Morning Glory - yellow leaves & no roots

I planted some Morning Glory seeds about a month ago and they germinated fine and have grown to about an inch tall but the leaves are more a yellow colour than green and they look weak and unhealthy. I pulled one up and it had the main root stem but no side roots coming off.

Is this normal?

 

Morning glory like it very warm.

Not sure where you had your plants but they would have been struggling with the night temperatures up until the last few days.

 

Oh dear - they have been outside since day one. Is there anything I can do to revive them?

 

I think I would start again, there is still plenty of time for them, they grow fast once things warm up.

 

Here's how they looked when I last posted:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23597878@N08/4693168538/

Then things went from bad to worse when the snails had a good munch on them despite the netting over them (to stop the squirrels burying their nuts) - the snails just used it as a convenient platform to dine from!

I was going to throw them out but I took on board what Pete said about them liking it warm and I moved them into the plastic green house I have and it has done wonders. The leaves are now green instead of yellow!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23597878@N08/4692534617/

Many thanks Pete - you have saved the day!

 

Nice to see they have made a comeback from the brink:thumb:

Now pick a spell when its likely to be warm for a few days and get them used to being outside.

 

The morning glory is going from strength to strength - I'm really amazed how well they look when I think back to how they were just 6 weeks ago so thanks again Pete.

Here are a few more current photos:

Last week http://www.flickr.com/photos/23597878@N08/4765474242/
Last week http://www.flickr.com/photos/23597878@N08/4764839377/

Today http://www.flickr.com/photos/23597878@N08/4764840033/
Today http://www.flickr.com/photos/23597878@N08/4764841077/
Today http://www.flickr.com/photos/23597878@N08/4765477144/

In the last one you can see how crowded the pot is (same pot it was in originally). Would it be of benefit to put it in a bigger pot? Some of the leaves are slightly yellow - I was thinking may be because it is becoming pot bound?

Also, does it need feeding at any point?

One more, it has grown to the top of the bamboo supports I put in and it still looks like it wants to go higher. Should I do anything?

All suggestions appreciated.

 

I don't think they like being transplanted - I try to grow them in their final location. But, yours are looking further along than mine, probably because they were started earlier.

Keep watering them - they can wilt very quickly if they dry out when in a pot. You can loop the tops back onto themselves if they've reached the top of the bamboos, but in the ground they would grow to three times their current size.

 

It should be a good year for Morning Glory, if we are going to have a hot year. I would support what Pete said about warmth. There is much talk about them doing well down south but not up north. I tried them for several years, but they only did well in one hot year.

 

I think you will need a larger pot and you will need to feed.
If you do repot try to keep the whole soil ball together, its not going to be easy at this stage perhaps.

Tomorite or similar is good for flowering plants.

I'm looking at the yellowing on the leaves and wondering if it might be a pest of some kind, have a close look at the underside of the leaves.

 

Thanks to all for the advice.

I have re-potted (root ball stayed together fine), watered with tomato feed and added an extra cane to give about 3 extra feet for it to climb.

The only problem is the yellowing is getting worse. I think you may be right about the pest on the underside of the leaves Pete. There is a wispy spiders web type covering with small yellow bugs carrying tiny white (eggs?) around. Probably about half the leaves are showing signs of it Unfortunately with my camera the pictures are not coming out very well. Any ideas what it might be and how to get rid of it?

Whole plant: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23597878@N08/4776527315/
Yellow leaf: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23597878@N08/4777159142/
Underside out of focus: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23597878@N08/4777159394/

 

I didn't like to say it but it looks suspiciously like red spider mite, a pest that I keep banging on about.

Its very difficult to eradicate.

By the way dont feed for a while until the roots get into the new compost.

 

Oh dear - it does indeed look like red spider mites. They look very similar to pics on the net.
This page has some advice - although it doesn't sounds very hopeful!
http://www.bonsaigarden.net/control_of_red_spider_mites.html

Have you had any experience of these 3 possible solutions?

Spray Recipe #1
Blend together the following
½ cup of starch or flour
½ cup milk
1 gallon water

When sprayed over the mites this mixture will trap them as it dries into a thin film. Repeat every 4/5 days until control established. Check plants daily to ensure effectiveness. Dead mites will turn black so are much easier to see.

Spray Recipe #2
This is also a deterrent on uninfected plants and may help to keep mites and other pest at bay. It is also good to ward off Vampires.!
½ - 1 ounce Garlic
2-3 ounces of onion
½ - 1 ounce of cloves
½ - 1 ounce of Cayenne pepper

Whiz in your blender with 1 Cup of water till very fine.

Add this mixture to one gallon of room temperature water. This spray must be repeated 3 times at 5-day intervals to kill off freshly hatched mites (the spray will not kill the eggs). If the mixture gets washed off it must be re applied.

Spray Recipe #3
This is the favourite of the person who posted it onto the website. It is a product called â??Ultra Fineâ?. This is soap and phosphorous solution intended to specifically kill Spider mites and their eggs (as well as most other common pests) with just one spraying. Repeat after 10 days as a precaution in case you missed any the first time. I have been in touch with a guy in America to see if this is available in U.K. but am still waiting for a reply.

 

No not tried any of them, give them a try and let us know how you get on.