pawpaw seedlings dying?

Hampton, VA

Can anyone identify what is going on here? The leaves have a very small whitish granular look, and now the leaves are turning brown and curling up. Am I watering too much perhaps, or is it maybe downy mildew? I have these on my front porch, they are shaded but get 2-3 hours of filtered sunlight per day. I am in eastern Virginia. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thumbnail by Luft46
Hampton, VA

Here is a close-up of one of the leaves... the leaves feel sort of dry and paper-like. Thanks for any help!

This message was edited Jul 30, 2011 1:21 PM

Thumbnail by Luft46
Richland, WA(Zone 7b)

That sure looks like spider mites- Hold a piece of paper under a leaf and tap it- you will see minute critters fall onto the paper-

don't know what is wrong with your plant, but when you say pawpaw do you mean papaya? It certainly is not a papaya, but maybe pawpaw means something else in the States??

Hampton, VA

Hey, thanks for the input! That's exactly what it was - spider mites. I sprayed the good plants with some volck oil and water, and it seemed to do the trick overnight. A few of my seedlings look too far gone, the leaves had already curled up and look dead - I hope they come back next year.

To billure - yep, these are the Asimina triloba, the American pawpaw. They are the largest indigenous fruit of all North American trees. The papaya is Carica papaya.

Indianapolis, IN

I cannot seem to get Pawpaw seeds to sprout. Have tried numerous recommended ways. I have one 5-year-old transplant and she needs a boyfriend.

Any/all help would be most appreciated.

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