Plant death tolls

Trip to PDN
by Gardening in a Minute

So the ensete is still hanging on. I wish that it looked as good as this one that I saw at Plant Delights Nursery last year, but ultimately I think its days are probably numbered. I think I'll probably have to add it to the tally of "plants I've killed" before summer is over.

But thanks to the Plant Delights Nursery E-newsletter that I received today, I don't feel quite so bad about it. Apparently, Tony Avent and his esteemed colleagues have killed their fair share of plants too. Here's what he recently wrote:

"Here at PDN, we’ve celebrated a milestone recently, as our database indicates that we have now passed the 20,000 mark for killing plants. 20,194 dead accessions (different plants) is actually our current total, so don’t even think about complaining that you have a brown thumb. Our dead/alive plant rate now stands around 50%, but since our goal is trialing, experimenting, and learning the possible parameters under which each plant will grow, these numbers are actually a good thing...I’m constantly reminded of the late Dr. J.C. Raulston’s quote, 'If you’re not killing plants, you’re not growing as a gardener.' No truer words were ever spoken."

Amen! This makes me feel at least a little bit better that my beautiful ensete may ultimately wind up in the compost pile. At least I'm only in double digits of plants that I've killed. That five-figure mark is a completely different league.

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Sick ensete?

Sick ensete?
Originally uploaded by sassycrafter

We planted this beautiful ensete back in April. It's been doing great and has double in height since then. But all of a sudden it's looking a little sick.

It's listing to one side, and the leaves have started wilting. If wilting were the only symptom, I'd wonder if the cause was just the 90+ degree weather we've been having.



But the leaves are also looking chlorotic, namely in patches that correspond to where the leaf is sagging.



Plus the roots are starting to pop free from the soil, as if they might be decaying.



Any ideas what might be going on? I'm wondering if it might be some sort of fungal or bacterial disease. I'd love to be able to treat the problem, but I need to know what's going on before I apply any potential pesticides.

This makes me very sad.