Question
QUESTION: What causes my gazania to develop crispy, curled up leaves?  About 30 of my 60 gazanias have this condition and it doesn't seem to matter if they are in a pot or inground.  They all get the same care.  Thank you

ANSWER: Hi Loreen:

Are the leaves brown or just curled? Have you tried uncurling one. Sometimes certain caterpillars roll up in leaves and eat their way out, but that wouldn't make them crispy.

Gazania are drought tolerant plants and require very little water. Have you been watering too much? You have to wait until they are very dry before you water. Maybe some plants are getting more water than others or maybe it just hasn't affected them yet. If the leaves are yellow or still green, but not brown or spotty I'd say this is the reason.

If the leaves are brown, or have spots it is probably a fungal disease. With close plantings and humidity this can easily happen. There are any number of good all purpose fungicides on the market and a lot of them are green products or you could try Garlic. Garlic is a good all purpose fungicide. Roast the whole head of garlic until soft and whirl in a blender with 500 ml (2 cups )of water, strain and put in a spray bottle. It will only keep for a few weeks so you can also cut the recipe in half, if you want. Spray your plants every couple of days. The garlic smell disappears after an hour or so.

Hope this helps.          Myrna

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Myrna....thnx for answering!  The leaves are brown on top and silver on the bottom.  They are curled and so crispy that uncurling them causes them to disintigrate.  There is nothing inside the curled up part.  The gazanias that have crispy leaves do not thrive.  In one instance, there are 3 lovely healthy ones in a planter, and one crispy one right beside the healthy ones.  I'm baffled!  I've looked on the Internet and just can't find any reference to this problem.  Thnx for your time, Loreen

Answer
Hi Loreen:

Yes you have a fungal problem. If they are only slightly infected-- infected leaves but still some healthy ones--remove all the infected leaves and spray the plant with fungicide.You will need more than one application--perhaps several. Also spray the good plants in case it has already started to spread. If the whole plant is infected remove and separate the crispy ones because it will just spread to the good ones. Try to clean up any leaves that have fallen in the pot. At this time of year the rest are probably too big to move around or I'd tell you to improve the air circulation around the plants.

Fungi spread by spores. They love humid damp conditions--much like our weather has been, I don't know about yours. Water splashing on the leaves from the pot or infected leaves can infect other leaves and other plants. Do you have a place or other planters you can put badly infected ones in that is away from other plants? If you do you can try to bring them back with fungicides. If not and have to discard them put them in the garbage, do not put them in a composter. Gazania can withstand a drought so don't give the fungi something to feed on. Cut way back on the water and whatever you do water in early morning and then just the soil not the plant. You want to keep the leaves dry.

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but at least now you know what you are dealing with.
         Myrna

It is not a water issue it is a disease issue. One that spreads by water hitting the infected leaves and splashing on to others and carrying the disease with it. If you do nothing every plant will become infected.

Direct from the university of Kentucky:
sound like what you have --I think so

Rust (fungus)
Symptoms: Reddish brown, powdery pustules on leaves,
stems, and seed pods. NOTE THIS--If infections are numerous, leaves turn brown and die.
Control: Space well for good ventilation and low humidity.
Keep leaves dry. Ferbam, maneb, mancozeb,
propiconazole, and ziram fungicides control rust.