Is my plant ill?

It is not because something unusual is happening to a plant that it is inevitably ill.

This apricot tree is not suffering from a disease or the presence of pests, but from hailstorm!

All is well!

During its life, the look of a plant can change. The Robinia or False Acacia (plants from the Acacia specie) and Eucalyptus, for example, bear different shaped leaves depending on their age. The leaves of young plants have a different shape than the leaves of the older ones. You must not necessarily worry when leaves of a different type appear. Maybe the plant is only growing. Nevertheless, beware: it could also be a reject of the rootstock, which will need to be cut right back or it, will take over the cultivated variety. The leaf’s shape can also change depending on the season. The Musk Mallow and the Campanula Rotundifolia (Bluebell) will have rounded leaves at the beginning of the season, but their foliage will become finer and finer as blossoming time gets closer.

When a plant suffers

Repeated neglects cause stress to a plant. It does not develop as it should and it can look unwell. For example, irregular watering can lead to leaves deforming. Tomatoes and orchids are particularly sensitive to it. Too much watering can equally make a plant suffer and even kill it. If the soil contains too much water, the roots are lacking of air and they asphyxiate. The plant withers, as it if was under attack from underground insects or animals, when all that is needed is to change the way of watering it. The only remedy is to look after it more regularly or choose plants, which do not need much looking after.

Problems can also arise when the right conditions have not been provided for the growth of a plant. For example, species whose stems are very fragile will suffer from gusts of wind if not grown near a protecting wall. Plants that have fragile leaves could suffer from hailstorms in the spring, especially in the south. Obviously, if the soil does not provide the plants with its needs, it is going to look unwell, as it cannot develop properly. In this case, it is not a disease so to speak, but an error of cultivation (and it happens to us all!).

Visible signs

Very few diseases or attacks from pests can go unnoticed on a plant. Often, their presence is noticeable: eaten leaves, spots or curled leaves, an unusual behaviour of the plant compared to the previous weeks (it does not grow as much, for example). The presence of a pest or a disease can also lead to a withering of organs before maturity (flowers, leaves, stems or portions of stems…). In this case, the problem can also be caused by a mistake of cultivation. For example, drafts make orchid flowers fall. If you face such symptoms, you only have one and sole purpose: find the cause or you risk not taking the right actions!