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environmental gesneriad damage?
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Posted by eric_oh 6a (My Page) on Thu, Nov 29, 07 at 13:40
| I have been unable to grow Saintpaulia and Streptocarpus in a basement fluorescent light garden over the past few years. The Saintpaulia develop distorted and somewhat fuzzy new central leaves and congested growth (resembling cyclamen mite infestation, but spraying with recommended miticides doesn't prevent or improve damage) and the Streps just slowly die off. I've had variable results with other gesneriads.
Under similar lighting and humidity in an upstairs bedroom, both Streps and Saintpaulia have been doing well over the past several months and flowering abundantly.
Are there common fumes or other subtle basement pollutants that could be causing this difference in cultural results? I am in the deep suburbs where air quality is pretty good, there's no detectable odor from the gas line and no other obvious sources for the problem. Water is not softener-treated and anyway the same water is available both upstairs and in the basement. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: environmental gesneriad damage?
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| That's very strange, Eric. I've grown AVs and other gessies--and other plants!--in three different basements in three different states, and haven't had problems. The only thing that occurs to me is the gas--I have read AVs at least act like 'the canary in the mine' for even very minor gas leaks, so it might be a good idea to have that checked. Can't think of anything else to suggest tho'. Good luck, and let us know what happens. |
RE: environmental gesneriad damage?
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| Maybe your basement is colder than the bedroom? You've probably checked the temperatures, but thought I'd mention it, just in case, because till I got a thermometer, I'd never realized how cold my basement was compared to the rest of the house. The basement was at 59-60 degrees when just about every other spot in the house was at 70. And I did lose a bunch of AVs to cold last winter. Though streptocarpus should not be as picky about temperatures, and you said your streps don't like it there either... If its not the temperatures -- then could it be, somehow, that the lights in the basement are stronger? |
RE: environmental gesneriad damage?
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| Thanks for the suggestions. The basement temps run fairly steady from 68-70, night and day. The upstairs bedroom is warmer, to the mid 70s or so with a nighttime drop to the mid to upper 60s. I had wondered if I was giving them too much light in the basement, but placing them in dimmer conditions didn't make a difference.
We're getting the furnace checked; while there's no detectable gas odor I'd like to rule out any kind of combustion problem, assuming that's even a possibility. |
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