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passioncrazy

decaisneana flowers dropping?

passioncrazy
15 years ago

does anybody know what im doing wrong.i have a decaisneana on south facing wall and gets pounded by the sun all day except in the morning.i have had a couple of flowers and now new ones are starting to develop but get to a certain size then start to turn brown and fall off...am i watering to much maybe 2 times a week if that...unless its hot...im spraying it down everyday as well with the hose for spider mites!and i havent over fertilized it ...in the ground to???????im stumped any suggestions pls....thank you

Comments (3)

  • jblaschke
    15 years ago

    Killing it with kindness maybe? Decainseana isn't a delicate hybrid from my understanding--one of the more hardy and rugged ones, IIRC. Do you actually have a spider mite problem there, or are you just being extra cautious by spraying so much? Unless you're in a severe drought, I'd lay off the watering completely. Passiflora develop extensive root systems and supplemental watering for an established plant in the ground shouldn't be necessary. I'd say once a week, if that. I just killed *another* passi by over-watering, and doggone it, I KNOW better and still did it...

  • passioncrazy
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    thank you for your speedy response jblaschke.actually yeah i have spider mites and its spreading trying to stop it.and yes in florida right now we are going through a very bad drought hasnt rained in months here im on the coast and luckly for me and my 50+ babies they are doing well...lots of new growth and blooms on the way but spider mites love the dry so thats the only problem im facing im trying to eliminate using pesticides and go totallt natural...i have my scale problem down to a minimum tried getting ladybugs for that but they dont really like the scales to much.out of 3000+ladybugs i got i have only seen maybe 20 at the most but still hanging around on the nightblooming jasimine taking care of any stray aphids.anyone know of anything for scales besides systemic or neem oil?there must be a bug that eats them...ive researched before online but didnt find to much......

    anyway back to the topic at hand i might be overwatering it i check everyday for dryness and strang tonite i just saw a rather large bud hiding under a leaf looking rather healthy...what about fert?do i need to seeing though its in the ground?i have several in the ground and have stopped fertilizing them for a while and they bloom non stop and my potted guys i dont think i give them enough sometimes...still finding my feet with that aspect.

    what ill try is everyother hot dayill just mist it to get a bit of humididy but wont drenche it how ive been doing...see what happens...
    thank you for the info...is very helpful

  • jblaschke
    15 years ago

    Since you're plant is in the ground, you shouldn't need to fertilize it anywhere near as often as you would a potted plant (this depends on your local soil conditions, of course). Passiflora, in general, are evolved to grow in nutrient-poor soil so most of them don't have to be babied very much. I've got heavy, black clay soil that retains nutrients well, so I only fertilize in the spring and fall (plus I put out goodly amounts of sulphur to blunt the alkalinity of the soil and iron since alkaline clay is notoriously deficient in iron).

    Perying mantids may help control the spider mites. I know around here they sell babies in containers right alongside ladybugs at some area nurseries.

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