What is wrong with my Incarnata???

15 years ago

About 3 weeks ago I bought an incarnata. It had 5 different plants growing in one pot and most were at least 3 ft tall.

I took 2 of the plants and transplanted them into a new pot. They are doing great. The rest I planted into the ground. I have a few different passiflora's and the ones in the pots are all doing great. The one in the ground has been declining over the past few weeks. It has new growth and new buds. It even had a flower the other day, but now all of the leaves are wilting and the base of the plant is turning brown. I have only watered twice, but it does not seem to dry out. Here we have clay type soil, but in the hole I put well draining soil with 50% perlite. It is facing West just like the other one that is in the pot.

I loved the mulch away from the soil. Is there any other way I can dry the soil faster. Any suggestions would be appreciated becuase I think I may lose this plant. Thank you!

Here is the one doing good in a container:

Comments (9)

abdielg
15 years ago
Have you noticed if the leaves perk back up during the night?

What might be happening is that the heat is just sucking up all the water from it, making it look like that.

If this is the case, then you don't really have to worry about anything, just make sure you water it regurlary.
passionlove
Original Author
15 years ago
Well when I first planted it the leaves wilted a little after the first week and got better during the night. Now, they are always wilted and getting worse. The soil seems to never dry. I'm wondering if it is worth the risk to try and replant it into a container, or do I just wait it out and hope the soil dries? Maybe the clay soil around it is making matters bad. We also had some wind and fires here this week. Wondering if that could have cause problems.

In the porch, I have an incarnata in a pot facing the same way(West) doing great. I also have an inspiration facing the same way doing great in a pot.
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jblaschke
15 years ago
My advice is to just step back and let the plant take care of itself. They're pretty tenacious plants. Even if the vegetation dies, the roots can still recover. I killed too many passis by trying to "correct" earlier extremes of overwatering, etc.

You might try planting one of your other plants in the ground, pot and all. The incarnata, aggressive boogers that they are, will send roots out through the drain holes and you'll have daughter plants springing up outside the pot before you know it, at which point you can dig it back up. It's a thought if you do lose this one.
passionlove
Original Author
15 years ago
At this point I will just step back and wait like I have been doing. This morning the soil was even more wet. Looks like it was from the morning dew. The leaves have wilted more and that flower bud pictured on the top right has also flopped. I keep thinking about bringing out a hair dryer to dry the soil, lol.
I have some Superthrive coming in the next day or two. Wondering if I should bother using it?
Thanks for your help!
passionlove
Original Author
15 years ago
Well,
More branches have started wilting and the stems are hollow and feel dry. One of the incarnata growths in my pot have also shriveled up. I'm wondering if it is root rot. I thought that the incarnta is supposed to be the hardiest, but I am having the most trouble with it. Maybe it got some kind of fungus even at the nursery. I only bought this one plant from there and it is the most expensive passiflora I own.
Anyone have any more ideas???
jblaschke
15 years ago
Send me some postage and I'll send you some seeds to grow you some new incarnata. :-)
passionlove
Original Author
15 years ago
That would be greatly appreciated, I'll shoot you an email. :)
passionflow
15 years ago
Too wet probably. It likes very dry soil.
Incarnata will grow in roadside rubble with minimal water. In UK I have given up on it as it almost always rots over winter. Also the transplant from 5 in a pot to being separated will not have helped as the roots snap easily and the plants will have suffered temporary shock. The lesson to be learnt is to only buy Passiflora as one per pot and also to separate them early if growing from seed. Water the ones in pots from below sparingly and use a soil moisture meter to keep a check that they are always near dry rather than wet.

Here is a link that might be useful: Passiflora incarnata
passionlove
Original Author
15 years ago
Well here is the new story...
I went back to the nursery today, and they gladly refunded my money. All of the incarnata's they had were pretty much dead. The place they got it from acknowledged that there was a problem with them. So, I'm glad that it wasn't just me. Everyone thanks for our help:-)