Bird's-Nest Fern, Root Rot, Growing Cantaloupe

QUESTION: I am having large dead areas on the leaves of my bird’s nest fern. What is wrong with it? DN

Bird's-Nest Fern

Bird’s-nest fern need continual moist soil; it should never be allowed to go dry between watering. The linear lines you see are spores from which new plants can be propagated. The large dead areas are probably caused by fungal spores. Plants often have disease issues when grown out of their preferred environment.

Bird’s-nest fern might work best in interior environments here as long as they are receiving sufficient humidity such as a bright, sunny bathroom. In addition, this plant, when grown outside, prefers shady sites so placing it in full sun areas can cause even more stress. If you plan to keep it, you might consider moving it to a different site, perhaps a screened pool area or under large shade trees. The plant may grow better in protected areas, away from dry cool air or full sunny spots. In south Florida, these plants are often hung under tree limbs to give them dappled light, high humidity and temperature protection, in other words… the perfect environment.

QUESTION: My camellia plant seemed to wilt over night. Does it have the sudden oak death fungus? AR

Camellia Leaves with SOD

The roots of camellia infected with the fungal pathogen for SOD usually show no symptoms of disease. The roots of your plant showed numerous lesions with brown decayed areas. All the large primary roots from the trunk were decayed which resulted in the plant being unable to take up water and nutrients. This inability to take up water caused the plant to wilt.

The disease has probably been working on this plant for some time, but with the drought in the spring followed by sudden large amounts of rainfall, the tree finally died. Diseases such as root rots and leaf spots on woody ornamental plants often occur when too much irrigation is applied. Another common mistake is planting the shrubs too deeply, which will eventually reduce the amount of air around the roots. Remember roots need 50% of the soil surrounding them to be made up of air and water. Unfortunately, there is no chemical fix for this problem; the tree needs to be pulled up and destroyed.

QUESTION: I planted so many fruit seeds and lost so many plants I no longer know what is growing. Can you tell me if this plant is cantaloupe or watermelon? What are some good choices for seedless watermelon? MH

Cantaloupe Leaves

Your leaf is from a cantaloupe plant. Watermelon leaves are much more lobed than the cantaloupe leaf. Cantaloupe should be grown in warm climates with low humidity. Rots can easily occur in wet, humid climates or if too much irrigation is applied too often.

Cantaloupe prefers fertile, well-drained slightly acidic sandy or silt loam soil with a pH between 6.0 and 6.5. Additions of high levels of nitrogen may prevent plants from maximum fruit production and maturity. Use formulations of fertilizers similar to 6-6-6 or 8-8-8, which can be easily found at any garden center. Applications of pesticides should be done before sunrise or after dark to reduce the chance of applying it directly to bees which are essential for pollination.

Seedless watermelon choices for Florida are: Crimson Trio, Genesis, King of Hearts, Merrilee III, Millionaire, or Scarlet Trio. For more information on growing seedless watermelon check out the University of Florida publication: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/CV006