black gowth / serissa

GraemeK

hi,

I have a serissa and all the new growth is going black, drying out and crispy. the older foilage is going a pale green and then shrivling too...all apart from one branch which is still bright green and no sign of illness?

i have sprayed it with a anti fugi spray in case and also a house plant pest spray but the black new growth etc is still turning black...

the tree is damp and kept in the same location and shaded in strong sun. one branch on the apex is no bald...

help!!

Graeme.

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www.tdi-tuning.co.uk - Increasing Diesel Performance

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Tony

When you water your tree from the top how long does it take for the water to drain through the soil and out the drain holes?

GraemeK

water drains away quickly...

i dont think the soils a problem and i have many tiny white feeder roots anyway.

i'm very confussed and the tree now looks like its dying quick...big shame i havent a clue why.

Graeme.

__________________
www.tdi-tuning.co.uk - Increasing Diesel Performance

Tony

You may be right about a fungus. Also sometimes putting a tree outside in morning sun [assuming it is warm enough] can perk it up. The fresh air can do wonders for it. Maybe someone else will have some ideas.

Moni

There are actually a variety of things that could be the problem. Since the roots look healthy, the first thing I would check for would be scale. Any stickyness on the plant? Alot of insecticides do nothing to scale. Little bumps on the twigs and leaves. Hard cover. Serrisa is known to be bothered by scale.

Any twig dieback? That could be a blight. There are some systemic fungicides that can help with that. Always sterilize your tools..........

If this hit just one branch at a time, that is usually a sign of a virus. Can't do much about that besides pruning off the bad branch so it doesn't spread. Once again, sterilizing of tools is all important.

Could just be too much sun. All in all, when there is wilted foliage, wet root ball with white roots, it is usually a sign of sucking insects and that is why I started with the scale. Insecticidal soap will work on that as will Neem. Read labels. Some household plant insecticides work on scale. Moni