Help with Plumeria leaves turning brown/fouling

15 years ago

hi,

Just recently purchased my second plumeria obtusa online, the first one didn't survive the winter (maybe too cold, or watered too often, dunno). anyway, received this plant about three weeks ago, put in a nice sunny place (corner between two windows), and waited for the leaves to start growing. the first three came out just fine, but now all the new small leaves turn first brown then black, and the tips of the branches where the new leaves grow out of also appear black.

image here:

Any ideas what could be wrong (watering too often, not often enough -- how often should it be watered anyway, instructions said not very often which is kinda vague)?

any hints are greatly welcome, would really like to get this plant to flourish, always loved them when on vacation somewhere nice and warm ;)

btw: plant location is in austria, indoors, in corner of east and south facing windows, temperature inside 22-25 C, humidity between 35-45.

thanks,

tom

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Comments (6)

kbauman
15 years ago
Hi There,
Welcome to the Plumeria Board, nice plant. Some of our members with experience growing plumeria, will come in and answer your questions.
Karen B.
kbauman
15 years ago
Hi,
was hoping someone would come in and help you. will soon . You live in Austria? Can you go to a nursery and find a moisture meter? you can then put it down into your soil and see if its wet, moist or toward dry. your plant shows too much water. Your plant has to dry out to light moist between watering, you don't want it to rot.
Karen B.
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mystwitch
15 years ago
Others may have a different diagnosis but it appears to be black tip. There are as many ideas on treating it as there are growing methods. If you were in a warmer climate, some good strong sunshine and warmth would help. Are the tips a bit spongey? I used straight lemon juice on a plant last year that just wouldn't heal on its own and it seemed to stop it. You might also try to remove the black portion of the tip and treat with a fungicide.
Hopefully someone else will give you other ideas.
kb
kbauman
15 years ago
Hi Karen from Texas.
You poured straight lemon juice on the black tip and it worked!! ha. I have big time black tip on singapore and black spots galore on the leaves, treating it with fungacide as advised on the board. lemon juice, thats intersting!!! good thought. The tip is still very moist, does not seem to be drying yet. course have not been treating it long. do not know what its suppose to look like getting better or drying out???? will the black spots go away?

Karen B from So. CA
obstler
Original Author
15 years ago
thanks for the hints. it definitely is black tip, just checked with http://www.plumeria101.com/problems/black_tip.html and it looks just like that now (once you know what a problem is called googling for it is so much easier...). I don't have any fungicide at home and it's weekend now, will buy some monday -- in the meantime i'll try covering in lemon juice and remove all the black stuff.

will let you know how the saga continues...
pharoah
15 years ago
Yes, it's black tip. This is exactly why I have given up on Obtusas. In the tropics, they are among the hardiest, but anywhere else they are the weakest IMO. They are EXTREMELY sensitive to temps even in the low 50's.
Too much headache for me.

Good luck and I hope it recovers,
Tony