Re: Help with D. Capensis
Robert Allen (Robert.Allen@Eng.Sun.COM)
Tue, 6 Jul 93 16:16:12 PDT
>> I started with three plants in separate pots. They were grown
>>indoors close to fluorescent lights, and enclosed in clear plastic bags.
>>They did great. When the outdoor temperature warmed up (70 F and more)
>>I put them outside in full sun. They got sunburned, and what was once
>>a beautiful specimen 4" in diameter and 3" high was reduced to mostly
>>brown leaves with a small green rosette at the top. This happened to
>>all three plants.
>>
>> Don't jump on me yet, because they've recovered since! I put
>>them in a shady spot and all three began vigorous growth in the top
>>rosette. By this time the rosettes were atop an ugly stalk, so I repotted
>>all three plants with the rosette placed just above the soil. They
>>continued to grow, and I gave one of the plants away to a friend. This
>>past Sunday I visited my friend, and I noticed that his Capensis was
>>withered at the top, with few small curly green leaves. I mentioned
>>that it might need water.
>>
>> Well, yesterday I noticed the same thing happening to ONLY
>>ONE of my remaining specimens. Both of my remaining plants have
>>been treated identically--same size pot, same soil, same watering,
>>same location on my screen porch. One is growing nicely and has
>>a bushy rosette of leaves, with each leaf being about 2" long. The
>>other looks like a dark stalk with teensy rosette at the top. The
>>rosette is comprised of curly, twisted leaves about 0.25" long, and
>>there's only about 5 leaves left. Note that the two plants ware
>>are within one foot of each other, so if one has a contagious disease
>>then the other is probably done for already.
I've found the various capensis forms somewhat funny. I've
had some which grow for a while, then die back. I'm never
sure if it's from temps, bugs, water, or insecticide. What
I do typically is snip off the dead parts, and repot the
plant in new soil mix, with some of the thick roots just
below the surface of the soil. Several plants should pop
up from the roots. I've done this with the following forms:
"red", "giant", wide-leaf, and narrow leaf.
There are a couple of gotchas with this species: aphids LOVE
to infest the growth crown. Take a look in there closely to
see if you have any well fed green little bodies. If you do
you'll have to carefully select an appropriate bug-icide and
spray the plant well, which may take its' own toll on the
plant. Also make sure the plant is in a good sized pot for
its' size. The plant has extensive root systems and they seem
to do better in a larger pot.
I don't let my capensis flower. It can weaken the plant in
my experience, and you end up with capensis weeds everywhere.
Finally, I've had my plants die back when the stem got too
long. I don't know why. Perhaps if you let the plant grow
along the ground it would set supplemental roots from the "air
roots" that form on the stem, which might give the crown more
food?