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Cottage Gardens

Help! My plants are dying

16 years ago

I need help. I have a raised bed that I have pampered for years. I have added aged horse manure several times but not this year. My lilies, annuals and perennials have been doing great until I watered them with the liquid Miracle Grow that you connect to your garden hose. Since then I have noticed that my garden phlox and zennias that were doing fine have started to loose their leaves and wilt. They are all located in the same area of the bed. Whats up with that? Could it be too strong for them? Or could it be a fungus.

Since it has been so dry here I have been watering around 6:00 each evening. IS that really bad for the plants? I have too many to water in the morning before leaving for work.

Thanks for any advice you can give.

faye

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Comments (4)

deborahz7
16 years ago
hhmm, I'm not sure about phlox but I know zinnia's don't like to have their foliage get wet. It is always better to water in the mornings, preferably as the sun is coming up or just beforehand. I understand its not always feasible to do so & have had to do evening waterings myself sometimes.

I use alot of organic matter too and feed twice a year with the liquid miracle gro and have never had that problem. Have you checked for aphids? They can cause leaf wilt too. Look on the underside of your leaves. They'll look like little grains of rice.
lorinscott_1
16 years ago
Faye, did you perhaps use the "bloom booster" type fertilizer from Miracle Grow? I didn't realize there were two kinds, and bought the bloom booster type.....when I used it, a lot of my plants bloomed before they were actually strong enough to, kwim? I found the straight fertilizer at Lowes at a great price...$9.something for 4 bottles....and have been using that, and my garden looks much better. Also, if your weather has been very, very dry, some plants might wither without a couple waterings a day....we just went through a several-day dry spell and things were starting to look kinda rough, esp the earlier spring blooming annuals.
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Nell Jean
16 years ago
If there are no visible signs of fungus (grey film or spots of some kind) or insects, check your watering methods.

Watering at 6 pm is okay; I do it all the time. Sprinkling with the hose daily is not okay. Plants need a good deep soaking every two, three, four days according to need. That way the roots go deeper, seeking moisture.

Too much water can cause plants to wilt because they're not getting oxygen to the roots in a water-logged environment. Dig into the soil before you water next and see if it's soggy or dry beneath the first inch or so.

Hard to say about the fertilizer. I tend to underfertlize.

Nell
Nancy
16 years ago
I wouldn't think that regular miracle grow would be too strong, but I don't tend to fertilize much at all. When I do I use the granular stuff & just toss it out. I always water in the afternoons around 6:00. Lots of articles say not to water late in the day because of fungus & disease, but I feel that afternoon watering allows the plant to absorb water better better than morning watering. I've certainly never had any problems from it.

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