Hello everyone, I've just joined having just come in from the garden where my echium is showing signs of what looks like brown leaf spot - well large 'spots' about an inch or so across where the leaf then becomes very veyr thin. Where this is happening, the leaves are tending to curl over. It shares a pot wiht another plant at the moment and I'm wondering if this could be the problem or a virus of some sort? PS I live in 'balmy' north west London and even manage to grow bougainvillea, outside all year, so cold is not a big problem although we have ahd a lot of rain recently = haven't we all!!
Just to add, I had the very same problem a while back with the bottom leaves of the echium going brown - but my brown leaf problem is something I have not seen before in this first or is it second year of growthas I was given the plant and am not sure of its age etc
I've grown five monster plants from seed. ..now in buckets with drainage. They're very healthy except for what looks like a virus on some leaves. I don't think that the photos have uploaded here. The virus consists of 2cm wide dark grey wiggly strips, three to five or so on some leaves. Does anyone know anything about it? If I remove those leaves I'll lose about half of them which could be too much going into autumn. Thanks, Judith.
Hello again! I've found the answer to my own question. It's a leaf miner moth. The treatment is to remove the affected leaves. Unfortunately I've been away for three weeks with friends watering the garden so I have plenty of leaves to get rid of! Judith.
Another year trying to get my echiums through the winter- 3 are in the garden so hopefully will flower next year if they make it. I've got 20 plants in their first year that will be kept in pots in the cold greenhouse to be planted out next year.
They should of gone out in to the garden in early September to flower next year I grow them from seed each February gradually potting them on then plant out in September protect them with a couple of layers of fleece at night until about March they then romp away reaching 4 or 5 meters and flower for weeks the bees love them.
"You don't stop gardening because you get old, you get old because you stop gardening." - The Hampshire Hog
They need to be this size before they flower, they probably won’t achieve that in pots, they don’t like being moved so get them out as soon as you can, you’ll have to take a chance on a cold winter killing them, pile loads of mulch around them, next Spring, they may look dead but will probably shoot out again. It’s a chance we take in this country. You can’t expect a plant that grows to 20’ tall to survive long in a pot. (I did lose this particular one in the winter😢)
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Tried them here and they were cracking plants the first year but despite protection they did not make it through a Scottish winter to flower the next summer!! Another lesson learned.
'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
Posts
Hello everyone, I've just joined having just come in from the garden where my echium is showing signs of what looks like brown leaf spot - well large 'spots' about an inch or so across where the leaf then becomes very veyr thin. Where this is happening, the leaves are tending to curl over. It shares a pot wiht another plant at the moment and I'm wondering if this could be the problem or a virus of some sort? PS I live in 'balmy' north west London and even manage to grow bougainvillea, outside all year, so cold is not a big problem although we have ahd a lot of rain recently = haven't we all!!
Just to add, I had the very same problem a while back with the bottom leaves of the echium going brown - but my brown leaf problem is something I have not seen before in this first or is it second year of growthas I was given the plant and am not sure of its age etc
Hello,
I've grown five monster plants from seed. ..now in buckets with drainage. They're very healthy except for what looks like a virus on some leaves. I don't think that the photos have uploaded here. The virus consists of 2cm wide dark grey wiggly strips, three to five or so on some leaves. Does anyone know anything about it? If I remove those leaves I'll lose about half of them which could be too much going into autumn. Thanks, Judith.
Hello again! I've found the answer to my own question. It's a leaf miner moth. The treatment is to remove the affected leaves. Unfortunately I've been away for three weeks with friends watering the garden so I have plenty of leaves to get rid of! Judith.
I've got 20 plants in their first year that will be kept in pots in the cold greenhouse to be planted out next year.
I grow them from seed each February gradually potting them on then plant out in September protect them with a couple of layers of fleece at night until about March they then romp away reaching 4 or 5 meters and flower for weeks the bees love them.
"You don't stop gardening because you get old, you get old because you stop gardening." - The Hampshire Hog