as it's possible to be ( globally speaking ). That is why flowering seems so off-season to you. We are in spring here, and hippeastrums are budding up everywhere at the moment. This deep orange is the very first to flower from my collection for this spring season....but as I look around, many more are now on their way!
Blanca- Thank you. Yes....I'm thrilled that this poor plant has finally rid itself of whatever was afflicting it. What a relief!I have Maquire's 'Anita' here, and it's not that. 'Anita' is a lighter orange than this unknown one, and has a different shape. I noticed that 'Anita' gets a pinkish cast/hue if not grown in enough sun, but in strong sunshine it appears more bronze/orange. Rather unusual.
I doubt the unknown bulb would be any of the Maquire's varieties, as they are not available through retail stores, and this one I bought at my local nursery in their dry bulb section. It came with a illustrated cardboard label ( telling me it was 'Carmen') and in a nylon mesh bag.
Most likely either mixed in a bulk import, or grown from one of the large bulb suppliers from further down south in Australia. They have many of the older varieties that they have been on-growing for years. We don't get a lot of 'new' varieties through them. They seem to have a certain amount of 'stock' varieties that they release year after year, and only occasionally release some new ( -ish ). But I have never seen an 'Orange Sovereign' in the stores, so unless it was an import mislabel, then I have no idea what it is.
Here is 'Anita' from last season, sitting next to 'Milady's Magic'.
berkeleysgr8