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Florida Gardening

Another one bites the dust

4 years ago

All this rain during the winter and lately has caused the death of some of my plants. I had brought the calla lily inside only to have it rot anyway from too much rain before I got it in. I've lost more than a few other plants, luckily mostly annuals, but most of the seeds I had planted rotted, as did the caladium bulbs I bought & some cuttings that had rooted, then rotted. I have very little room for plants indoors, so I may just have to get rid of some of them that can't take being wet all the time. I'm at the point now where I will have to get rid of all my plants before I move, so I guess that's not a bad thing.

I've stopped buying plants, since I can't take any with me, but losing them due to Mother Nature's insane mood swings this year still stings. On the flip side, I'm overrun with other plants, like cannas, that like all the water.

Can't win for losing.

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Comments (3)

User
4 years ago
And here I had always thought that Calla lilies liked the water. I need to check and see if the Jalapeno seeds I planted last week are up, that will be the only thing in that veggie garden if they do. I still haven't cleared it of weeds this year. The seeds are in large containers. I haven't noticed any problems otherwise except that the deer have discovered the roses, cosmos and some other stuff I have right out front not 10 feet from the front door. Last year they were munching the Cannas. But I can't see that I've lost anything due to the rain yet but it's just the start of the season, too.
dirtygardener
Original Author
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Rita, I thought callas liked water too, but evidently these did not. I think that when they hybridize plants sometimes they mess them up. I guess they had to create a calla that didn't want to literally live at the edge of a pond or in a rainforest so they could save water growing them in greenhouses or something. But it was probably that the wet winter didn't allow them to take up the water they were getting and use it, because it was too chilly. Who knows? I've always had the theory that if something won't grow for me the first time, I don't grow it again. There are just too many things that are easy to grow. That being said, callas grew like weeds for me in SW FL. Go figure.

Sorry about the deer. With me, it's bugs and caterpillars that eat all my plants. It's so frustrating to get a seedling brug growing well, then go out one day and find it completely stripped of leaves.
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Debbie I wouldn't recommend to keep plants so thirsty that thy are shrivelling all the time before watering :) It is good indicator that they are thirsty, but relaying only on that in order to water them seems to be bit of torture to me...In general, succulents will recover easier from being underwatered than overwatered. And I wouldn't worry about going away for a week or two and leaving them without water. But, everything in moderation, right? Temps you keep your plants in are warm, and they should be watered. They should not be in cold temps and wet soil - that's exactly what Paul suggested. I also have few in space that gets close to 40*F at night and 50-52*F during day, and they are getting water maybe 1x/mo or even less. I was wondering about size of your jade comparing to size of the pot. I have few that are similar size, and they are in 5" & 6"pots...that is getting too small and they need to be repotted soon. I do not like very deep pots, and will go just little bigger. Here are couple (sorry for bad photos) that are 17" and 19" respectively; first one in 4.5"pot and taller one in 6.5" pot - repot and pruning is coming:Your plant is much wider on top, I like them more compact, and would like thick stem rather than big crown. Just my preference. It is good to see what others are doing.
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kinzyjr {Lakeland, FL - USDA: 9b, Record: 20F}
4 years ago
The inordinate amount of rain the last couple of weeks has caused some rot on some of my potted plants. It's looking like a 3-day reprieve with temperatures in the low 90s and no rain. Monday is supposed to be back to monsoon season.

I've had my share of issues with caterpillars - especially with papayas and California fan palms.

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