Do Some Plants Leave You Mystified? (flower, growing, palms, magnolia)

[tijlover]

A Rio Bravo Sage just died out on me. Only a year old. 3 weeks ago it was abloom with purple flowers, so beautiful, and now dead!

There's a Popcorn Cassia next to it that's been spreading out and a limb was touching the sage, and right after that, it died.

I sometimes think plants are like people. Some people recoil when being touched or hugged, and this could be the case with the sage, it didn't like being touched, infringed upon?????

Ah, the continuing mystery of plants!

[Zoisite]

Originally Posted by tijlover

A Rio Bravo Sage just died out on me. Only a year old. 3 weeks ago it was abloom with purple flowers, so beautiful, and now dead!

There's a Popcorn Cassia next to it that's been spreading out and a limb was touching the sage, and right after that, it died.

I sometimes think plants are like people. Some people recoil when being touched or hugged, and this could be the case with the sage, it didn't like being touched, infringed upon?????

Ah, the continuing mystery of plants!

Being touched was only a small part of the reason why the Cassia, which is toxic, killed the Rio Bravo, which is not toxic. The chemical constituents of the two plants are different and not compatible with each other and the Cassia effected the Rio Bravo similarly to the way walnut trees, horse chestnut trees or arbutus trees will kill certain other types of vegetation that are growing near them.

The toxic chemicals are in the roots and foliage of the cassia and they are constantly being released as a vapour into the soil and atmosphere. In some tropical countries that type of cassia is used like a natural herbicide to exterminate certain other types of reactive plants that may grow as weeds in plantations. The chemicals stimulate the other plants to flower and germinate and then it kills them before they get a chance to seed out. That's what the chemicals in your cassia did to your Rio Bravo.

Any time you are choosing plants that are highly aromatic, (which both of your plants are) consider the chemicals that you can smell and research the chemical constituents to determine their levels of toxicity to other plants (as well as to humans and other living things) that would be in their vicinity.

If you get another Rio Bravo be sure to NOT plant it anywhere within 50 feet range of the roots or foliage of your cassia.

Your kind of cassia (senna) is a pretty plant but it's not something I'd want growing anywhere near my home because of it's toxic properties that it would be introducing into my environment and the effect it may have on my own health just from breathing in the chemicals that are in its vapours that it releases into the air. Research both the medicinal and toxic properties and uses of your kind of cassia (senna didymobotrya).


https://uses.plantnet-project.org/en...obotrya_(PROTA)

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[oldgardener]

I doubt the sage died because the popcorn plant touched it. However, a plant that gobbles up all the available water and nutrients can cause a neighboring plant to fail.

They can fail for lots of other reasons as well...diseases, viruses, pests, etc.

[ChiGeekGuest]

Originally Posted by tijlover

A Rio Bravo Sage just died out on me. Only a year old. 3 weeks ago it was abloom with purple flowers, so beautiful, and now dead!

There's a Popcorn Cassia next to it that's been spreading out and a limb was touching the sage, and right after that, it died.

I sometimes think plants are like people. Some people recoil when being touched or hugged, and this could be the case with the sage, it didn't like being touched, infringed upon?????

Ah, the continuing mystery of plants!

I can relate to the continuing mystery of life in general; interactions between even more so. Truly awe-inspiring. & the continuing uncertainty of it all sometimes takes my breath away.

[Zoisite]

One other thing I wanted to comment about with regard to the popcorn cassia and the smell of it when in flower or when bruised - bees are repelled and may be sickened by the smell and will not take nectar or pollen from the plant because of the toxins in them. So if you have many other types of plants in your garden that require pollination from bees but are not being visited it's because the bees are avoiding being in the vicinity of the smell of the popcorn cassia.
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[Sun Belt-lover L.A.M.]

There are some plants that do mystify me very much. These are the ones I can think of from the top of my head:
--Dahurian Larch. How are they able to survive temperatures as low as -90F, probably -96F, possibly even -108F? That's way colder than any of Greenland and almost as cold as the coldest parts of Antarctica!
--Needle Palm. Why don't they have a far larger native range if they're hardy enough to? They can even be cultivated in some northern states, and surely the clay wouldn't stop them from spreading inland when they tolerate waterlogged soil and do well whenever cultivated in poor soil!
--Dwarf Palmetto. If they're native to Arkansas, Oklahoma and Virginia, why aren't they also native to Maryland, Tennessee, Delaware, SE Pennsylvania and southern NJ? They could surely survive the winters in those places even as seedlings if they can survive in the other three and tolerate sub-0F temps regularly!
--Bald Cypress. WHY are they deciduous if they're a conifer and native to the subtropics?! They don't have to deal with very cold temperatures, and most deciduous conifers are larches growing in subarctic climates!
--Birches. If there are occasional evergreen species of oak, magnolia and southern beech, and birches are more cold tolerant, why aren't there a few evergreen species of them in milder regions too? Perhaps they could even rival the Southern Magnolia in cold tolerance if they ever evolved, given that many birches can even grow in subarctic climates.
--Mountain Laurel (eastern North America). If they're a broad-leaved evergreen, how would they be able to survive unprotected in a place like Vermont, Maine or New Hampshire? They don't even have a protective leaf coating like Needle Palm, Southern Magnolia and some hollies do, nor do they curl up in sub-15F cold spells like Great Rhododendrons and pansies do!
--Southern Magnolia. Why would the seeds need an average low of at least 32F in the coldest month to germinate if they can survive temperatures as low as -5F without leaf burn? Surely as long as the coldest month's mean is a few degrees or more above freezing, something like that should be fine! (I've heard that's why most Tennesseans grow them from cuttings.)

[Zoisite]

Originally Posted by Sun Belt-lover L.A.M.

--Dahurian Larch. How are they able to survive temperatures as low as -90F, probably -96F, possibly even -108F? That's way colder than any of Greenland and almost as cold as the coldest parts of Antarctica!

--Needle Palm. Why don't they have a far larger native range if they're hardy enough to? They can even be cultivated in some northern states, and surely the clay wouldn't stop them from spreading inland when they tolerate waterlogged soil and do well whenever cultivated in poor soil!


Southern Magnolia. Why would the seeds need an average low of at least 32F in the coldest month to germinate if they can survive temperatures as low as -5F without leaf burn?

Dahurian Larches produce their own anti-freeze.


Needle Palms have quite large seeds that most seed eating birds can't swallow to transport to other locations that would expand their range. Also the seeds have very specific temperature and humidity requirement for germination to occur and the small seedlings have more requirements and less tolerance of colder environments than more mature needle palms do. The older a needle palm gets the more hardy and cold tolerant it becomes but in colder environments as seedlings and young trees they usually have to be cultivated and babied along in controlled environments for a few years until they reach the adequate age of hardiness and readiness to be transplanted outdoors.


Southern Magnolia seeds must go through a process called cold stratification at an average temperature of 34F in order for germination to be triggered at warmer temperatures. 32 degrees or lower would be too cold for stratification.
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[tijlover]

Thanks for the eye-opener on the popcorn cassia. I also have 2 other cassia's I've planted not too far away, a Feathery Leaf and a Silver Leaf. Is it just the popcorn cassia that's toxic?

This plant has spread and a branch now touches my Justicia plant and no problem and it overlaps a lantana plant, but no problems so far.

I had a popcorn cassia in Phoenix and it was so gorgeous when in bloom, I just had to have another. So now we'll see if the Justicia and Lantana hold up to the touching.

[Nov3]

I'm mystified that I can touch a Silk plant and it will wither!!

too bad that talent doesn't work on the weeds in yards....I could be someones weed killer

Good info by some of the posters here....

[tijlover]

Currently, one branch of the popcorn cassia is leaning against the Justicia, the other is leaning against the Lantana, and I'll be watching these 2 plants like a hawk, and if either dies, good bye plant!