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FragileWarrior · 11-06-2007, 08:05 PM posted to rec.gardens

wrote in
ups.com:

On Jun 11, 5:08 am, "JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:
wrote in message

ups.com...

On Jun 10, 6:56 pm, Ann wrote:
expounded:

My wife and I have this lilly, at least she tells me it's a
lilly, that is in really bad shape. Every couple of weeks it
gets a new healthy looking green leaf. Within a few days,
however, this new leaf starts to get a dark, limp area on one
edge, that spreads over the next couple of days until it is a
withered mess.

The entire plant has only one reasonable leaf on it, and that one
is on its way out. What is wrong with this plant?

Thanks, Mike

Where are you located? Are there slimy lumps (for lack of a
better description) along the stem? Are there fingernail-red
beetles anywhere near the plant (they fall on the ground on their
backs if they sense you coming near - their bottomside is black,
so they blend into the ground). Look for red lily beetles and say
goodby to your lily unless you want to haul out the largely
ineffective chemical guns (or hand-pick the feces covered larvae
and dispose of them, a very tedious task if you've got lots of
lilies). --
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************

None of that, thank goodness. This is a potted, indoor plant.
It's possible it's not getting enough sunlight.

Mike

More info needed. How big is its pot, in height and width? Does the
pot have an attached saucer or one that can be removed? Is there a
drainage hole in the bottom of the pot? How often do you water it,
and how do or your wife decide when watering is needed?- Hide quoted
text -

- Show quoted text -

It's in a small ceramic pot, 6" wide and 5" high, with a built in
saucer in the bottom.

About a year ago, it didn't get watered enough. My wife was out of
town and I was "taking care" of it. Mostly by ignoring it until all
the leaves were drooping down the side of the pot. (This is when it
still had more than one leaf.) One time I would have sworn it was
dead, but it came back ok.

Then I resolved to take better care of it, and I probably did start
watering it too much. For the last couple of months I've been
watering it thoroughly less than once a week, when the soil feels dry
deeper than half an inch.

My wife had also shaken a lot of fertilizer pellets into the pot,
thinking that was the problem. I read online that fertilizing a sick
plant is a bad idea, so I've since removed all the pellets. The plant
just won't get any better.

It's not that I'm particularly attached to this plant, but I feel like
there's something wrong with me if a 40 year old can't keep one potted
plant alive.

Mike

Take it out of the pot and check and make sure the drainage hole at the
bottom is free and clear and that the soil at the bottom of the pot is
the same dampness (or lack thereof) as at the top of the pot. Then shake
off all the soil, wash out the pot and put it back in with new, fresh
potting soil.

Don't fertilize it again until it looks better.