Gnarled leaves?

Hello. For some odd reason my sunflowers, or some of them, are producing what could be described as gnarled leaves, and are consequently failing to grow or dying off.

They're in the same place and soil as last year, so I wonder what you think might be the cause?

 

Hello Neil, it shouldn't matter if you have planted them in the same place as previous years, have you looked carefully at the leaves by uncurling them? Some of my chilli plants had a similar problem and it that case the cause was greenfly. Sometimes it's also worth looking at the roots (if the plant is already past saving) , if they are brown and soggy, it may have been caused by overwatering. Hope you find a solution, still time to try again and plant some more, good luck.

 

Hello. Thanks a lot. Definitely not over-watering. Hadn't noticed any sign of greenfly, but have just had a close look at those affected and on one (only one) there's what look to be very small eggs and a very small caterpillar. Should I spray them? As you can tell, my fingers are only a light green!

 

Hiya again Neil, I'm still Learning ( mainly by mistakes ) myself, at least you have found a reason for the symptoms shown by your plants, that's an important part of learning and improving. Everbody has their share of failures but if you can find out what went wrong it helps avoid future disappointments. I wouldn't bother spraying for a few eggs or the odd caterpillar, just pick them off and maybe the plant will recover, good luck.

 

Don't forget to give them a feed of liquid plant food to help them recover.
G.man.
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