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kaityinoregon

Black Tips on Leaves

kaityinoregon
9 years ago

I have a question for all you experienced growers out there. I noticed some black tips on a couple of my plants today and am not sure what could be causing them. Looks to be only on the lighter colored leaves of heavily variegated varieties. These plants were all grown from leaves and recently separated into their own container. I don't see any evidence of bugs. Any ideas? Too much light? They sit under a regular 2 bulb shop light about 8" below the bulbs.

Comments (11)

  • kaityinoregon
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Here is a close up pic.

  • judyj
    9 years ago

    Still relatively new at this, but it does look like leaf rot. I've not seen it black before, but brown on some violets I had years ago. That itself is caused by too much fertilizer built up.

    Some other more experienced folk will chime in but if I remember correctly, you'll want to flush the plant with water thoroughly and pick off the darkened leaves-at least the ones that are really darkened. It may be too (it looks like you're wicking-which I don't) that you need to flush the wick water as well. Don't fertilize again for a while. Not sure what you're using, I use Optimara's 14-12-14 and Jack's 30-10-10 (just a bit for some heavily variegated ones I've got).

    Best,
    Judy

  • kaityinoregon
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks Judy. It's worth a try. I went ahead and changed out all the water for fertilizer free water and flushed the pots. I usually use Dyna Gro Foliage Pro 9-3-6 at .25tsp per gallon. maybe i need to use less since i am wick watering....

  • PRO
    Whitelacey
    9 years ago

    I don't think it is root rot. The leaves look too firm. Usually, leaf discoloration without an obvious cause-too much sun, cold water spotting, is caused by fertilizer imbalances.

    This could be tip-burn caused by fertilizer build up. Flushing and backing off on the fertilizer should help. Uneven watering practices, low humidity as well as some water can also cause tip-burn.

    I would adjust the fertilizer issues first and see if that helps. The damaged leaves will not recover their normal color but if you correct the problem, no more leaves should be affected.

    Linda

  • fortyseven_gw
    9 years ago

    No need to remove damaged leaves . You can trim off the burned edges with a small scissors . Joanne

  • judyj
    9 years ago

    That's great to know, Joanne, thanks! Guess I could have saved a few leaves before!:-)

    Kaity, I feed every time I water. I use 1/4 recommended strength for that-the AVs can probably take more, but the streps I have are less tolerant! Like you said-you may want to cut back.

    Best,
    Judy

  • PRO
    Whitelacey
    9 years ago

    The recommended amount for fertilizing violets is 1/4 the stated amount on the label for three out of four waterings. The fourth is plain water. There is also the weekly, weakly practice. Fertilizer is something that must be adjusted on an on-going basis. Different seasons, varieties, plants, etc., will require different amounts. You just have to play around with it and see what works.

    Your plants look good and it looks as though you just need to tweak your culture a bit.

    Linda

  • fortyseven_gw
    9 years ago

    HI, I guess we told you that the heavily variegated leaves are way more sensitive than other leaves. Everything about a variegated leaf plant is highly sensitive because they have very tiny root systems. Damage will show up in them faster than plants with only edge variegation or darker green leaves. I have some that are heavily variegated that turned dark on the edges for no known reason. What concerns me about yours is the evenness of the darkness, so the fert burn is probably the best guess.
    Joanne

  • PRO
    Whitelacey
    9 years ago

    Kaity,

    What is that violet? The variegation is gorgeous!

    Linda

  • kaityinoregon
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank you everyone for the responses. I think i am definitely using too much fertilizer.... I will stop for a while and then cut the dose way back.

    Linda: The plant in the picture is Rob's Love Bite :-)

  • fortyseven_gw
    9 years ago

    Yes, a beautiful plant. I have one I got a year ago that has the same name but has solid dark green leaves. When I saw the name you listed, looked it up, mine was mislabeled! Joanne

    This post was edited by fortyseven on Wed, Oct 22, 14 at 21:37

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