Delphinium, Physalis Alkekengi - which deficiencies?

I would like to identify which particular deficiencies may have affected some seedlings which failed to grow - namely, Delphinium and Physalis Alkekengi (Chinese Lantern.)
In both cases, the symptoms resembled magnesium, calcium or iron deficiency, I think, which is to say the leaves, which began to shrink and shrivel in size, curled inwards at the tip, in some cases yellowed, and eventually the stems wilted and the plants died. All were grown in compost and had not yet been transplanted to outdoor soil.

Would any of the aforementioned deficiencies be common in these plants? Hypothetically, how would the Ph level of a soil affect them?

I am especially interested in knowing as I am currently studying Horticulture and wish to comment on these particular cases as part of an assignment on nutrient deficiencies.

Thanks.

 

The best thing to do would be to get a full soil analysis done then you would know if there are any defficiencies,what you need to do before jumping to any conclusions as to what the plants are defficient in is find out whether the growing conditions affected the plants seeing as to how the condition they suffered was common to both,was the watering right most common problem with plants is overwatering,delphiniums in particular don't like their feet in water,did the temperature fluctuate,where they in a draft ,was there enough light.Knowing the pH value of your soil before planting is crucial as it has a direct effect on the health of the plant.Yes each plant has its own recommended pH value range and these are usually marked on the seed packets or plant pot. The reason being is that the soil pH affects the availability of nutrients within the soil and plants have different nutrient needs, both of these plants are tolerant of a ph either side of neutral.

 

What compost did you use?

If you used a purchased multipurpose compost I doubt there would be any deficiency, both plants, as far as I know, are relativity easy to grow from seed.

Sounds to me more like a fungal disease.

 

As far as I am aware-and am ready to stand corrected-as long as they are seedlings there is very little they could possibly be deficient in.


I would say its commonplace damping off that caused this.

 

Sounds to me like either damping off or too low a temperature.:thumb:

 

Thanks to all for the above. I think its pretty certain they had no nutrient deficiency and the last suggestion is probably the case. As strange as this may sound, I'm a little disappointed at that, as it means I will have to "dig deeper" to find a good example of deficiencies for my essay!