4

The leaves of my french marigold are wilting, and the flower droops over due to its weight and skinny stem. (I have positioned the flower to lean against the glass this time).

This is the 2nd time already!

Why do the leaves keep wilting, a few at each time? Is it too little watering, air too dry or insufficient sunlight? I have tried to spot for pests and signs of infection... nothing!

I live in Singapore, the pot is 6 inch deep. I used to water it once every 7 days until the water runs out from the bottom. Right now I poke my finger in every 3 days and water it when it feels dry.

The pot is placed at a south west facing window (in my office around 25 degree celsius) which will get around 5 hours of sunlight behind a glass pane.

wilting leaves

stem is thin

Improve this question
2
  • Has this plant never been outside, been grown indoors all this time, with closed windows?
    – Bamboo
    Jun 14, 2016 at 10:20
  • never been outside. it was grown from seed, windows closed all the time.
    – Yennie
    Jun 14, 2016 at 12:54

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
4

The trouble is, this isn't an indoor plant, it's an annual bedding plant (Tagetes patula) - the thin stem is probably a result of lack of air movement around the plant (gently moving air helps to thicken up stems) as much as anything else, and that's why it's not able to support the weight of a single flower. It's not possible to see what size pot it's in, but if its rootbound because it needs potting up into something bigger, it would dry out more quickly. I suspect you probably have a tray or outer pot to stop water running everywhere, so its possible the plant is, at times, sitting in water in that outer container, and these plants like well drained soil and full sun. Either or both of those things may cause wilting and browning leaves. Empty out any outer pot or tray 30 minutes after watering, repot if its rootbound, not much you can do about its developing thin, weak stems, unless you have the window open to give it some air movement.

Improve this answer
1
  • definitely root bound, no water is left on the tray at any point of time as i always empty the excess.
    – Yennie
    Jun 16, 2016 at 3:00
2

From the info provided and the pics it's not under watering if anything over watering will cause the leaves to wilt and stay green also not enough heat/sunlight. Another thing is the pot sounds to small your more than likely pot bound where your roots have no where to go. My suggestion would be to repot and place the plant in the sun out side. In a week or less your plant will be happy again.

Improve this answer
4
  • it will be quite troublesome for me to bring it out... cant let my bosses see me around with a pot actually.
    – Yennie
    Jun 14, 2016 at 12:56
  • an update - i have re-pot it into a bigger container. the roots are healthy and abundant. around 5 days passed and the leaves continued to wilt at the base. so i brought it up to the roof and placed it there, where it is covered with sun shine for at least 6-8hrs daily. it has been around 6 days and all leaves including the flower buds wilted.
    – Yennie
    Jul 7, 2016 at 6:12
  • i brought it back down to indoor and trimmed away whatever that looks like dying or dead, left around 2 little young shoots. lets see whether it can survive.
    – Yennie
    Jul 7, 2016 at 6:15
  • Belated update: it didn't survive after bringing to outdoor. I will try again since the weather is back to sunny nowadays.
    – Yennie
    Aug 10, 2016 at 8:41

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.