Oh my God! They killed Sally!

[restin]

Hello,

This morning I woke up, looked at my Lady and realized she wouldn't make any longer. The leaves were drooping and rotting (=large black spots). This tendency was there already for one week and now I learned to immeadiately make cuttings when this tendency occurs. But I now need to know where the rotting came from. I used normal earth with seramis. I watered when the leaves were a bit drooping, I think this is a signal of lack of water. I held it under a plastic bag and opened it during daytimes. It was situated at a window. I now made 3 cuttings and I PRAY that they are healthy enough to make roots. :?

When I opened the main stem the inner plant was BLACK...so I believe the cause of death comes from the roots and not from the sun.

So what I thought about is:

- There were small black fly-like insects flying around my plant. Have they hurt the roots?

- I lately fertilized the plants with a bit of "universal fertilizer", with Fe++, NPK 8+8+8 solution. Was this too much for my Sally?

- I didn't have any drain, I had a pot with earth and the sally. Was this the reason? I think this is the most rational cause...

Have you got any other ideas? You'd really help me out of this dilemma. As you may have realized, I am a not very experienced gardener :wink:

peace and love

 

[GOD]

.............Maybe its to wet ? Next time you plant sterilise the earth , maybe you have something nasty in it .

 

[restin]

possible....how can I sterilize it?

 

[GOD]

I dont know if thats the solution . I just know i have had soil with black mold in it . I think that the best way to sterilise it would be in a pillowcase or something similar on a frame in a preasure cooker . So it isnt standing in the water but above it . So it gets sterilised by the steam .

 

[restin]

neither do I but it won't hurt.... I think that's general a good idea. Won't some minerals be destroyed, too? Or isn't that important?

 

[GOD]

I will destroy all life in it . Just give it fertiliser . Theres no diference between sterilised earth and hydrophonic substrates .

 

[restin]

what are hydrophonic substrates?

So first sterilizing and then fertilizing....

 

[GOD]

Hydrophonic substrates are dead substrates . Sand , stones , blaeh ton (?) , seramis , glass wool ..........

 

[restin]

aha,ok, thanks. so you say that I should fertilize it then before I use it? Sorry I'm a bit slow today :wink:

 

[GOD]

"today"

??????

Yes , but only half strength . Better than all that would be to buy new soil and use that instead of sterilising . Black is either contamination or rotting . It doesnt like to much light and the air shouldnt be dry .

 

[restin]

"today"

??????

ok, thank you.

 

[GOD]

Nichts zu danken . Jeder zeit..........

Mindestens nicht bis ich ein paypal knopf habe............