Fukien Tea seedlings and my ICU

clrosner

The benefit of an ICU for the Newbies of this forum.

Several weeks ago, I noticed that the leaves on one of my Fukien Tea seedlings had turned crispy over night. This was a strange occurrence, since the seedling looked healthy the day before. I set up my ICU unit, removed all the crispy leaves and to my disappointment, after a week, there was no sign of new leaves. I used the fingernail “test on a few different branches and the trunk and determined that the seedling was dead…

Unfortunately, three other seedlings also displayed this “crispy” look. I checked for pests with a magnifying glass and there was no sign of any pests. I decided not to remove the leaves and place all three seedlings in the ICU. I suspected that the propagation mat dried out the roots. I came to this conclusion, since I have two other Fukien Teas that are healthy and were not on propagation mats.

Every day, I would open the ICU and exchange the air for about an hour. It has been over a week, and I now see new leaves growing on the three trees. Obviously, by removing the “crispy” leaves I had made a mistake. Even though the leaves had almost dried out the leaf factory was working enough to keep the tree and its branches alive.

I have used the ICU or something like it several different times in the past. I almost lost my prized Buttonwood when it was attacked by scale, but after a month in the ICU, it recovered and it is doing fine today…

Attached Images

	ICU - FRONT S HOOKS.jpg (44.3 KB, 26 views)
	ICU - FRONT OPENED 050108.jpg (57.0 KB, 38 views)
	ICU - FRONT CLOSED 050108.jpg (47.5 KB, 36 views)

__________________
Carl L. Rosner - near Atlantic City zone 6/7
arteacher3725@yahoo.com

CHECK OUT MY UPDATED WEBSITE AT[B]:
www.carlrosner.com

Advertisement

clrosner

More pictures... please note the red squares where new growth is apparent.

Attached Images

	ICU - FUKIEN TEA 050108 c.jpg (54.1 KB, 19 views)
	ICU - FUKIEN TEA 050108 b.jpg (56.6 KB, 29 views)
	ICU - FUKIEN TEA 050108 a.jpg (55.3 KB, 22 views)

__________________
Carl L. Rosner - near Atlantic City zone 6/7
arteacher3725@yahoo.com

CHECK OUT MY UPDATED WEBSITE AT[B]:
www.carlrosner.com

clrosner

and the last two pictures:

Attached Images

	ICU - FUKIEN TEA 050108 e.jpg (52.8 KB, 10 views)
	ICU - FUKIEN TEA 050108 d.jpg (47.1 KB, 14 views)

__________________
Carl L. Rosner - near Atlantic City zone 6/7
arteacher3725@yahoo.com

CHECK OUT MY UPDATED WEBSITE AT[B]:
www.carlrosner.com

Frogboy

Carl, that is excellent work! I have a similar setup that I use to keep my tropicals humid when I have to go out of town, and it works like a charm. I had a holly dry out recently and never even thought to put it in the "gas chamber". Now I feel like an idiot. Well done, and keep us updated on the progress of your babies!

Frog

__________________
I wear hip boots for a reason.

rowan57

Whats an ICU? Same as a propagator? just somewhere to keep the seedlings warm and humid? thats what i have and its saved a chinese elm and others before now

__________________
In literary and art criticism there are two criteria, the political and the artistic....

Words and actions should help to unite, and not divide, the people of our various nationalities

I often talk to myself because i am the only one who truly understands me.

Aaron_K

I wish I still had my old fish tank. That would have been ideal as an ICU 2' x 1' x 18" with an internal light and hood too. I think my serissa sorely needs one.

Excellent work Carl. Just goes to show what a bit of percieverance and nuturing can achieve. I am going to keep my eye out for a small aquarium like my old one to use as a seed propergator / ICU.

Well done Carl,

Aaron

clrosner

ICU is just borrowing from the Hospital. Intensive Care Unit!. The difference from a proagator is that you must open the unit up to allow a change of air, as I mentioned. This avoids fungus developing within the ICU.

__________________
Carl L. Rosner - near Atlantic City zone 6/7
arteacher3725@yahoo.com

CHECK OUT MY UPDATED WEBSITE AT[B]:
www.carlrosner.com

Aaron_K

Yup fungus is a thing to watch out for, although I tend to use a sterile growing medium like vermiculite to germinate the seeds in. Also using a fungicide spray improves the chances too.