I found a new desert mutation of kava...

[Alia]

Fantastic info! What would I look for on the underside of the leaf? I did take a million pictures, and have them attached, because that is the kind of guy I am. Might be helpful, might not be?

Could you give a ratio of perlite to soil I should use for this plant? I've also got some sphagnum moss in case I should throw some of that in as well. I'm going to plant it tomorrow since it's had a couple days to relax.

I use PRO-MIX BX MYCORRHIZAE 70 % with pure perlite #4, 30%.
Mixed well.
Kava is a mycorrhizae plant.
Never mix sphagnum moss (SM) in with your soil mix.
The use of SM is for propagating nodes, air-layering and related.
I don't see anything wrong on the underside of the leaf, but as @kasa_balavu
says- you need to look close and magnify.
See page 89 of Hawaiian 'awa book for some things to look for.
It may be that your new Mahakea plant is a little stressed from shipping
or a minor nutrient deficiency.
Dry , hot air are going to make growing this plant in your environment challenging.

 

[Kalm with Kava]

I use PRO-MIX BX MYCORRHIZAE 70 % with pure perlite #4, 30%.
Mixed well.
Kava is a mycorrhizae plant.
Never mix sphagnum moss (SM) in with your soil mix.
The use of SM is for propagating nodes, air-layering and related.
I don't see anything wrong on the underside of the leaf, but as @kasa_balavu
says- you need to look close and magnify.
See page 89 of Hawaiian 'awa book for some things to look for.
It may be that your new Mahakea plant is a little stressed from shipping
or a minor nutrient deficiency.
Dry , hot air are going to make growing this plant in your environment challenging.

Gotcha. I'll see if I can get some of that mix. On the dry hot climate front, I'll be keeping the plant indoors to regulate the temperature (we keep the house at 78 in the summer, ~68-70 in the winter, and I've been misting it with water two or three times a day. I'm actually going to put it in my bathroom so the heat and steam from baths/showers should be good for it.

Just for future documentation, I just transplanted it and used:

Miracle-Gro Cactus, Palm & Citrus Potting Mix | Miracle Gro

You don't have to live in the desert to grow beautiful cacti, palms, citruses, and succulents - just plant them with Miracle-Gro Cactus, Palm & Citrus Soil. T

www.miraclegro.com

Miracle-Gro Perlite | Miracle Gro

Helps prevent soil compaction and promote strong root development. Enriched with Miracle-Gro Plant Food.

www.miraclegro.com

I didn't use any moss in the mix itself since that seemed counter-intuitive (and it looks like you would agree). Apparently I bought the wrong perlite (and used it as well), so we'll see how badly that screws it up. My mom is a bit of a greenthumb and told me for plants that need well draining soil, she puts rocks at the bottom of her pots to help aid with that, so I put a layer of some chunky rocks from my front yard that look like this:

Am I overthinking all of this? Most likely. Is this my baby? Absolutely

 

[Kalm with Kava]

Also more pictures from, because what kava guy doesn't want to see pictures of kava?

I'll routinely post update pictures along the way. I feel like the more this can be documented the better.

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

looks like my project might be over before it even really started. almost all my cuttings have already started turning brown and rubbery. that was a fun waste of money.

 

[Alia]

View attachment 12073
looks like my project might be over before it even really started. almost all my cuttings have already started turning brown and rubbery. that was a fun waste of money.

They did seem a bit too narrow. As you go further up, the stalk gets more tender and thin.
Tip cuttings can work but only with timed mist.

 

[Kalm with Kava]

View attachment 12073
looks like my project might be over before it even really started. almost all my cuttings have already started turning brown and rubbery. that was a fun waste of money.

Sad sad sad. I spent the week up north out of the heat and left my beloved kava child with my mother in law. While it seemed to fare well enough, I am seeing that all of the leaves have holes in them.

 

[Kalm with Kava]

They did seem a bit too narrow. As you go further up, the stalk gets more tender and thin.
Tip cuttings can work but only with timed mist.

I've been misting twice a day. Too little? Too much?

 

[Alia]

I've been misting twice a day. Too little? Too much?

I think twice a day is fine although maybe a bit more is needed if you have really dry air.
I only drove through Arizona once when Route 66 really was Route 66 long ago ('72).
Again, it is worth looking under the leaves pic. 1 and 4 particularly.

 

[kasa_balavu]

View attachment 12073
looks like my project might be over before it even really started. almost all my cuttings have already started turning brown and rubbery. that was a fun waste of money.

Damn, that sucks.
Not your fault though. As @Alia pointed out, those thin stems and tips have a high failure rate outside of perfect conditions.

 

[fait]

You've gotta start sometime!

The best time to start growing kava was 5 years ago. The second best time to start growing kava is today.

 

[Kalm with Kava]

I think twice a day is fine although maybe a bit more is needed if you have really dry air.
I only drove through Arizona once when Route 66 really was Route 66 long ago ('72).
Again, it is worth looking under the leaves pic. 1 and 4 particularly.

I'll order that microscope and see what's underneath. I'm out of town for a couple more days (being busy stinks), but when I get back I should have the scope to check it out

 

[Alia]

I'll order that microscope and see what's underneath. I'm out of town for a couple more days (being busy stinks), but when I get back I should have the scope to check it out

All you really need is a magnifying glass.

 

[Kalm with Kava]

All you really need is a magnifying glass.

Ok I've found some little bastards spinning webs and crawling around on my leaves. I couldn't get a great picture for you, but they're little spider looking guys.

 

[Kalm with Kava]

What do I do, kava doctors?! I'm getting browning on basically all of my leaves and it's starting to look like a sinking ship!

 

[Alia]

What do I do, kava doctors?! I'm getting browning on basically all of my leaves and it's starting to look like a sinking ship!

You are not actually showing the underside of the leaf in these pictures but from your description it sounds like red spider mites.
If so, and if this kava is an "ornamental" I think Abamectin would be allowed.
If a crop you'd have to go with light oil (Sun-Spray) or a Neem product.
Oil and/or Neem are broad spectrum but the Abamectin is more specific to Red Spider Mites.

 

[Kalm with Kava]

You are not actually showing the underside of the leaf in these pictures but from your description it sounds like red spider mites.
If so, and if this kava is an "ornamental" I think Abamectin would be allowed.
If a crop you'd have to go with light oil (Sun-Spray) or a Neem product.
Oil and/or Neem are broad spectrum but the Abamectin is more specific to Red Spider Mites.

Yea, I couldn't really get a good picture magnified at all, let alone on the back side.

But yes, that's exactly what they look like. It is ornamental, but who knows, maybe in 5 years after I put it in a giant pot I'll want to harvest it. I'll check out a Neem product -- thanks!

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

I'm fairly certain that if you erected a sterile biodome on mars and grew brand new kava plants from stem cuttings, there would suddenly exist martian spider mites, aphids & slugs to chomp the plants to death.

I've had some luck with All Seasons brand Horticultural Oil. 1.5 or 2 Tablespoon in a gallon of water...shake it up...pour some into a spray bottle and spray the under side of the leaves...don't miss the curled over part on the browned edges.

 

[Kalm with Kava]

So I think you all deserve an update here. Attached are photos from this morning. I've got a couple new stems popping up with adorable little leaves. I'm finding it difficult to grow new stems that pop out from the existing ones as they seem to rot pretty good. I used to spray/mist the plant quite often and I think that contributed to the rotting. Ever since I switched to a timed watering system and stopped misting there seem to be more shoots that look more robust and aren't immediately rotting.

I've been putting very small amounts of fertilizer in the water every two or three weeks, and every other two or three weeks I've been using an anti fungal to curb any rotting issues. Haven't had issues with bugs since the summer, so hopefully that's a thing of the past. I also moved it into our bathroom in front of the window with a ton of sun exposure, so some steamy showers and the sun have helped keep it warm and humid. Will likely move to a larger pot in the next 4 months.

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

It's alive! Thanks for the update.
Those crispy edges and that minimal growth look so familiar!
New stem shoots look promising.