think pink leaf question

[topshelf12]

  Hi everyone,
The leaves on my think pink are strange. The problem seems to start on the outside of the leaf and spread to the rest of the leaf. The leaves also seem more brittle? than other hib leaves. It is the only hib that has this problem. i sprayed it twice with Jungle Rain. The second time I used a paper towel to try and scrub some of those brown dots off. It helped a little. I also moved it out of the green house ( more air flow?) Any help would be great.
thanks
Norm

[roadrunner]

Norm those leaves resemble the problem I"m currently having with what I think are microscopic mites.  I think I'd remove any leaves showing those spots and isolate the plant from your others and wait and see what Charlie recommends.

dave

[topshelf12]

thanks Dave. The plant is growing really slow and that is normal for this plant i have read. How far away from the other plants do you think I should move it?
thanks
Norm

[roadrunner]

Norm that's a good question and anything I told you would be a guess but I would keep it at least several feet away from any other plants and wouldn't put it back in the greenhouse.  Hopefully Charlie or some of the more knowledgable members of the forum will be able to identify the cause.  My first impression is mites of some type.

Since I'm currently having a major problem with mites in my collection, everything looks like mite damage to me right now.

dave

[davidwood]

It looks like a fungus to me, I would for sure get rid of any affected leaves, they never repair themselves and then spray with a fungicide, like you say its Think Pink which is a slow grower and in a few weeks you will have new leaves and wont even notice.

[Charlie]

The brown spots looks like the kind of opportunistic junk that can grow in the damaged leaves following a mite attack. I doubt it will spread beyond the already damaged leaves. The key thing is to make sure the mites are gone. Think Pink seems a little more susceptible to this kind of attack than other varieties. If it wasn't for the great flowers I wouldn't grow it but the flowers do make it worth the effort in my opinion.

I won't repeat mite treatments as we have already discussed on the forum everything from water blasting the leaves to use of professional strength miticides. If beneficial predatory insects were not so expensive and did not require regular release to be effective I would suggest most outdoor growers go with that but as it is you have to pick an approach and see if will work in your situation.

Charlie

[roadrunner]

Charlie I think you are correct about Think Pink being more suceptible to mite attacks and diseases. Mine has only had about 3 or 4 really nice blooms but it is in a constant battle with those raise brown spots and mites inspite of Kontos, water blasting, etc. It continues to be a small plant with no vigor for me.

dave