Disease – Page 2 – The Garden Lady

Simplicity by love_child_kyoto (on flickr)

TheGardenLady received this question from Linda.

I have a peace lily indoor plant which has sentimental value to me and over the past winter it has contracted a leaf condition – the leaves die from the tip towards the stem.Â It’s as though a critter is “sucking” the life from it. It still flowers, but I am afraid as more and more leaves are infected I will lose the battle. Any suggestions?

TheGardenLady has to assume from your brief email that you have not changed anything in your plant’s environment- you haven’t moved your plant or changed the lighting, temperature, humidity or care. Usually most brown tips are caused by low humidity. And I also have to assume that you had not re-potted your Peace Lily Spathiphyllum improperly or put it in poor soil.

Or your Peace Lily might have to be re-potted. Sometimes a plant that has been in the same pot for a long time has a build up of salts in the soil from fertilizers and alkaline tap water. When you re-pot your plant, be sure you do not re-pot it too high or too low and use good potting soil (see here).

Continue reading “Caring for Sick Peace Lilies”

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Alternaria

TheGardenLady received this question from Helen.

I just put in marigolds next to my tomatoes, as companion plants. I think I’ve overwatered them and it’s been rainy in Ithaca this year…White spots are forming on them. I don’t have a digital camera handy, or I’d show you what they look like. My daughter says they have the chicken pox! Do I dig them up and replace them with new ones or do I just try to dry them out? I worry if they stay, that they are diseased and will just get worse-maybe attracting pests… What’s your advice?

Not seeing your marigold plants TheGardenLady thinks you have diseased marigold plants. Heavy rains and winds can carry a disease called alternaria to ornamental plants. See here.

Even though TheGardenLady has not seen the marigold plant and the problem, TheGardenLady would pull out the sick looking marigolds which are cheap to replace. The reason for this suggestion is because you might get a similar fungus, a fungus in the same genus, on your tomato plants and this alternaria or Tomato Early Blight damages the tomato plants and fruits. See here.

Continue reading “Diseased Marigolds”