Subject: Cotyledon ladismithensis

From: [email-masked] (Warren Jones)
Date: 20 Feb 1995 03:58:14 GMT

I have a Cotyledeon ladismithenis growing in a south window.
It's about 12" (30cm) tall, with woody stems.  Last year it
produced some small cream colored flowers, much to my pleasure
and surprise, but lately it's been in a bit of a decline --
not dying perhaps, but looking wan and dropping leaves.

Have you grown this plant, or similar succulents?  I'd be
grateful for any advice.  Or if not advice, maybe just anecdotes
or reminiscenses ...  (The common name slips my mind, but
I think it has "paws" in it, which is what the succulent
leaves look like.)

--
Warren Jones         | To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution
Seattle, Washington  | of intelligent tinkering.           -- Aldo Leopold

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From: [email-masked] (HollyTW)
Date: 5 Mar 1995 11:37:43 -0500

Dropping leaves?  Sounds like you might have overwatered during the
winter.  Cotyledons, in my humble experience, seem to need a drying-out
period in the winter.  (Please note that my experience with them is
somewhat limited.  My succulent preference is Haworthias.)  Good luck!

 Holly

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From: [email-masked] (Andrew Huie)
Date: 5 Mar 1995 12:03:07 -0500

Don't know if this belongs in this group since this is about a houseplant,
but...

Can ANYONE give me what the cause of the problem is and how to cure it?  I
have a fairly old poinsettia (13-14 yrs old) and no, I have never tried nor
gotten any more brachts from it.  The problem is, whole branches
appear to be dying.  The branch first becomes limp (not the leaves, mind
you) and begin bending downwards.  Eventually the leaves begin to shrivel
up and die, then that whole branch dies.  This is serious because the main
branch dies, not just the lesser ones which can grow back.  I do not think
I am underwatering them -- the soil below the top stays relatively moist.
Nor have I changed my watering habits significantly -- I water them twice a
week, until water comes out into the dish.  (the only period where I water
less is late spring/early summer after I prune them).  I sprayed the soil
with a pyrethrin solution (the stuff you buy in the store) in case of some
kind of soil pest, but no effect.  The soil itself has never been changed,
but I usually throw in dead leaves and branches on top, sometimes mixing up
the soil a little to provide a more even distribution, plus I add plant
food to the water (2-3 drops per quart every watering or every other
watering).  It recently acquired a whitefly problem from another plant but
because the poinsettia's structure has lots of open space, I can daily wipe
out by hand any adults that fly in before they can become a serious
problem.

Can anyone recommend a solution before the last (and biggest) branch begins
to fall?  Any help would be greatly appreciated!

P.S. Please respond by e-mail as I do not regularly read this group.

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From: [email-masked] (Andrew Huie)
Date: 5 Mar 1995 12:03:07 -0500