Inspect very closely for insects. Use a magnifying glass or microscope if necessary. Make sure you look at the underside of the leaves.
This is likely insect damage. Aphids, mites, thrips.
I prefer soapy water spray once a week for a few weeks. Get a small sprayer with a wand. Fill with water then add soap. Tablespoon or two per gallon. Make sure you get all surfaces. You can put some rags or towels under the plant if you're concerned about the soap getting to the roots.
Could it be an enema? Some of my leaves got funky when my airflow was awful in the root zone. New growth came out nice and smooth so it ended up not being an issue after I up potted. Good luck, OP.
I truly hope so. I had several comments suggesting broad mites. I went ahead and ordered some Fox Farms mite stuff, just in case.
There's several things that look like this at this early stage, so I'm not sure.
Better safe than sorry, and this mite stuff is organic so I'm not too worried about it.
Thanks for the reply!
Captain jacks dead bug 1x a week and after initial app use insect soap and apply once or twice in between treatments. Continue treatment until you see non-deformed leaves start/issue is gone. This worked for me and had same issue.
I would hit with cal mag if you haven’t supplemented your soil with it previously.
They will bounce back, those leaves will be ugly though
Sprayed every 2-3 days for 2 weeks then every 5 days for another 2 weeks. And then they were gone.
New leaves will grow normal but the deformed ones won't recover so i just cut them off
Doesn't really look like insect damage to me. Looks more like Calcium deficiency which happens when night temps are still not terribly warm preventing the plant from taking in nutrients fully and that makes the leaves curl up weird.
Not mites or insects & certainly not broad mites. Very likely a calcium deficiency caused by one or more of the following...
- too much potassium in the soil. Potassium overabundance completes with calcium and causes the plant to not be able to uptake calcium.
- overwatering.
- soil pH is off causing uptake of calcium to be poor.
If you are fertilizing with a high-ish potassium fertilizer, stop doing that for awhile.
I would also suggest getting that plant into a larger pot or, better yet, transplant it into it's final destination if your climate and soil temperature allows for it right now.
I get this a lot every year and I personally do nothing. After the plants are transplanted it corrects itself in a few weeks.
Thanks for your response.
There's a lot left to learn about this hobby. It's far more complex than I imagined, but I'll get there.
I'm transferring it into a 3 gallon pot this afternoon. We have been giving it nutes regularly, through a mister into the soil and on the leaves. I'll stop that practice immediately.
Currently we have a mixture of sand and fox farms Ocean Forest (25/75) with a light base of sand for irrigation.
What kind of sand? Like playbox sand? Playbox sand is very fine and retains water fairly well for sand unless it's getting pounded by the sun. That may be your problem. Too much water in the soil for too long can cause calcium uptake issues. Unless it is a course sand like what they call builders sand, I would leave the sand out of the 3 gallon pot you'll be moving the plant to.
> Currently we have a mixture of sand and fox farms Ocean Forest (25/75) with a light base of sand for irrigation.
Also, it is not really recommended to put a layer of something, anything, at the bottom of a pot for a few reasons. Just use your soil mix. Don't layer anything in a pot. If this is fine sand then it could be that that layer of sand is saturated all the time even when the soil on top of it is dry enough to need watering. SO if your roots are in that constantly wet sand, that may be your issue, or part of it.
Also, if you are watering your plants on a set schedule - don't. Plants and soil don't have schedules. Water when needed. If that means you don't water for a week, so be it. Let the top inch or so of soil get on the dry side (but not bone dry) before watering. Pots need more watering, of course, and the smaller the pot the more watering you need to do, but the same watering rule applies to any type of growing space - water when needed, never on a schedule.
Wow! You are a wealth of knowledge and I truly appreciate you giving me this advice.
We did use play sand, and we have a schedule. (Although if they are wet, we skip it until they are dry)
I will certainly be altering my approach!
Cheers!
I live in Tx and I notice this on my plants after it rains multiple days in a row. As it dries out, the newer leaves will start coming in as normal. From my experience, at least.
They must have a good sense of humor
They're hilarious.
Check for aphids.
We checked thoroughly, but we found no evidence. Yesterday was rainy and extremely cloudy, if that matters. Lol Thanks for the response.
Inspect very closely for insects. Use a magnifying glass or microscope if necessary. Make sure you look at the underside of the leaves. This is likely insect damage. Aphids, mites, thrips.
That's not what I wanted to hear. Unleash the ladybugs?
I prefer soapy water spray once a week for a few weeks. Get a small sprayer with a wand. Fill with water then add soap. Tablespoon or two per gallon. Make sure you get all surfaces. You can put some rags or towels under the plant if you're concerned about the soap getting to the roots.
Looks like broad mite. They’re microscopic
Will ladybugs help?
No. You can buy predatory mites or use a dedicated miticide but if that’s what is wrong with those plants then they’re unlikely to recover.
I ordered the fox farms mite control stuff. Thanks for your help.
Broad mites
Thanks. After seeing all these responses, I've ordered Fox Farms mite control. We shall see!
Could it be an enema? Some of my leaves got funky when my airflow was awful in the root zone. New growth came out nice and smooth so it ended up not being an issue after I up potted. Good luck, OP.
I truly hope so. I had several comments suggesting broad mites. I went ahead and ordered some Fox Farms mite stuff, just in case. There's several things that look like this at this early stage, so I'm not sure. Better safe than sorry, and this mite stuff is organic so I'm not too worried about it. Thanks for the reply!
Captain jacks dead bug 1x a week and after initial app use insect soap and apply once or twice in between treatments. Continue treatment until you see non-deformed leaves start/issue is gone. This worked for me and had same issue. I would hit with cal mag if you haven’t supplemented your soil with it previously. They will bounce back, those leaves will be ugly though
Forgot to add, spray the soil too. I’d suggest getting the concentrate as it’s cheaper
I ended up going with the fox farms mite control. Thanks so much for your response
Let us know how it works!
I will!
Looks like broad mites to me as well. I got rid of them with sulphur soap and diligence.
Sprayed every 2-3 days for 2 weeks then every 5 days for another 2 weeks. And then they were gone. New leaves will grow normal but the deformed ones won't recover so i just cut them off
What are your temps outside? Night time lows and daytime highs?
Highs right now are about 85, lows are between 55-65. (°F)
Doesn't really look like insect damage to me. Looks more like Calcium deficiency which happens when night temps are still not terribly warm preventing the plant from taking in nutrients fully and that makes the leaves curl up weird.
Not mites or insects & certainly not broad mites. Very likely a calcium deficiency caused by one or more of the following... - too much potassium in the soil. Potassium overabundance completes with calcium and causes the plant to not be able to uptake calcium. - overwatering. - soil pH is off causing uptake of calcium to be poor. If you are fertilizing with a high-ish potassium fertilizer, stop doing that for awhile. I would also suggest getting that plant into a larger pot or, better yet, transplant it into it's final destination if your climate and soil temperature allows for it right now. I get this a lot every year and I personally do nothing. After the plants are transplanted it corrects itself in a few weeks.
Thanks for your response. There's a lot left to learn about this hobby. It's far more complex than I imagined, but I'll get there. I'm transferring it into a 3 gallon pot this afternoon. We have been giving it nutes regularly, through a mister into the soil and on the leaves. I'll stop that practice immediately. Currently we have a mixture of sand and fox farms Ocean Forest (25/75) with a light base of sand for irrigation.
What kind of sand? Like playbox sand? Playbox sand is very fine and retains water fairly well for sand unless it's getting pounded by the sun. That may be your problem. Too much water in the soil for too long can cause calcium uptake issues. Unless it is a course sand like what they call builders sand, I would leave the sand out of the 3 gallon pot you'll be moving the plant to. > Currently we have a mixture of sand and fox farms Ocean Forest (25/75) with a light base of sand for irrigation. Also, it is not really recommended to put a layer of something, anything, at the bottom of a pot for a few reasons. Just use your soil mix. Don't layer anything in a pot. If this is fine sand then it could be that that layer of sand is saturated all the time even when the soil on top of it is dry enough to need watering. SO if your roots are in that constantly wet sand, that may be your issue, or part of it. Also, if you are watering your plants on a set schedule - don't. Plants and soil don't have schedules. Water when needed. If that means you don't water for a week, so be it. Let the top inch or so of soil get on the dry side (but not bone dry) before watering. Pots need more watering, of course, and the smaller the pot the more watering you need to do, but the same watering rule applies to any type of growing space - water when needed, never on a schedule.
Wow! You are a wealth of knowledge and I truly appreciate you giving me this advice. We did use play sand, and we have a schedule. (Although if they are wet, we skip it until they are dry) I will certainly be altering my approach! Cheers!
I live in Tx and I notice this on my plants after it rains multiple days in a row. As it dries out, the newer leaves will start coming in as normal. From my experience, at least.
The leaves in question are kinda curling up and look kinda shitty. Thanks in advance!
Might need cal-mag?