Alternaria Fruit Rot

/Alternaria Fruit Rot/

Alternaria Fruit Rot

Lemon trees are part of the citrus genus of plants, prized by many home gardeners for their bright yellow fruit. Hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 through 10, lemon trees thrive in sunshine and warmth. Like other citrus varieties, lemon trees are susceptible to several fungal infections, but blackening of new fruit and premature drop are usually symptoms of Alternaria fruit rot infection.

Alternaria fruit rot, also known as black rot, is a fungal disease affecting citrus plants. It is typically caused by the fungal pathogen, Alternaria alternata. Alternaria fungus develops on dead tissue of the fruit and leaves during wet conditions, producing spores that are carried by the wind. The fungal spores require moisture to germinate and infect the fruit. Once the spores have germinated, Alternaria fungus establishes itself in the stylar end of the fruit, also referred to as the button or blossom end. Alternaria fruit rot fungus is most likely to enter the fruit through cracks or splits, where it grows into the core of the lemon fruit and causes black decay.

By | 2017-09-11T15:49:29-07:00 January 4th, 2016|Plant Diseases|0 Comments
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Water Problem For Cordyline

Does the container have drainage holes? If not this may be the problem since most houseplants require excellent drainage and humidity. If the pot does have drainage holes and there is a saucer underneath, do not allow the pot to sit in water as this may lead to root rot as well as salt build-up in the soil. Show a close-up of the damaged leaves to a horticulturist at your local garden center for confirmation of the problem. Most tropical understory plants such as the Cordyline are sensitive to salts in chemical fertilizers and in the tap water causing salt burn on the leaves turning them brown. Suggest you switch to steam iron water available at your grocery store and water the plant thoroughly allowing the salts to leach out and feed with a slow-release or organic fertilizer formulated for container plants. To increase humidity around the plant, set up a saucer, fill with pebbles, fill with water, place a brick in the middle so the plant does not sit in the water. This will increase humidity by about 70% around the plant. We hope your plant recovers.

By | 2016-01-04T11:38:22-08:00 January 4th, 2016|House Plants|0 Comments
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Garlic

Garlic grows slowly all winter and takes off in the spring. Our guess is that it's too early for it to show substantial growth in your area just yet, but soon it should start to shoot up. Here are the conditions garlic needs to do well, so if yours isn't growing soon it might be that it's lacking one of the following conditions:
1. Sun. Garlic grows best when it's getting at least 6 hours of dead-on sun including the noon hour.
2. Deep watering less often. Water garlic deeply (not hand watering - use a sprinkler or soaker hose) once a week if there hasn't been an inch of rain, measured by a rain gauge.
3. Fertile soil. Have you fertilized this area at all? An application of an organic fertilizer would be a good idea if you haven't recently done so. Ask for a recommendation at your local garden center.
4. Soil pH - garlic likes a pH of between 6 and 7. If you haven't had your pH measured recently it would be a good idea to do so since soil that's more acid or alkaline would stunt the growth of your plants. When the pH is off plants can't absorb the nutrients that are already there. Many home pH meters aren't all that accurate so if you could have your soil tested by a university soil testing lab or cooperative extension that would be better.

By | 2016-01-04T11:03:25-08:00 January 4th, 2016|Vegetable Plants|0 Comments
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Fungus Gnats

Without seeing the insects we cannot be positive, but from your description they might be fungus gnats. If you see the adult insects fly away when you water, this is another indication that they are probably fungus gnats. Resembling fruit flies, their larvae feed on organic matter in the soil, and damage the roots of young seedlings. Soil that is kept constantly wet is especially susceptible to fungus gnats. To break the cycle and to keep the adults from laying eggs in the soil, reduce watering as much as possible without damaging the plant and cover with a layer of horticultural sand available at your local garden center (do not use beach sand). You can also use yellow sticky traps (again available at your local nursery) to capture the adults. The larvae in the soil are killed by putting Spinosad in the watering can. Spinosad is the active bacteria, an organic treatment so fine for edible herbs, and it's available in a variety of products at your local garden center.

The combination of yellow sticky cards and Spinosad is very effective. There are a couple of other products that are applied on the surface of house plants that also treat this problem organically. Ask at your garden center if you'd like to explore those options.

By | 2016-01-04T07:45:43-08:00 January 4th, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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Curling Leaves On Basil

Curling leaves on basil could be a couple of different problems. Often it's because the plants have a sucking insect at work on the underside of the leaves - these insects pierce the leaf cells and this causes the leaves to curl as they grow. Sucking insects that attack basil include white fly (tiny, TINY white insects around the plants) and aphids for the most part. Aphids gather on the new growth and are visible.

Another cause of curling foliage could be a fungal disease such as powdery mildew or botrytis mold, or a water mold such as downy mildew. Powdery mildew and botrytis look like light grey powder and downy mildew looks like dirty, grey powder on the underside of the leaves.

Finally, fertilizer burn can cause distortion of the leaves if a synthetic fertilizer is applied in too great a concentration or if it's given to a dry plant. Never fertilize a thirsty plant.

The bottom line is that basil is an herb that grows best outside, in hot weather. Indoors it's more prone to all of the problems listed above. Basil can be planted outdoors when the night time temperatures are reliably above 50. So once you see that it will no longer go below 50 at night, you can plant basil outdoors and it will be less prone to problems.

By | 2016-01-04T07:02:45-08:00 January 4th, 2016|Herbs|2 Comments
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Crested Succulent

You definitely have a succulent that is growing in what is called a "cristate" or crested form. this happens when the original plant sustains some damage to the normal, single growing point and causes it to make multiple growing points. These all push against each other and cause the wavy, fan shape. It also doesn't allow the plant to grow in its normal form of a single rosette so that's why we can't give a definitive I.D., just a guess that it is likely a variety of echeveria. Sometimes it will throw out a plant that has reverted to normal - it looks like that might be the case off the right side of the photo but we can't see it. This will help identify the plant. For care I would carefully unpot it and add some soil to the bottom of the pot so you can re-pot it up at a higher level. This will give more air circulation around the base where it can often develop a rot problem, and clean out all the old dead leaves on the soil - they can cause a fungal problem. Otherwise it looks like you have been doing everything quite well. It does look like the soil may be a bit wet and you don't want that for any length of time. When you water, water well, but don't water again until the soil has started to dry out to about your first knuckle on your finger. keep it in the brightest location possible, even a little sun.

By | 2016-01-04T05:40:53-08:00 January 4th, 2016|Succulents|4 Comments
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Snails And Slugs

We've included a link all about snails and slugs to help you get control of them. When they get to be numerous in a garden/yard, it will take time to get them under control, but once you do, it'll be worth the effort. Baits formulated for control of slugs and snails are only effective if used exactly right, and some can be very toxic to other organisms (children included :). Non-chemical methods are more effective for the long term. The best way to control them is to trap them. You can easily make traps out of melons (carved out, after eating them) or just about anything that will provide a dark, moist place for them to hide under during the day in your garden. (make sure they have room to slither under the trap! Then you just pick up the trap every day, and dispose of the ones you've caught; then repeat until you think you've got them. You will probably want to use multiple traps at once to get as many as possible every night. Beware that one snail/slug can lay lots of eggs in the soil, so regular cultivation or tilling of the soil surface helps to eliminate the eggs (and helps with weeds too)!
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/QT/snailsslugscard.html

By | 2016-01-04T05:38:27-08:00 January 4th, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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Tree Branch Loss

Your tree is obviously under stress. Here are a couple of observations that may be helpful. First, it appears as through there is a mound of dirt/rocks in front of the tree. Because the majority of tree roots are near the surface, they are easily damaged or killed when additional soil or material is added to their root zone. It cuts off their water and air supply and they need both. The largest limb damage/loss is in the area where the soil level has been significantly altered. The remaining root system under the tree is covered with rock so we're assuming it's not in irrigation? The tree may not be getting enough water. Once a tree is stressed, it can easily succumb to other diseases and pests. You might consider asking your local nursery for a recommendation to a reputable arborist who can come and determine the extent of damage, if the tree can be saved, and if it can, what measures need to be taken to bring it back to health. An arborist can also prune out the dead and dying branches and make recommendations for watering, fertilizing, mulching and soil grade changes.

By | 2017-09-11T15:49:29-07:00 January 4th, 2016|Plant Diseases|0 Comments
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Spider Plant Problem

This kind of damage is fairly typical for spider plants. This plant doesn't look that bad actually. It just needs some grooming. Trim off all the brown sections. Cut the leaf tips at an angle so they don't look odd. However, without inspecting the soil and container it is hard to say what the problem is. Are there drainage holes in the bottom of the container? How much sun is it getting? What kind of soil is it planted in? Make sure the container has drainage holes so that the water can drain out completely, otherwise root rot may result. But water it really well when you water it, so that the root ball gets well saturated.

These plants have very thick roots so if they've been in a pot for over a year it's likely that they are too root bound. Tip this plant out of the pot and see if you see a mass of congested roots - if so, repot so that the roots have some soil around them to hold the moisture when you water it.

Place in an area that receives bright, indirect light and water when the soil feels dry down to the first knuckle. And the potting soil medium should be a commercial, sterile mix that is well-draining.

When you repot any plant, don't put any rocks or shards in the bottom of the pots "for drainage" - this is a myth and a practice that's bad for plants.

By | 2016-01-04T01:46:13-08:00 January 4th, 2016|House Plants|0 Comments
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Rose Stem Girdler

The rose stem girdler, introduced from Europe, is a small (ca. 1/5 in), bronze- and greencolored flat-headed beetle (Family Buprestidae). It infests wild and cultivated roses, red raspberry, black and red currants, and gooseberry. The Utah Plant Pest Diagnostic Laboratory database has records from Sanpete County, Utah, and north, with the majority of records from the Wasatch Front, Cache, and Rich Counties.
The rose stem girdler has a single generation per year and spends the winter as a mature larva within a cane. Adults emerge during May and June. Females äóìcementäó eggs singly onto canes, and the white, flattened larva bores into the cane through the bottom of the egg. Larvae grow up to Œ_ in long and have a pair of brown projections on the tail end. Larvae feed in the cambium just under the bark in a spiraling pattern causing the cane to swell. Researchers in Utah (Davis and Raghuvir 1964) found that most larvae tunnel upward in canes and that primocanes (1st year) are more susceptible than loricanes to attack. Feeding injury often girdles the cane causing it to break off later in the summer. The larva can survive the winter in the broken cane, so removal and destructionof infested canes is critical to reduction of the overwintering population

By | 2017-09-11T15:49:29-07:00 January 4th, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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