This verbascum was so healthy a couple of weeks ago! Then last week I found a slug on a leaf. Ever since, it has been wilting more and more everyday. I even have cut off some of the leaves that were looking so bad. It gets watered just fine. What is wrong with it? The wilted leaves are toward the bottom under the larger leaves.
See new photo below!
This message was edited Aug 10, 2009 8:47 AM
Has it been rainy & cloudy there? Maybe it will perk up with sunnier weather?
I'm not familiar with this plant, though, so I'm just guessing. I'm sure other people with more knowledge will be along soon.
Since the new leaves look fine I'd leave it alone and see how it looks in another week.
I believe you've had some super heat and high humidity and plants don't respond much better than people to adverse conditions.
We have had plenty of sun. Jim thought maybe it was getting too much water also. I have stopped watering it but I think it is suppose to rain today, wouldn't you know! I think it is on its way out. There are only 2 leaves that are not affected now.
Thanks for trying.
Yes! Very high humidity. It feels like a steam bath out there this morning!
The whole plant is wilted now!
Can you place an old umbrella near it to shade it from the sun?
When did you plant it?
I got it little more than 3 weeks ago. It didn't start to look bad until I planted it in the ground about 10 days after I got it. It gets sun less than half a day. ????
Sounds like it's stressed and a problem adjusting (transplant shock) - not uncommon with the weather you've had. As sad as it may look to you I'd still give it until mid September, when it's cooler, to see if it adapts...or not.
Pirl, you might be right. I tried pulling up the worst of it a few days ago and it is in the soil very tight so it must have good roots. I hate looking at it though. It is so pathetic!
Many of us have plants that don't look best in the high heat of summer. It's the same with people!
You are right!! I hate this hot weather! I have a couple of errands and I just don't want to go outside! If my plant feels like I do, I really feel for it!
This is how my plant is feeling today! : ~ (
the poor thing! don't pull it, leave it in it's sickbed!
Ok, I will leave it to do whatever it wants to do!
Take a look at the photo from yesterday. (above)
It sure is changing fast. Imagine what it will look like tomorrow!
I know the poor thing looks awful and it's making my nurse instincts kick in...I want to stick a thermometer in it's mouth, give it a cool compress and some broth lol Venice could you fluff it's mulch just to make me feel better?
lol I thought it may be getting too much water so I pulled back the mulch so the soil would dry. Ok, I will the the mulch a fluff!
thank you :) it makes me feel like you turned the pillow to the cool side.
Do you think this makes Wilty feel better?!
Great sense of humor, venice!
ROTFL HAHAHAHA
yes, it should perk up any time now!
How's the patient doing Venice? Any change?
Wilty is shrinking!!!!
Oh no! Maybe it's going into very early dormancy?
This is what the poor thing looked like just a few weeks ago!
"The case of the disappearing verbascum" by venice62!
Giving it Pepto Bismol a couple of days ago didn't even help it!!!
Now it's down to a waiting game. See what it does when the weather gets cooler.
Venice, a couple notes...verbascum needs full sun, the more the happier it is, so, it should be planted somewhere it gets sunrise to sunset sun. Verbascum prefer alkaline soil that has not been highly amended with compost, etc. and good drainage. They are found in the wild in dry stony areas and open woodland areas....in otherwords, they actually do better with some neglect. You may be actually killing it with kindness with water and fertilizer....make sure the soil does not stay wet. It should do fine with just rainfall and no additional watering.
I grow a few verbascum, full sun mostly and nothing gets watered more than maybe once a week if it doesnt rain.
My first thought was maybe something wrong with the root but also I suspect you need to just ignore it for a while
Wilty is getting pretty crisp!
Crisp is not what you want and not what we're "rooting" for!
oh boy! poor thing! looks critical, Venice!
I keep trying to save Wilty!!!!
You're trying!
How does the stem feel? Soft? Hard?
Ohh Nooo. Venice, I am afraid it is fading fast. Verbascum are susceptible to powdery mildew and a varietyof leaf spot fungus. Try cutting the worst leaves off and giving it a shot of fungicide. Do you have moles or voles....they can do some serious damage without you even being aware of it, cuz they mess with the roots. Has the soil dried out?
(sounds of sirens in the distance....may take more than Pepto for this one) grin
Three-fourths of the leaves are crispy. The others are getting that way. The stems are rubbery and somewhat dry. I don’t think it is moldy powdery mildew because I know what that is. It never had any spots either. I sprayed it with 3-in-1 when it started to look bad. That should have covered everything. It sits between two black sweet potato vines, which look very healthy. And there are no critters around here. We just have ducks, geese, and a heron visits once and a while.
So, so sad! I feel helpless to save it! It is very critical and I don’t think it will hang on much longer! If the Pepto and the First Aid didn’t help, I don’t know what else to do! Please hope for the best for Wilty. He was such a good plant just a few weeks ago.
Just don't pull it out no matter how bad it looks. I'm wondering if the stress made it go dormant early and only time will tell. Good luck!
Venice, last ditch effort. Dig Wilty up and put him in a pot. He seems ready for the ICU.
