Oedema. Oedema Oedema is a physiological disorder that can affect all plants. It occurs when the plant takes up more water than it can rid itself of via the process of transpiration. The word itself means 'swelling', which is usually the first symptom, and comes in the form of pale blisters or water-filled bumps on foliage. Under a variety of circumstances/cultural conditions, a plant's internal water pressure (turgidity) can become so high that some leaf cells rupture and leak their contents into inter-cellular spaces in leaf tissue, creating wet or weepy areas. Symptoms vary by plant, but as the malady progresses, areas of the leaf turn yellow, brown, brown with reddish overtones or even black, with older damage appearing as corky/ scaly/ ridged patches, or wart/gall-like bumpy growth. Symptoms are seen more frequently in plants that are fleshy, are usually more pronounced on the underside of leaves, and older/lower leaves are more likely to be affected than younger/upper leaves. Oedema is most common in houseplants during the winter/early spring months, is driven primarily by excessive water retention in the soil, and can be intensified via several additional cultural influences. Cool temperatures, high humidity levels, low light conditions, or partial defoliation can individually or collectively act to intensify the problem, as can anything else that slows transpiration. Nutritional deficiencies of Ca and Mg are also known contributors to the malady. Some things that can help you prevent oedema: * Increase light levels and temperature * Monitor water needs carefully – avoid over-watering. I'd heartily recommend a soil with drainage so sharp (fast) that when you to water to beyond the saturation point you needn't worry about prolonged periods of soil saturation wrecking root health/function. Your soil choice should be a key that unlocks the solutions to many potential problems. * Avoid misting or getting water on foliage. It slows transpiration and increases turgidity. * Water as soon as you get up in the AM. When stomata close in preparation for the dark cycle, turgidity builds. If you water early in the day, it gives the plant an opportunity to remove (for its own needs) some of the excess water in the soil. * Put a fan in the room or otherwise increase air flow/circulation. Avoid over-crowding your plants. Al

Dead branches need to removed and cut back to live wood right next to a leaf node or to a main shoot. I like to try and find a leaf node pointing in the direction I want the new branch to go. Should be a node pointing to the out side of the plant, not pointing back to the interior of the bush. After the new growth gets about 7 or 8 leafs on it I like to pinch off the very tip of the branch. It does several things. It slows down the growth of the plant so its not so long and lanky. Strengthens the branch as it has time to harden off alittle before new growth starts again and it usually will branch into at least 2 new branchs sometimes more which equals more fruit buds at the end of the season. I try and do that with all my southern High bushs. I grow mine in pots too so it also keeps them more of a bush shape and not too tall. Im a little prune happy though and cant stop messing with my plants. Really theres no right way to grow them. To each his own. Thats just how I prefer to grow mine.

Hi Guys- I live in North Berkeley and all the plants in one of my raised beds look exactly like Irene's. What stinks is that I had first planted two plants from Spiral Gardens Nursery, who grow their own starts, and those did great, even in all the rain we got. Then I planted three plants that I got from Forni-Brown Nursery in Calistoga, which I am almost certain they grow their own starts (they sell mostly to the local restaurants in Napa Valley), and those did great. Then two weeks after that I went to Berkeley Hort and bought more plants, including some sourced from Sweetwater Nursery. While at Berkeley Hort I came across a Mortgage Lifter from Sweetwater, noticed that it was spotted, and brought it to the attention of a sales guy at Berkeley Hort and asked him if there were problems. He very patiently explained the "cold damage" and I believed him. Normally I'm totally paranoid, but I have shopped at Berkeley Hort for five years and never had any problems with plants there, and I consider their staff to be top notch. I also have bought lots of stuff from Sweetwater without a problem in the past. So I thought I should get over my paranoia and went ahead and got some plants there, including that spotty Mortgage Lifter. Planted those, rains came, and a week later, EVERYTHING in that bed had spots on them. Obviously this is all just my observations, but the bottom line is, I should have gone with my instinct and just left that Mortgage Lifter alone. Now it's a waiting game. I finally got to the point of not stripping any more leaves, even if spotted. It's now an experiment. The new growth has been pretty normal, no spots. I've drenched with Serenade twice, but it's expensive, so I've been using a baking soda/oil/castile soap "natural fungicide)" concoction. I can't tell if it's helping or if it's the dry weather that has slowed the leaf spots. I imagine that if I get more fruit set, the plants will only stress and get worse, and who knows if anything will properly ripen. I'm just hoping to get even a small harvest. We'll see. Good luck to you guys and hoping for the best for everyone!

Any damage that is showing on your plants is mechanical - that means it came to be from shipping and other transport, handling or jostling. It is not the result of diseases or insects nor does it look like any watering issues. In reality, these plants look pretty darn good considering most big box stores do not take the slightest bit of care with their plants (hence the evidence of damage you are seeing). As to fertilizing, you need to identify your plants and then do a bit of research, as not all plants benefit from similar fertilization methods nor do they require it at the same time. Cacti and succulents have different needs than do tropical foliage plants and flowering houseplants (orchids, African violets, flowering gift plants) have yet another set of needs. In general, an all purpose liquid fertilizer used at 1/2 to 1/3 strength with every other watering is appropriate for most tropicals during their primary growing season (March through October) but you can get by with quite a bit less. I'd suggest you post this on the House Plants forum both to get accurate ID's on your plants and their advice as to when, how much and with what to best fertilize what you have.