D. regia dead

[Zlatokrt]

Hello,

i have been growing a nice plant of D. regia for 3 years and this summer it had leaves almost 30 cm long. But it suddenly died and today i dug the plant out and checked the roots - they are all rotten.

So where was the mistake? The plant was in my greenhouse, in a large pot with good drainage, peat/sand mix (1:1). The problem started during the hot week, when we had tropical temps (above 30°C) and even warm nights (above 20°C). The pot was still standing in a water. => could this be the deadly mistake? Before this, the plant was ok and grew very well. Light conditions were good, greenhouse hase a spraying system, but the window and the door are open, especially during hot days, so ventilation is good.

I want to avoid this next time, since D. regia is one of my favourite species. So what do you think? Should i keep the substrate only moist during this hot periods? Or something else comes to your minds?

Thanks for opinions

Adam

[gardenofeden]

I seem to lose regia in peat sand mixes, for that reason I now only use sphagnum perlite mix. I also use light-coloured pots to keep the roots cool, think Darlingtonia and Heliamphora, a mountain plant that likes a cool root run..,.I grow all 3 genera the same

[ifurita]

Hi Zlatokrt,

Just wondering, what were the initial symptoms? Did the plant give any warning signs or did it just go overnight? My conditions are similar to your's, especially the temperatures, although I use a peat and perlite mix and never leave the pot standing in water. I've had a regia which was growing back from its roots, looking all healthy and then suddenly dying off overnight. A check showed the same thing you described, rotten roots. Perhaps the cause is the same in both our cases?

I've been wondering about the temperature issue though. I've got a baby regia(4-5cm leaves) growing in glass terrarium under lights and this uses the exact same mix, is undrained and heats up like crazy during the day, with little ventilation. This regia is not only surviving, but actually produces dew on its leaves, which rarely happens with my larger regia. Is D. regia more temperature tolerant when it is small or could the cause of the root rot be something else other than temperature?

[jesse]

i have been growing a nice plant of D. regia for 3 years and this summer it had leaves almost 30 cm long. But it suddenly died and today i dug the plant out and checked the roots - they are all rotten.

With almost 30 cm long leaves it should have flowered this growing season.

Has the plant flowered and set seed before it died?

[Zlatokrt]

Thanks for comments - i will have to be more careful next time and keep the roots cooler and not so wet. I have heard, that some grower used granite gravel with good succes - the mix was aerial and good drained.

It started by some stunted leaves shortly after the hot week. I cannot pay so much attention and care to my plants as i wish, so i said "that is ok, they are only burned after that heat". But it was worse and worse and it ended yesterday - about 3 weeks of bad growth. Before that, the plant was excellent - large dewy leaves and quite fast growth... i thought the conditions were optimal.

I hoped for the flowers, but none appeared this year. Maybe next year - if the plant wouldnt die.

[jesse]

I hoped for the flowers, but none appeared this year. Maybe next year - if the plant wouldnt die.

Strange that a plant of such size did not flower.

I find it normal that D. regia dies back after flowering and setting seeds. Then the growing point divides into two and two plants regrow where one has flowered before.

But I don't know what's the matter with your plant.