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issue HELP!!!! Scorpion needs attention...

Matt50680

Matt50680

Ok, I checked on my outside plants today and the one AJ Scorpion is looking funky. It has been this way for about a week. I am watering it the same as the other plants, no fert and it is getting about 8-10 hours sun a day, daytime temps have been in the mid 80's and nighttime temps around 60. Sorry for the horrorific picture AJ...

SpinyScorpion.jpg
 
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How is the soil? If it is too compacted, it won't allow the plant to get any water... Also have a nice close look at it and see if you can see any liitle mites or aphids on it the mites will be extremely hard to see and check if there are and tiny little "spider webs" anywhere on the plant, a little fert wouldn't go a stray either. I'm sure there will be better advice not too far away

EDIT: Did you harden off or just put it straight out in the sun for 8-10 hours?
 
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I hardened it off as I did the other plants I have next to it (they look fine btw). I dont see any parasites on the plant. I will try working the soil up and see if it helps.
 
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Does it perk up a bit in the mornings? If it looks fine in the morning it could be wilting from losing more water then it can take up. The soil looks very wet, could you have possibly overwatered, or the soil is staying too wet for too long and causing root rot. You might want to chech to see if the roots are white or brown. Also check around the base of the stem for any damage, or where you tied it up for any damage. One other thing to think about is if this plant has been in an area where it could have gotten hit by overspray of a herbicide. Just a few more ideas, besides just checking for bugs.
 
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I think your plant caught the drift of some herbicide that was sprayed in your area. If it hasn't died by now then it will probably grow out of it. Keep giving it some TLC and the new growth should start looking better.


Alan
 
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good advice in the above comments...another way to check for pests (that I use a lot for my old eyes) is to take a piece of white paper (typing,notebook, etc.), hold it under the leaves and thump or shake the plant...if you see little bitty red dots hit the paper that move, you got red spider mites...they are hell to get rid of but a good thing is they don't spread that quickly...if you do have spider mites, get rid of them quickly...you may have to treat 2 or 3 times to eliminate them...

white paper, a magnifying glass or a 10X/20X jewelers loop (pic) is a must in identifying insects...of course, macro photos are great too..

jewelersloop001.jpg
 
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Thanks for all the advice everyone.

AJ, I tried the paper thing and found a couple aphids.

Matt, I dont think they got any chemicals on them since they are up along the house and I havent sprayed anything in the yard.

Tigah, I wasnt concerned too much with the leaves looking eaten, I know that is wind damage, we had a week of 25-35 mph southern winds and it beat the hell out of some of my plants.

I looked through threads on aphids and it seems a soapy water solution kills them? I tried it anyways, mixed up 3 pumps of anti bacterial hand soap into my sprayer and went to town on EVERYTHING in that area, tops and bottoms, hopefully it works.
 
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Matt50680 said:
Thanks for all the advice everyone.

AJ, I tried the paper thing and found a couple aphids.

Matt, I dont think they got any chemicals on them since they are up along the house and I havent sprayed anything in the yard.

Tigah, I wasnt concerned too much with the leaves looking eaten, I know that is wind damage, we had a week of 25-35 mph southern winds and it beat the hell out of some of my plants.

I looked through threads on aphids and it seems a soapy water solution kills them? I tried it anyways, mixed up 3 pumps of anti bacterial hand soap into my sprayer and went to town on EVERYTHING in that area, tops and bottoms, hopefully it works.
Click to expand...

NOOOOOO! Not antibacterial! Rinse, rinse, rinse!
 
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Don't spray in direct sun and I alway rinse off after 1/2 hour or so just in case. I use 2 tsp per 500ml water. Get bottoms of leaves well and spray stem too. I read use soft water too, I guess the minerals bond to the oil making it less effective.
 
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I use Ivory soap there are others like Murphy's you want soap and NOT detergent. I mix 7 1/2 mils of neem oil to 1 teaspoon of Ivory to the quart of non chlorine water. you let tap water sit outside for 24 hours before you use it. if there mites it may take 2-3 sprayings to get rid of them there tough. Good Luck
 
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Sorry, no pics, but they are looking better and the leaves are returning to normal. I decided today since they were being a pain in my ass they were going to be given the choice, live or die. I took them out of their pots (carefully) and planted them in the main garden where they will get alot more sun. The roots looked good, white and a nice ball on each, between a softball and canteloup size. I also gave them a good drink with some fert (they havent had fert in about 3 weeks) So now they have a choice to make, I hope they choose the better one, pics to follow soon.
 
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This is what I have been using so far this year.... seems to work great, I had red spidermites attempting to make an assult but after two treatments of this stuff they are gone (knock on wood) and no signs of aphids yet either. I tried using my own soap mix last year against the aphids but it didnt work very well and I lost the battle at the end of the year.

its about $5 I think

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