I grew a bunch of wave petunias from seed. One was a "flag mix" of red white and blue. The red is pathetic. Just like your picture. The spent blooms look terrible. The next pathetic is the white and the blue (really a purple) are the best. You dont even notice the spent blooms. As far as the water effecting them, it is possible. All of the spent blooms look like that on the red. I am very careful not to "top water" the foliage and only water the soil with a long wand.

I would keep an eye on the part dead center of the last picture. The yellowish green stem in particular. This could be a problem. It could either be the beginning of a corked stem or a couple diseases common to Holiday cacti. Is it soft or mushy? Keep an eye out for blisters on this stem or spreading of the discolor. If blisters occur it is Edema, which will kill your plant if you don't take action immediately. Edema occurs when the growing media remains moist and the greenhouse air is cool and moist. The plant roots absorb water at a faster rate than is transpired through cells causing the cells to rupture. This rupturing of the epidermis and the inner cells causes the raised, crusty appearance on the underside of the stems. This can be fixed, however. Fusarium wilt is also common and if it spreads, with no blisters this could be the problem. Fusarium is a virus which colonizes the water-conducting vessels (xylem) of the plant. As a result of this blockage and breakdown of xylem, symptoms appear in plants such as leaf wilting, yellowing and eventually plant death. Fusarium is used as an herbicide in South America, where Holiday cacti are native to. It is usually fatal to your plant, unless you can take cuttings of the noneffected areas quick enough. I'm not trying to scare you, but make sure you keep the plant's soil as dry as possible until you can repot. If it were my plant, I'd take a few cuttings as insurance, then either take it back, or repot in new soil and pot immediately after a good bleach bath.

If your aloe is showing some signs of growth, by all means, try to save it! If it is acclimated to sun already that is good! Now just don't water more than every two weeks, *at least*. It is in a large (for its occupant) plastic pot...this will hold water much longer than clay since plastic doesn't absorb any of the water and because a pot that size provides far more moist soil than such a small plant requires. Let me suggest this: if you have trouble controlling the urge to water as many of us do...make your soil sharper. I am using 50/50 organic potting soil and haydite. It drains VERY fast. You can use Turface, or Oil Dri. Others can jump in and give you more ideas on "grits" and "aggregates". But drainage is the key. I don't know what your climate is: humid? dry? moderate temps? earth-baking? Game - Do Not be decieved. Simply because an aloe is sitting in full sun does not mean it needs more water. It is holding plenty inside its leaves. Again, how hot is your sun...compared to the desert areas where these are native? General Rule #1: Succulents can go an extra month with no water but cannot go an extra week with too much. If you are beginning to see green growth, I would probably pull it out of the pot and check the roots, cut off the mushy ones, let it air-dry for a day or two to callus over your cuts and then put it in a smaller clay container with new well-draining mix...and then water every two weeks or so if humidity/rain is low and temps high. This should put it on the right road to recovery. HTH - Jo

Hi it's happening here too and I have 142 plants!!!At first I thought that the blight from my tomatos was the culprit too,then it reminded me of the time I over fertilized.The leaf fall is horrendous. I've come to the conclusion of not watering until necessary overwatering in this case too much RAIN,and poss blight they are both members of the niteshade family.I treated with copper first then a biological I guess wait and see is all we can do.EXPECT the plants to live but withe reduced output and hope for better next year.GL---Neil