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Puya Alpestris: One is Thriving and One is Dying

westes Zone 9b California SF Bay

6 years ago

I have two Puya Alpestris that are planted side by side. They might be sisters from a common root. The one on the left in this photo is slowly dying, whereas the plant on the right is thriving. They are in the same soil and get the same water, so this is a mystery.

I have them in gritty mix made with black lava stone (I do not like it because it has been maybe too dry). I water them about once a week. I have given them osmocote time-release fertilizer.

Any ideas on why the plant on the left might be dying?

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Comments (2)

westes Zone 9b California SF Bay
Original Author
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
So the plant on the left is now dead, and the plant on the right is still thriving. I dug out the bulb of the dead plant and it is clearly rotted. As you get to the middle of the bulb it is a moist muddy texture. It was never drying out. The soil is well draining, so maybe the root rot somehow carries its own moisture retention?

See the three new attached photos, and what you cannot easily discern is that the root bulb core that is still in the ground is a soft, muddy texture. It looks unhealthy (really dead and infected). Unfortunately, this rotted section is also attached to the plant that is thriving. It looks like the thriving plant was an offshoot of the bad one. You cannot really tell depth in the photos below, but the second photo is looking about three to four inches into an excavation in soil, down to the deep base of the bulb. Everything else above that point was rotted and literally just peeled right off. The first and third photos are shells of the bulb, turned upside down so you can see them more clearly. They are soft, wet, muddy.

How should I be treating this now in order to preserve the surviving plant?
0
splinter1804
6 years ago
Hi everyone.

Without seeing your plant "in the flesh" it's difficult to give advice; however based on what you say, the plant has obviously rotted and therefore it is probably still carrying the bacteria or fungus that was the cause of the rot in the first place.

This will also be contaminating the surrounding potting mix so what I would do if it were my plant, is firstly take the whole plant out of the pot and remove as much potting mix as possible by washing with a strong jet of water from the hose.

I would then separate the rotted portion from the good portion by cutting through the connecting rhizome as the rot can travel through the rhizome to the healthy plant .

Check the cut for signs of rot at the cut area and if present, trim off more rhizome, (a little at a time ) until the cut area is clean.

Completely submerge the whole plant in a good quality fungicide that DOESN'T CONTAIN ANY COPPER.

Dust the cut area with Flowers of Sulphur and allow to dry somewhere out of direct sunlight, re-potting the following day in a new pot with fresh potting mix. DO NOT RECYCLE THE OLD POTTING MIX.

Spray again with the same fungicide as a follow-up treatment as recommended on the label.

All the best, Nev.
westes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked splinter1804
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