I recently picked up a sweet basil plant, planted it in a pot, gave it a bit of water and almost immediately leaves began to turn brown and desiccate. Quite a few have now fallen off. This plant is growing indoors under an open, west-facing window -- well lighted but not in direct sun, temps at 80 to 95 degrees F & humid. The soil is 50/50 Miracle Gro Potting Mix and peat moss, kept slightly damp. Last year I grew basil in similar soil on a north facing balcony with great success. Then I moved into this apartment & it slowly died. I figured it was "natural causes" since I allowed the plant to go to seed. Now I think maybe its the water here. However, I have a variety of other plants here, thriving for months now. What’s going on? P.S.: I spray painted the pot some days before planting.
It looks like over or underwatering at first glance. Does the pot have drainage holes to allow excess water to drain away? Also the plant looks to have been planted deeper in the new container, is that right? Deep planting along with a high perched water-table can suffocate roots.
Miracle Grow & half peat is a very wet mix for indoors. Was your last Basil in an unpainted clay pot that allowed faster evaporation? Do you have a similar amount of sun here? Is the humidity-lower/heat-higher in this area than your last?
Last year I planted the basil in a pot that was painted by the manufacturer in Miracle Gro potting mix. The weather last year was even hotter and more humid than this one, the hottest summer on record in this state since 18... . Currently, I have a dead cilantro and a dying thyme and rosemary bush as well as a suffering mint, tomato, and strawberry. I planted all of these in Miracle Gro potting mix initially, which has produced amazing results for me in the past, but this year everything I planted began to show signs of distress almost immediately -- leaves browning, plants shriveling. Thinking they were over fertilized, I mixed up the 50/50 soil. Some of the pots I painted, some are as manufactured, some unpainted. Some are well drained, others aren't. Some are under a west-facing window, some east-facing, some north; I tried to place the plants based on the amount of sun each type prefers. All of these plants came from a big box home improvement store, but so did last year's plants. This is my second batch this year, by the way. The first set all died in the exact same manner within a few days, like I shot 'em or something. When this set dies, I'm done for this year. In fact, I think it's time for a new hobby. I mean, this is pretty ridiculous.
The rosemary, thyme, and basil are now dead, as are the strawberry plants. The mint and tomato are still alive but a bit ailing. The mint has problems with browning, desicating leaves. This isn't so obvious from the photo -- most of the dead leaves fell off, quite a little pile. The tomato has white spots on its leaves (I'm calling this "tomato mosaic disease") as well as some yellowing, browning, crispiness. Both are still alive, however, and growing, though growth is matched by browning.
The soil is comerically prepared, straight from the bag. Is excessive nitrates really the problem? I figured the folks down at Miracle Gro would have worked that out for me.
May or may not be a problem, but we're seeing this more frequently now that most commercial potting mixes are using nitrogenous additives.
You could be right. Whatever the problem is, it has to be something all of the dead plants had in common and soil is a candidate. I've had good luck with Miracle Gro potting soil in the past, but all bags may not have consistent chemistry; I'm not familiar with the industrial process behind producing this stuff. However, the first round of plants were planted in a bag I hade left over from last year ("lucky" soil). The second round was planted in soil from a new bag. The only thing I reckon all these plants have in common that they don't have in common with my older plants, which are still healthy, is their commercial origin. The dead plants all came from the same place, my local big box home improvement store. I picked up a basil from another store, a different chain, planted it in soil from the same bag, and it seems to be doing well. I hope I've discovered the issue here. Otherwise, I'm a failure at my hobby and that would make me sad.
I had a similar problem with a local garden store. I bought some seedlings and just about lost them all. I went to a different store to get more and they are perfect. Don't give up on your hobby!
