Hidden Valley Hibiscus Forum

Hello everyone. As this is my first year as a Hibiscus-aholic, I have been learning every step of the way. Mostly thanks to the wealth of info and experience found in this forum. Dust mites and caterpillars... Been there, done that. My latest "challenge" has been wilt disease since moving my plants indoors for the winter. With my first three victims, I tried the bleach method outlined in the "hibiscus doctor" section with no success. (R.I.P. Tahitian Lavender Rainbow, Black Knight, and Gator Pride). So I figured preventative measures were the best way to avoid this fate.  I have been using less water... Watering only once every 10-14 days, as the soil seems to stay moist up to this point. Also have been using the weight-of-the-pot method to determine if the soil is dry enough for the next watering. Then wilt disease struck again attacking my Heavy Metal. ARGHHHHHHH!

So now digging further into the forum, I have found mention of a product called "Actinovate". I was wondering who all has used this product with success? Any stories you would like to share? I received this product this week and started using it right away! All of my hibs have been treated with Actinovate (and prayers and crossed fingers etc...)

Thanks in advance for your input.

Paul

Paul, adding hydrogen peroxide to your water will help prevent root rot. I use 2tbs/gallon when I water my plants during their stay inside for the winter.

Paul - that is good to hear that you are watering a lot less.  Over watering is the #1 way to kill these plants.!  John gives some really good advice with using peroxide.  Be really open minded with how little you end up watering them.  It might be less than once a month depending on the conditions in your home.  My plants that were outside last winter I never even watered once the entire winter (3 months).

 I was the one who mentioned Actinovate in the past and my experience has been that it helped on just a couple plants that had minor wilt issues but for the majority of plants I treated with it not a big help as they still ended up dying.

I also recommend purchasing a water meter.  Charlie recently stated that the ones you see at your local garden center (costing some where near $10) are not all that accurate and recommended getting a high end one which I believe he said would be upwards of around $100.  I have not personally purchased a high end one yet but with half a dozen potted hibs that will remain outdoors on my porch all winter long I might take the hit if issues start to arise. Furthermore I have over 40 potted seedlings currently outside as well but my goal is to make enough room in my garage for them and keep it heated if issues arise with them too.  Either way maybe with so many potted hibs it might be the right move to make.

I just wonder how much of a difference there is with these high quality water gauges?  That is a lot more money for what type of more accurate results remains to be seen.

Again be very careful with deciding on watering your plants - the top soil might seem dry but without a gauge you can't tell if the rootball is still saturated…and make sure you have really well draining soil.  That is critical too.

Farmer D

Darren preaching to the converted with me, the problems I have had with overwatering nearly got me to the point of giving up. As for the meters well obviously you get what you pay for but for sure a cheap one is better than none and an absolute must.

I use the cheap ones, they come with 2 probes, one for water[ which I think is OK] and one for measuring the PH,  the PH probe is normally aluminium which is totally useless, I actually cut it of as the meter is then easier for use. One problem I find with the cheap ones is they do break easily.

I was going to mention at the time Darren but never got round to it, that picture you showed the other day of the root ball was the opposite of my problem, I have fairly healthy big tap roots but zero small feeder roots.

Thanks for your responses guys! It's definitely been a challenge with bringing these plants indoors. I can't wait for spring to get here! Lol

Hi Paul,

Reading between the lines of your original post my thoughts are that the plants are in pots that are too large for the plant size. Other possibilities are that the soil mix is way too heavy, or that the conditions are too cool and/or too dark. Or there is too much standing water that is not drained off from the saucer. There is also the chance that the source of your plants is shipping plants already in bad soil and/or already carrying the fungus disease that just waits for the right opportunity to attack. None of those varieties came from HVH, I want to add.

You have experienced a high number of wilt disease problems compared to what I see - maybe 1 plant in 200 gets wilt disease in our house, if that many. But our pots dry out in less than 1 week in winter, most of ours dry out in 3-4 days in winter. If pots are staying wet longer than 1 week, or even indefinitely as Darren mentioned, then there is something wrong with either pot size, soil type, standing water, or the conditions of temp and light. In that case more wilt disease can be expected and indeed that is what you are reporting.

Only you can figure out what the situation is at your house but I highly recommend that you think about the above and see if anything fits. A healthy plant, in healthy soil of the right type, in a pot that dries out in less than a week will almost never get the wilt disease. No need for treatments or preventive products in that case.

Charlie

Not just with Hibiscus, but with many other tropical's, I have found that a fast draining mix is better in the long run. Yes you water more, but I seldom have issues with wilt diseases or other rot. I use to all the time with the Miracle Grow Home Depot type mixes. I have since cut my own. I buy Fox Farms Light Warrior and cut with Ocean Forest and medium grade perlite.

Like Charlie alluded too, with that much wilt it is something to do with your pot culture that you need to figure out. Make sure to remove old leaves and flowers, don't overwater, prevent overcrowding and ensure airflow and lighting is optimal. Seems simple, but just one error here can have serious consequences. Good luck!

Thanks for the input. :) I have been using the Miracle Grow Moisture Control potting soil and I added perlite at about a 3:1 ratio. . It was fine over the spring and summer, but maybe that is the source of my problem now that my hibs are all indoors for the fall and winter. I will have to look into a replacement soil. i have been good about trying not to over-water, but maybe that soil is holding in too much moisure in this indoor environment. I really appreciate all the help everyone! :)

I found Miracle Grow holds water at the bottom and will eventually make a dense muck. Maybe not as fast with a 3:1 cut with Perlite, but I bet when you pot up an older plant you will see this. One way around this is to add Hydroton to the bottom of the pot and make a base with it. I have done this for some tough to grow plants and it works great. The soil as it breaks down filters through the Hydroton and out the drain holes so plant roots are not sitting in the thick, wet muck.

I just checked that Hydroton out. Sounds like a great idea! Thanks for the advice! Unfortunately we have limited choices for potting soil at the garden centers here in West Virginia, so I just though the Miracle Grow would be the best choice at the time. It was great for the summer!