Why is my lawn already turning brown?
macgawd
14 years ago
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bpgreen
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Why are my plant's leaves turning yellow and brown???
Comments (24)Plants don't age in the same way we think of people aging. Age in people is a described on a chronological basis, where plants age ontogenetically. This might be framed as, the parts that have taken the most cell divisions to produce are the plant's oldest parts; so strangely, the most recent part of the plant (say, a new branch high on the plant) to grow is the oldest part of the plant. The youngest part of the plant will be found in the root to shoot transition zone. This juvenile part of the plant is also nearly always the most vigorous part of the plant. Plants pass through life stages until they end up at the sexually mature stage. At that point they are capable of blooming/fruiting. Whether they DO or not is complicated and not entirely understood. Blooming and other environmental reactions of most healthy plants are primarily influenced by day length (technically it's night length), but more than a few plants are triggered by other factors, like moisture availability, temperature, predation. Some plants even seem to have an internal 'alarm clock' that acts as a trigger to bloom. There are species of bamboo that bloom as infrequently as every 130 years and when the bloom occurs, all plants of a given genetic origin bloom simultaneously, en masse (all at once), and this occurs regardless of environmental influences. Now, that a plant is capable of blooms/fruit doesn't mean it will produce same, no matter how much we hope. The factors that limit a plant's ability to bloom are as complicated as those that trigger blooming. The plant's internal chemical messengers that limit blooming is first influenced by the plants ontogenetic age, but then by health, stress, stored energy reserves, a significant number of environmental factors, and sometimes seemingly no more than a built-in piqued obstinacy that can be more irritating than Justin Bieber or the Kardashians, if that's even possible. How do I get it to bloom? Keep it healthy and let it do its thing. You can search online - there might be some simple ways to coax it to bloom exactly whenever it feels like it. How old does it have to be? The only age important to plants is what growth phase they're in. They have to be old enough chronologically to have reached sexual maturity. This is also complicated because the (ontogenetic) age of the parent plant from which the propagule (that is now your plant) was taken has to be a part of the equation. Example - a hawthorn tree from seed needs to survive around 20-25 growth cycles to bloom; whereas, a cutting from a blooming hawthorn tree can be counted on blooming within a few years if its state of vitality has been generally good. Al...See MoreWhy are the leaves turning brown on my new peony?
Comments (5)Alex is right about over mulching and over watering causing issues. You certainly don't want to put several inches of degradable mulch directly over your peonies. Some kind of wood based or pine straw mulch will work better to keep the roots cooler, though. Just make sure as has been stated above to keep the mulch back from the stems. I live in CO, we're considered high desert, and only water during the hottest parts of the summer, maybe once a week. A lot of my peonies look similar to yours right now! The ones planted in the last year typically go dormant earlier than those fully established. Once the leaves are mostly brown just cut the stem down to a few inches and leave it for the year. You won't cause your peony to put out new growth by watering this late in the summer but you certainly can cause root rot by overwatering. Peonies are perennial, they go dormant every late summer/fall. It's nerve racking to watch them wither the first few years--I still worry about mine every year even though I've been growing them now for decades! If you think of their habit more as a bulb that is perennial in your zone it's easier to understand their growth cycle. If you are a gardener that fertilizes you can use an organic bulb fertilizer on your peonies. I'm not an expert on fertilizing but have used BulbTone on mine the last few springs and falls based on another respected peony grower's recommendation and I have had better and more blooms because of it. I think it's Hollingsworth's updates that recommended doing the same immediately after flowering as well. That's another thing I'd recommend--go onto the big online grower's sites--several have blogs that you can follow and almost all have lots of peony growing recommendations. You can learn a lot by reading all of that info--I typically go back through all of them during the winter when we're under several inches of snow and I'm missing summer! There is some conflicting information out there but everyone is the same on the basics for growing. If you're unsure about a recommendation it's typically best to consult experienced gardeners in your immediate area as things that work for me here in CO wouldn't work for someone further south with a lot of humidity, etc......See MoreWhy is my hydrangea flowers turning brown and crispy?
Comments (1)It is most commonly a soil moisture issue/hot temperature issue. The first thing to go when the plant is water stressed are flower buds and flowers. Otherwise, you would see the blooms fade (after a while) and start a color change progression that ends in brown blooms. I already went thru that early browning when my temperatures zoomed to the 100s. Heat dries out the sepals and makes them brown out if the plant cannot provide extra water. The heat can be in the environment or bounced off walls or in rocks that people put as organic mulch. Try giving it more shade (I aim for shade after 11am) so cover it with an umbrella or chair. Also supply more water and see if these things helps. In my also clayish but amended soil, I provide plants with 1.5 gallons of water per bush per watering. Try watering the soil (not the leaves) early in the morning and water from the root ball outwards. Mulch -about 2-3" up to the drip line also helps. Unusual causes: gray mold is a fungal infection of the blooms. The blooms brown out, feel papery and are covered with a gray-ish mold. But it is usually more common in the Spring or Fall....See MoreWhy is my hinoki cuttings already browning?
Comments (60)I know the feeling. ha ha! Been there done that. One key to your question is quantity. If you had 15 or 20 cuttings per pot, you could pull one occasionally and call it 'no big deal' but when you're limited to 3 or 4, even 10, you don't have that luxury. otoh: knowing you have roots starting is only part of the equation. Even those that know the roots have started, must wait. They wait until the roots are developed to the point the plant can survive by itself, in a normal environment and that can take months after the initial rooting starts. So in either case patience is necessary. In your case, it's best to wait a reasonable amount of time. I've heard of people pulling their plants after 6 months only to find the very beginnings of a root. I am told that what you do in that case is.........wait........up to one year before considering potting them up. If you try to pot up too early, before roots are developed, they fail. Some conifers can take longer than others. What I do is get other projects going. I'm not as prone to focus on my cuttings that way. I did peak through the plastic the other night and noticed some of my Hemlock cuttings have new growth on them over 1/2" long. I'm thinking it has been too warm for them where they are but I'm still going to wait. I looked at the Thuja and Junipers and they look more normal. And nothing appears to be molding. I may do an update this week by pulling one in each pot for examination. But I'm riding this one to the end and if they live and look healthy, They're going into a tote out side for the summer. At least then you don't need bottom heat anymore and humidity can be less of an issue....See Moreorganicnoob
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agobpgreen
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14 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
dchall_san_antonio
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agomacgawd
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14 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
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