I think one of my 'Queen Emma' crinums is sick. (Note: I'm not entirely sure they're 'Queen Emma' crinums--it's just my best guess based on the foliage and flowers.)
The first thing I noticed is that all the little pups around its base turned ghostly pale and shriveled up. You can see the papery remains of some of the pups, plus a few that are hanging on in their current pallid state.
Don't be confused by the bright green leaves you see at the base--those are actually two bromeliads and aren't baby crinums.
Now the foliage on the main plant is discoloring. Some of the older leaves have severe yellowing along the margins, along with some rust coloration.
The youngest leaves in the center of the plant look like someone sucked the color out of them. They're looking rather pinkish. I guess if they're losing chlorophyll, then the red pigments that naturally appear in this variety would be more visible.
I'm going to do some research online to see if I can get to the bottom of this. Anyone else out there reading this post have any clues?
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NOTE: It seems that spider mites might be the culprit. I posted an update here.
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4 comments:
So I search blogs looking for info on crinums and who do I find?? I'm sorry about the crinum. I have a picture of the the 'Queen Emma' at Kanapaha and it is beautiful. I wish I could help.
Kim, I grow about 400 different crinum and live in Orange Park, southwest of Jacksonville. I have never encountered a problem like that with any of my procerum red-leaf crinum varieties, and I grow at least 5 distinct variations. In Hawaii they call it Queen Emma, but in the Southeast US and Caribbean, a completely different crinum, crinum Augustum is called Queen Emma. Augustum is much larger and has green leaves (it is also sterile while yours is not). You can look at my plants, especially crinum, if you are interested on EBay. My seller name is bulbsNmore. All of my crinum listings start with the words "Crinum lily, ..."
I wish I could be of more help. Crinum are virtually disease and pest free (except the lubber grasshoppers love them). I'm familiar with the virus that attacks crinum, and that's not it. It could be some type of fungus. Sometimes over fertilizing can kill parts of a plant, but you probably would have thought about that. I can be reached at nestor69@gmail.com. Nestor White
Kim, my Queen Emma Lily's are doing th exact same thing! I live in Palm Beach Gardens, FL and about a month ago the tips of the leaves started going brown and wilting. They are severely wilted now, with the same conditions you posted. I have two of them on opposite sides of the yard and the same thing is happening to both. Have you found out more?
Mark, it seems that spider mites might be to blame. See my blog update. I treated once and will treat again if I need to.
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