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Cockscomb pampas plume crinkled deformed leaves

Hi, I am new to gardening and have grown some cockscomb pampas plume from seed. They were very happy in their potting mix in the pots. They did get attacked by aphids quite easily, but I kept on top of getting rid of them and they still seemed happy.
As soon as I put them in the ground they all went deformed and all the new growth curled and crinkled. I have tried to work out why but seems there could be a million reasons. I have put them in all parts of the garden and they've all done the same. My soil is clay but I amended it with horse manure (rightly or wrongly!) We've had loads of rain lately and not alot of sun, but this happened even before the rubbish weather. I tested the pH of the soil and it seems to vary between 5.5 to 6.5 in different areas. I wondered if something in the horse manure had caused damage or maybe the aphids had spread a disease. I've no idea, and what I can do about it. They don't seem to be recovering at all and I've loads of them. Do I just rip them all out and write this one off incase they spread stuff to other plants? Just wondered if anybody knows what caused this? Sorry for the essay!

Any advice much appreciated. Thank you πŸ™‚πŸŒ»



(I don't know how to turn this picture around!) πŸ€”πŸ˜¬



Posts

  • CeresCeres Posts: 2,698
    Hello and welcome to the forum.
    Those plants certainly look unhappy. I guess it's going to be a process of elimination so......where did you get the horse manure?
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    I think the distorted leaves were caused by aphids.
  • Ceres said:
    Hello and welcome to the forum.
    Those plants certainly look unhappy. I guess it's going to be a process of elimination so......where did you get the horse manure?
    Hi, thanks very much. πŸ™‚
    Just from a local guy who has horses. You just go and help yourself. It looked sufficiently rotted (Although I'm no expert, but there was no bedding to see in it.) And the other plants I've planted in it have been fine? πŸ€”πŸ™‚
  • I think the distorted leaves were caused by aphids.
    Thanks, I initially assumed that too and it might well be the case, but some of the leaves look spotty and a bit diseased in places too . But I guess the aphids could have spread a disease? I suppose I just thought plants normally recover from aphids, but these seem fully wiped out. But then as I say, I've very little experience. Just when I get them on my roses they seem to get over it and get on with life. But suppose these are smaller weaker plants maybe.Β  Thank you

  • These are a few when i first planted them (looking much happier) and they had already had aphids on them by that time too. (The little buggers!) But i think the aphids maybe continued their attack out of sight! πŸ€”
  • EustaceEustace Posts: 2,290
    Looks like the horse manure might be contaminated.
    Oxford. The City of Dreaming Spires.
    And then my heart with pleasure fills,
    And dances with the daffodils (roses). Taking a bit of liberty with Wordsworth :)

  • Eustace said:
    Looks like the horse manure might be contaminated.
    Thanks, yes I've put it everywhere I've planted them too stupidly!! Think I've got a couple of spares. Maybe I'll try and plant them in a place without manure and see if they do better. Just my soil is terrible clay so thought if was doing a good thing. Somebody told me recently that cow manure is better than horse manure, as it is digested more so has less weeds in it, do you know if that's right? Makes sense. Doesn't mean it also can't be contaminated like! πŸ€¦β€β™€οΈπŸ€” Thanks for your advice πŸ™‚
  • CeresCeres Posts: 2,698
    Cow or horse, when it comes to manure it doesn't really make much difference provided it is very well rotted. There have been problems in recent years with manure contaminated with weed killer but as you have planted other things in the same manured ground and they seem to be okay, then it is probably not the manure.
    If it is a virus then it could have been transmitted by insects but it is equally possible for a virus to be transmitted by seeds so you could have been unlucky with the material from which you grew the plants. I have in the past grown things from seed that subsequently proved to be diseased and the same thing happened when I tried to grow a second batch from the same seed. I would chuck out the plants and the seeds and try again from scratch next year.
  • Ceres said:
    Cow or horse, when it comes to manure it doesn't really make much difference provided it is very well rotted. There have been problems in recent years with manure contaminated with weed killer but as you have planted other things in the same manured ground and they seem to be okay, then it is probably not the manure.
    If it is a virus then it could have been transmitted by insects but it is equally possible for a virus to be transmitted by seeds so you could have been unlucky with the material from which you grew the plants. I have in the past grown things from seed that subsequently proved to be diseased and the same thing happened when I tried to grow a second batch from the same seed. I would chuck out the plants and the seeds and try again from scratch next year.
    Thank you for your help, much appreciated.Β  πŸ™Β 
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