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Kalanchoe fungal disease?

12 years ago

Hi,

I have a small kalanchoe plant that came in a plant basket with 8 other small plants and I translplanted into its own pot a few months ago. The ends of the leaves are brown and it shows furryish bumps and grey patches on the backs of the leaves. Looking online, it looks like it could be either thrips or rhizoctonia. Any suggestions of what I should do? Is it a lost cause? None of my other plants have had this problem thought some of them have suffered from spider mites and/or fungal gnats.

Here is a link that might be useful: Photos of my kalanchoe plant

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Comments (4)

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
12 years ago
The plant has the look of one that's been seriously over-watered. The plant likes to get fairly, but not completely dry between waterings. The plant (K blossfeldiana?) also frequently suffers from oedema when over-watered, so you might look in that direction for the corky-appearing spots on the foliage.

Have you fertilized it heavily recently?

Al
hcnd06a
Original Author
12 years ago
Hi Al,

I definitely overwatered it for a while when I first repotted it. I watered all my plants on Wednesdays and Sundays... then I read you should only water kalanchoe once every month during the winter! Then of course I cut back on the watering a lot and it did better- it reflowered and it looked healthier, though the leaves were never quite as thick and "succulent"-looking as in pictures I've seen of kalanchoe. I did give it a little fertilizer about two weeks ago. Sorry, I'm new to gardening- what's oedema?
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birdsnblooms
12 years ago
Hcnd..yeah, looks very much like it was over-watered.

I'm having a hard time seeing the entire plant..can you cut the rotted sections off?
Some people use Cinnamon after removing sections of rotted tissue.

There's no such thing as watering on a schedule be it once a week or once a month..Water when soil is crumbly dry..Meaing every three days or every three weeks.
It depends on medium, pot material, sun and house temp.

Many people on 'Cactus & Succulent Forum' are professionals. Check it out. Toni
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
12 years ago
Read more about oedema by clicking the embedded link. It occurs primarily when you over-water, but dreary days with high humidity and misting plants increases the likelihood of the problem or exacerbates the condition.

You may or may not be able to water on a schedule, depending on your soil. I have around 100 plants that over-winter indoors and they are all on a schedule. Most get watered every 4 days, a few get watered every other day, and a very few, in small post, get watered daily. The advice not to water on a schedule assumes that you're using a heavy, water-retentive soil, in which case the advice is sound. However, you have much broader latitude in your watering frequency as the amount of water your soil retains decreases. Soils that hold no, or very little perched water can easily be watered on a schedule with no ill effects at all.

If you're new, you might wish to give the link below a perusal. It will explain why your soil choice plays a particularly important role in determining how well your plants can do, and how it can considerably increase your margin for error in the watering/fertilizing departments. If you have questions, you can ask there or here.

Take good care. Good growing!

AL

Here is a link that might be useful: More here about container soils

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