‘Brown patch’ exactly that; keep houseplant in the sun
Q: We have always had an almost perfect lawn. Last fall, where we had a tree removed, we observed brown patches and mushrooms. The brown patches were in almost perfect circles. What is going on and what should we do?
A:
The two things are not related to one another. The mushrooms have been living off the decaying organic matter of the old tree roots. They are no cause for concern as they are saprophytic, not parasitic.
You called the name of the turf disease perfectly just by describing it. It is known as brown patch (or, less commonly, “large patch”) of St. Augustine (it also attacks zoysia and other types of turf ). It attacks the blades of the grass right where they attach to the runners.
That causes the blades to turn yellow, then quickly turn brown and shrivel. It does not impact the runners or roots. You can stop its spread when you first see it in October by applying the fungicide Azoxystrobin.
Q: Our crape myrtle developed some kind of black mold this past summer. We sprayed it twice, but now that it is bare, the mold is still there. What should we do?
A:
The fungus you’re describing is called sooty mold, but stick with me. It’s more involved than that. The real problem is that an insect, either crape myrtle aphids (pear-shaped insects in late summer) or crape myrtle bark scale (white ashlike insects stuck to the stems, perhaps even now), fed on the stems and leaves of the plant back in the summer.
They exuded sap through their bodies, and that sticky “honeydew” coated the leaves and stems. It became the substrate in which the sooty mold has grown. Without the insects the honeydew would not have accumulated, and without the honeydew the sooty mold never would have formed.
Use a systemic insecticide (Imidacloprid) as a soil drench around the root system in midmay to prevent the insects from feeding. No insects, no honeydew, no sooty mold. The current mold will slough off as the old bark falls off this spring and summer. No big problem.
Q: I received this houseplant as a gift back in August. It has started dropping leaves. What might be wrong? (Sorry, I don’t know its name.)
A:
This is a schefflera, and in nature it grows to be a very tall tree. They do make good houseplants, but the fact that it grows to be such a large plant in nature tells you that it probably is accustomed to bright light.
Indeed, when we bring scheffleras indoors, they often struggle and start to drop lower leaves within a few weeks. New growth that is subsequently produced becomes cupped, rolled and oddly shaped.
Your plant is in a very dark environment. I actually had to boost the image you sent me in Photoshop just to see what was going on with it. You need to move this plant to the brightest south or west window you have in your house — no drapes.
Hopefully it won’t be too late by the time that you read this.
Scheffleras don’t tolerate freezing weather, so you will need to keep it indoors, but light will be your key to success. Keep it moist at all times. Don’t let it wilt.
Q: I have sentimental attachment to this cactus. How can I save it?
A:
It looks like it might have gotten too cold at some point or possibly stayed too wet for a period of time. I’m guessing the former, since I see a fairly heavy covering laying off behind it. Hopefully that didn’t weigh the stems down and break them.
I would try cutting several of the pads separately and laying them flat on new pots filled with a very porous potting mix. Prickly pears are able to form roots from the pads and then send up new shoots to form new stems and new plants. It might help if you tipped the bottom end of each pad just into or onto the surface of the potting soil.
I’d probably use a mix that contained 30 or 35 percent expanded shale or sand to ensure perfect drainage. Expanded shale is a great product for growing cacti and succulents. I mix it in with standard potting soil. I do see a lot of sand in what you’ve been using, so I can tell that you do understand.
Q: I have a planting of purpleheart (photo from last fall). I was told that it would survive the winter, but it looks like it has frozen. Will it still survive? A:
Yes! It dies to the ground, but then, as the soil warms up in March, it pops out with vigorous new growth that quickly catches up with where it was last season. It makes a lovely perennial ground cover in front of yellow or lavender flowering perennials.
Just remember where you have it growing so you don’t accidentally start rototilling and planting in the same space. Curiously, it’s a sister plant to the tropical group known as wandering Jews. Those plants don’t survive freezing weather, but purpleheart does.