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ap0c552

Passion Flower disease/deficiency

ap0c552
11 years ago

Hello,

I have a common blue passion flower (Passiflora caerulea) growing indoors under lights for winter.

It is in an enclosure i built that has ample fluorescent lighting.

The plants leaves are exhibiting and odd coloring and patterning that is displayed in the attached image.

It seems that the yellow spotted (intervenial chlorisis?) pattern is more pronounced on the younger top leaves. But the yellow discoloration is still showing amongst leaves of different age.

I think there is no nitrogen deficiency since the yellowing is moderately more pronounced on the top leaves as opposed to bottom.

Can anyone give any advice as to what i ailing this plant?

thanks!

Comments (5)

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    11 years ago

    my first thought is that perhaps it isnt ample light.. but you reject that outright... i dont know why ... my gut.. asks how close are your lights???

    whens the last time you changed the potting media ...

    whats your fertilizer regimen ...

    i dont understand the wavy glass behind.. where are you.. and how cold do these plants get at night .. if that happens to be a window ... [reflective sheet???.. i am baffled by it] ...

    there you have it: light intensity .. temps.. media ... and fertilization ... cant think of any other variable ... and those need to be addressed prior to jumping to disease ...

    ken

  • ap0c552
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Hello,

    thanks for the response.

    I dismissed light immediately since I knew someone might question that when i said it was under artificial. I have grown full size peppers in this enclosure. But anyways It has three 42 watt CFL bulbs. Two cool white, and one warm white, along with one red led lamp. It is a cylindrical enclosure that is 4 feet tall and lined with 98% reflective mylar.

    I noticed you mentioned temperature. That is one thing I have been concerned about, since they are in the basement. The enclosure is about 17C(63F) at the bottom, and about 20C around the top top where the leaves are. I would imagine the soil medium is around 16.5 to 17.5C. So I feel it is a little bit cool.

    Could temperature cause this odd colouration?

    I was thinking it was possibly a nutrients deficiency. I have fertilized with 20-20-20.

  • calliope
    11 years ago

    Even if adequate nutrients are present in the soil or matrix, you may notice symptoms of deficiency in the plant material if there are any environmental conditons interferring with the plant's ability to uptake these nutrients through the root system. It does look like nitrogen deficiency to me and I'd suggest you be sure you are not keeping your soil too moist. The May pops use dormancy for a winter survival mechanism. If you are keeping it under glass just to winter it over, you don't need to provide it with the conditions it experiences in periods of growth and reproduction. You would be keeping it in a dry, coarse medium and running it quite dry to the point of insult. IOW letting it go into semi-dormancy. If you are trying to grow it as a conservatory plant, there are better species of passiflora to use.

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    11 years ago

    no one is happy with cold feet ... ask my wife ... lol ..

    and cold feet .. with excess water.. might be your problem...

    this is probably your next step.. in the evolution of your setup

    i see this .. temporarily.. in the garden .. in spring.. on a multitude of plants ... when the leaves seem to expand.. faster than the plant can pump nutrients.. and in MI.. cold soil and damp feet.. as well as cold air.. they all tend to green up properly ..

    ken

  • calliope
    11 years ago

    There is a direct and causal relationship with cold feet and watering. The cooler the temps, the less water a plant demands because of the lower transpiratory rates and it also interplays with low light levels. I used to do a lot of winter growing and I had to meter in lux all the sections of bench space when installing lights for photoperiodic plants. You would be amazed at the difference in what you consider 'adequate' and what the plant is exposed to on a sunny day outside. Yes, as Ken said to see foliage like this is often common in some plants when growing them in your latitude in winter. Petunias are one. I had to maintain my stock at peak appearance because they had to go out the door the first warm days of spring, but you don't. You only have to keep them alive and most will do fine with temps in the low forties, regardless of what their optimum growing conditions are, including tropicals. If.......and a big factor...........you don't overwater them. Soil too moist for heat/light. You can lose them like that.