Lee Burkhill: Award Winning Designer & BBC 1's Garden Rescue Presenters Official Blog
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My arabica plant that I grew from a bean is 7 years old. He was recently lightly infested with mealy bugs which was not severe and I’ve now managed to get rid of them about 98%. I see a small one every few days and the odd single egg here or there. Exaclty 5 weeks ago (18th Feb) I gave him a mild and severely diluted hydrogen peroxide soak and cleaned his roots before repotting him in a new pot and giving him fresh erichaceous soil. He is slowly deteriorating, his leaves haven’t fallen off but they get brown and I cut them off. I mist him several times a day and he’s not in direct sunlight and has damp soil. His leaves are were moist but very droopy and I’ve cut off a few of his weakest most dead looking things branches. In the last week he’s become less soft-leaf floppy and more crispy and dry floppy which is really worrying. He had some buds and new shoots but they have stalled and aren’t growing any further and have started going black and dying off. He was sprayed with a diluted alcohol and soap solution for the mealy bugs which is what caused the white residue on his leaves. Someone suggested this could be detergent damage as his leaves have a damaged membrane now?
I’m willing to do anything I can to save him but need guidance on what measures to take. Is he just in shock and needs time or should I be cutting him back in a more severe way? Maybe more humidity than just misting? Will cutting him back aggressively stress him more or allow him to conserve energy. Don’t forget he was repotted and his roots were fully cleaned of their soil so they probably havnt fully taken yet.
when I’ve cut back more branches there are a few branches that have a centre of black, the branches are still sappy and green inside but there is the odd black core so to speak.
Thank you so much!
Photos are all of him today except for last photo which is of him 8 months ago.
Urgent help please! dying coffee plant
My arabica plant that I grew from a bean is 7 years old. He was recently lightly infested with mealy bugs which was not severe and I’ve now managed to get rid of them about 98%. I see a small one every few days and the odd single egg here or there. Exaclty 5 weeks ago (18th Feb) I gave him a mild and severely diluted hydrogen peroxide soak and cleaned his roots before repotting him in a new pot and giving him fresh erichaceous soil. He is slowly deteriorating, his leaves haven’t fallen off but they get brown and I cut them off. I mist him several times a day and he’s not in direct sunlight and has damp soil. His leaves are were moist but very droopy and I’ve cut off a few of his weakest most dead looking things branches. In the last week he’s become less soft-leaf floppy and more crispy and dry floppy which is really worrying. He had some buds and new shoots but they have stalled and aren’t growing any further and have started going black and dying off. He was sprayed with a diluted alcohol and soap solution for the mealy bugs which is what caused the white residue on his leaves. Someone suggested this could be detergent damage as his leaves have a damaged membrane now?
I’m willing to do anything I can to save him but need guidance on what measures to take. Is he just in shock and needs time or should I be cutting him back in a more severe way? Maybe more humidity than just misting? Will cutting him back aggressively stress him more or allow him to conserve energy. Don’t forget he was repotted and his roots were fully cleaned of their soil so they probably havnt fully taken yet.
when I’ve cut back more branches there are a few branches that have a centre of black, the branches are still sappy and green inside but there is the odd black core so to speak.
Thank you so much!
Photos are all of him today except for last photo which is of him 8 months ago.
What a shame! Mealy bugs can be a real pain and getting them asap before severe damage is ideal.
In my experience the best way to get rid of them is to give the plant a spray with neem oil and a compost replace.
I believe the hydrogen peroxide drench may be what’s killing your plant. I wouldn’t never use even a diluted mix on plants. It’s too brutal. I doubt the detergent spray has caused this but more the multitude of fixes. I know you want to save this plant but sometimes doing too much simply stresses out the plant.
I’d leave off from any other treatment other than watering once a week. It may fully drop its leaves as a protective measure. I wouldn’t hard prune straight away it if it’s just been repotted as it won’t have a decent enough root structure to recover. If it drops all its leaves and do any send out new buds within a month then try hard pruning.
Fingers crossed that it does survive but don’t blame yourself if it’s doesn’t. Part of being a fabulous gardener is accepting that sometimes plants give up the ghost and we can’t save them all. But go forth and continue to develop your gardening skills.
What a shame! Mealy bugs can be a real pain and getting them asap before severe damage is ideal.
In my experience the best way to get rid of them is to give the plant a spray with neem oil and a compost replace.
I believe the hydrogen peroxide drench may be what’s killing your plant. I wouldn’t never use even a diluted mix on plants. It’s too brutal. I doubt the detergent spray has caused this but more the multitude of fixes. I know you want to save this plant but sometimes doing too much simply stresses out the plant.
I’d leave off from any other treatment other than watering once a week. It may fully drop its leaves as a protective measure. I wouldn’t hard prune straight away it if it’s just been repotted as it won’t have a decent enough root structure to recover. If it drops all its leaves and do any send out new buds within a month then try hard pruning.
Fingers crossed that it does survive but don’t blame yourself if it’s doesn’t. Part of being a fabulous gardener is accepting that sometimes plants give up the ghost and we can’t save them all. But go forth and continue to develop your gardening skills.
Thanks so much Lee, hugely appreciated the response and advice!
update:
coffee plant is still hanging in there. I cut back the deadest / limpest / most useless branches and leaves and his condition is stable , he isn’t losing any more leaves and they aren’t getting any worse or browner but he isn’t growing any new leaves or shoots either. The cambium layer all over is still green and all the stems and branches that have been cut were all full of sap and smelled very alive. He has buds of new shoots that have been there all along which are just not growing but also havnt died either. The leaves all over are on the pale side and limp side but they are still alive and soft if very weak. I was hoping by cutting him back a bit it would give him more reserves to grow new shoots but it seems like he is dormant more than anything else. Is this normal? Can this go on for months in this sort of circumstance? Is there any reason to be hopeful?
thank you so much!
Photos taken 10.May.2024
Thanks so much Lee, hugely appreciated the response and advice!
update:
coffee plant is still hanging in there. I cut back the deadest / limpest / most useless branches and leaves and his condition is stable , he isn’t losing any more leaves and they aren’t getting any worse or browner but he isn’t growing any new leaves or shoots either. The cambium layer all over is still green and all the stems and branches that have been cut were all full of sap and smelled very alive. He has buds of new shoots that have been there all along which are just not growing but also havnt died either. The leaves all over are on the pale side and limp side but they are still alive and soft if very weak. I was hoping by cutting him back a bit it would give him more reserves to grow new shoots but it seems like he is dormant more than anything else. Is this normal? Can this go on for months in this sort of circumstance? Is there any reason to be hopeful?
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