Myrtle is a popular plant, which is usually attributed to the genus of evergreen shrubs. Myrtle grows in the vast territories of North Africa, West Asia, Florida, Europe, the Azores and the islands of the Caribbean. It can be grown for decorative purposes. But sometimes gardeners face the following problem: the myrtle dries up. What to do to restore the state of the plant, we will tell in our article.
Description
Before moving on to the causes of drying of the myrtle, as well as to measures to prevent this problem and to combat it, we will tell you what this plant is. So, myrtle is a tree-like shrub. It has straight stems with abundant dark green foliage. The shape of the leaves is oblong and pointed to the edge.
On the sheet plate is a large number of small glands that can be easily seen in the light. They secrete essential oils and aromatic substances. The plant also has flowers: they are small, most often painted white or pink, although they may have a different color. They are located both individually and in hands. The fruits of the myrtle are represented by edible black berries with good taste.
Why does myrtle dry?
It's no secret that plants are susceptible to various diseases. In addition, they can be affected by pests. Myrtle is no exception, the bush is impossible to protect absolutely from all ailments. One of the most popular problems gardeners face is the drying up of myrtle leaves. What can cause this ailment? Factors contributing to yellowing and falling of leaves can be divided into two groups: improper care and exposure to insects. The first group includes the following reasons:
- Lack or excess of moisture.
- Incorrect temperature conditions.
- Unsuitable fertilizers.
- Bad light.
The second group of reasons involves the impact on the plant of aphids, scale insects, mealybug, whiteflies and spider mites. They also "put their hand" to the fact that the myrtle dries. How to save the plant, we will consider further.
Lack or excess of moisture
Myrtle is a water-loving plant, so it needs abundant and frequent watering. It is necessary to regularly carry out this procedure in order to maintain an attractive appearance of the bush. If there is too little moisture, the myrtle begins to dry out. To understand that the time has come to water myrtle, you can, first of all, on its leaves. Their color becomes less saturated, then they turn yellow, acquire a brown hue, and as a result dry and curl. All this leads to falling leaves and can lead to the death of the plant.
However, excess moisture also negatively affects the culture. If the water stagnates in the soil, the root system rots. One of the signs of this process is leaf wilting.
How to save a plant?
First of all, you need to find a "middle ground" and water the myrtle in sufficient quantities. It is important not to overdo it, but also not to spare water, if necessary. If there is not enough moisture, then the myrtle pot can be dipped in a container with liquid for several minutes. Through the drainage holes, water will penetrate to the roots, which will accelerate the process of plant restoration. After this, you need to put the pot on a pan so that excess water drains, the roots do not begin to rot and the myrtle does not dry again.
How to reanimate a plant, if you used too much fluid when watering, you need to transplant the plant into a new, dry soil as soon as possible. The shrub is removed from the old substrate, the roots are washed in water. After this, the plant is carefully inspected, ruthlessly cutting off the roots on which the rot appeared. Then the myrtle is transplanted into another soil. The first time after changing the substrate should not be watered.
Incorrect temperature
When growing shrubs, special attention should be paid to the temperature regime. If the myrtle has dried leaves, perhaps the reason lies in the wrong temperature conditions. Remember: this plant must be kept at medium temperatures. In summer, they should be from +17 to +24 ° C, and in winter, when the myrtle goes into a dormant state, from +10 to +12 ° C. In case the plant will be in a room with higher temperatures in cold weather, leaves may fade.
What to do?
In this case, correcting the situation is quite simple. To do this, the myrtle pot must be placed in a cooler room. But if there is no such possibility, then they put him on a pallet with crushed ice. This should help. But if, after all the measures taken, the leaves continue to fall off, then you need to carefully examine the crops.
Inappropriate feeding
Imagine: you water the plant correctly, the temperatures are within the normal range, but all the same, the leaves of the myrtle have dried. What to do in this case? The reason for the wilting of the foliage may lie in improperly selected fertilizers. Fact: myrtle is much more likely to suffer from an excess of minerals than from their deficiency, because the hosts (especially people who had not previously contained myrtle) feed too often. Especially dangerous is the situation when nitrogenous minerals accumulate in the soil. In small quantities, they will benefit the plant, but if you add nitrogen fertilizers in excessively large quantities, they will simply burn the roots of the plant. This, in turn, is reflected in the color and density of the foliage.
What measures to take?
In this situation, placing the pot in water will not help. If nitrogen has already accumulated in the soil, then there is only one way out: it is necessary to transplant the myrtle into another pot with a clean substrate. Carefully remove the plant from the old soil and inspect the roots. Blackened roots, i.e. those that have been burned, carefully cut. In this case, you will be able to reanimate the shrub much faster. At the end of the procedure, the roots are washed to remove residual fertilizer from them, and the plant is transplanted.
Bad light
If the leaves fade and fall, this may indicate too intense lighting. Remember: myrtle does not tolerate direct sunlight, as they can leave burns on its delicate leaves. However, the lack of light when growing shrubs in the shade will adversely affect the condition of the plant. It is best to place it in a place with diffused lighting.
How to revive the myrtle, if it has dried out due to improper lighting? To do this is quite simple: it is necessary to transfer the pot to a place as soon as possible where direct sunlight will not fall on the plant. You can still obscure the myrtle using special window curtains.
Adaptation period
Sometimes shedding and yellowing of foliage is observed after the purchase of myrtle. This may be due to the fact that the shrub is experiencing stress while it is being transported from the store home. The same thing happens after transplanting myrtle into a new pot. As a result, the following situation may arise: the myrtle is dried, but the leaves have not fallen.
To fix this and speed up the process of adaptation of the myrtle to new conditions, you need to leave the plant for several days in a calm environment. Place it in a shaded area with high humidity. This will help the culture to overcome stress more quickly.
Pests and how to deal with them
It happens that due to the vital activity of harmful organisms myrtle dried up. How to revive a plant? Check out the table below. It contains information about what enemies the bush has, how they manifest themselves and what to do to get rid of them.
Pests | Why are they dangerous? | How to deal with them? |
Aphid | An insect colony settles on the back of the foliage and feeds on the juice it contains. This causes the leaves to curl and dry. | Plants are sprayed with a special insecticide (you can buy it at a gardening store). Before spraying, insects are removed from the leaves, after washing the bush in the shower |
Shield | It feeds on the juice of the plant, as does the aphid. Promotes sticky plaque on shoots and leaves | Insects are removed from the shrub with a rag or toothbrush dipped in soapy water. After this, the myrtle is treated with an insecticide. Actellik is suitable for these purposes. |
Mealybug | As a result of the activity of the mealybug, a fluffy coating forms on branches and leaves | Pests are removed in any convenient way. After that, the plant is watered with Aktara |
Thrips | It harms all parts of the plant. You can detect it by light spots on the top of the sheet plate and black dots on the back | A popular method of combating thrips is watering a plant with infusion, which is prepared from tobacco dust or garlic. For those who are skeptical of folk methods, there is another way: treat the myrtle “Actellik” |
Whitefly | Like aphids, it colonizes on the back of the leaf and feeds on its juice | It is difficult to get rid of this insect. Adults are manually removed from the foliage, after which they wipe the shrub with a soap solution and spray with an insecticide |
Spider mite | The insect forms a web on the shoots of the bush | Leaves and branches are carefully wiped from the cobweb, then sprayed on the myrtle with tobacco dust infusion |
The above pest management tips will help if your myrtle is dry. How to reanimate a plant as soon as possible if it was infected by insects? It will not be possible to do this quickly, because it is necessary to process the bush several times with breaks between procedures. Be patient, and then you can restore the beauty of the myrtle.
General tips
Once the myrtle has dried up, reanimating it can be difficult. Therefore, we will give general recommendations for caring for the plant. If you follow them, you can avoid drying out the leaves.
Firstly, water for irrigation should be used well-maintained. It gently affects the root system and does not harm it. But the tap water can not be used in any case, since the substances contained in it can ruin the bush. The top of the ground should be slightly moist all the time. Therefore, in the summer myrtle is watered daily, and in winter - several times a week. In dry weather, it is recommended to spray the plant. But this can only be done in spring, summer and autumn.
The shrub should be kept under diffuse lighting, but it should be plentiful. It is best to place the pot on the windowsill on the west or east side. If the windows face the south side, then the myrtle needs to be tinted.
Soil suitable for azaleas and citrus fruits is suitable for growing this crop. But even with the content of myrtle in the best substrate, you need to regularly fertilize. Top dressing during the growing season is carried out once a week. In winter, the plant does not need this procedure.
If you follow all the recommendations, then you will never know how it feels to see a myrtle flower wither. What to do to prevent this unpleasant ailment in a plant? Familiarize yourself with the features of caring for it in advance and create suitable conditions for the development of the bush. Have you encountered the problem of yellowing and drying leaves of myrtle? If so, share in the comments how you solved it.