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Anyone knows what’s wrong with my carnation?

Serenity22Serenity22 Posts: 35
in Plants
The leaves are getting brown, but still blooming. 
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  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    When you water, do the leaves get wet?  Or was the soil dry for a while when it was also windy?
    Utah, USA.
  • Serenity22Serenity22 Posts: 35
    Yeah, the leaves get wet. Don’t tell me that this is the issue? Lol, in the case it always get wet. 
  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    It doesn't look like disease, pests, or other.  Septoria is more blotchy with purple.  That just looks like sun burn or windburn.  It's not so much about the leaves getting wet, but more about them getting wet when it's sunny and hot.  Can you water more at the base?  The current damage is done, but it might prevent future browning.  

    Maybe someone else has a better idea of what the issue might be?  
    Utah, USA.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    It may well be the amount of rain we've had of late.
    Nothing to do with the leaves being wet, but so much moisture in the soil.
    The plant draws up water from the soil and into the leaves by a process called osmosis.
    The water moves along the leaves to the tips of the leaves.
    If the soil is very wet, too much water moves along the leaves to the tips, then there's nowhere else to go, so the cells at the leaf tips basically burst and die, so the tips turn brown as they have died.
    There's not much you can do about it, but your plants shouldn't be damaged - just the leaf tips.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • BijdezeeBijdezee Posts: 1,484
    Agree with others it's the wet/sunny/windy combo. Carnations don't need a lot of watering, especially the smaller varieties. My aunt used to grow them on very stony thin but chalky ground. They like a bit of lime too. Maybe if you think they need watering try doing it after 7pm and it might be dry by morning, though nothing can counteract the weather of course. 
  • Serenity22Serenity22 Posts: 35
    @Pete.8, yeah, it’s been raining forever and today is like 5/10 minutes of sun and rain (it has been like that the entire day today) and I can see the soil is too moist. Maybe I should bring indoors? 🤔
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    No. Don't bring them inside. They need free draining soil, so if the soil's heavy, that's where the problem lies. 
    I grow loads of dianthus - and all they need to keep them happy is good drainage. They can then cope with all the rain they get here. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Serenity22Serenity22 Posts: 35
    @Fairygirl, good drainage, you said. Interesting, because when I bought them and left them in their original plastic pot, they started discolouring the leaves. So I moved to the ground, because I thought that it was too much fertiliser. So I stopped with fertiliser and then the new leaves started growing, then it started raining like insane and now the new leaves are also discolouring. Complicated little plants they are. SMH. 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    In a pot every plant needs assistance in terms of food and water, especially water, regardless of whether they like sun, shade etc, because they have limited access to that in a pot. The type of pot has a bearing too - clay pots absorb moisture for example, so they're not as good for a plant that needs to retain moisture, but better for those which like a drier medium to grow in. 
    It's a different situation when they're in the ground, but that's where picking a suitable site comes into play, as well as the general condition of the soil  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    I find they like my south facing front garden free draining rubbish stoney soil,they don't get fed or watered
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