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My Lettuce Plants Are Wilting and Dying! Urgent! Help!

hugatree1357hugatree1357 Posts: 5
in Problem solving
A few weeks ago I planted some small lettuce plants (romaine, butter crunch, and green leaf) in my garden. They were growing really well and doing great, except for 2 that randomly wilted and died earlier on. Then suddenly, I came outside one morning and the bottom leaves were wilted. So I gave them some water. The next day, the leaves were even more wilted. Then the third day I came outside to discover they were even MORE wilted, and even more surprisingly...two of the plants were laying on their sides! It was like a scene from a horror movie. I wanted to cry out for help...but I couldn't because it's lettuce and I'm an adult. When I got closer to inspect the damage, the two plants were cleanly severed at the base where the stem meets the roots. The area where they had severed was dry and brown, and it doesn’t look like anything had chewed them off, but more like the base of the lettuce plant just dried out (or rotted?) and the plants evently and neatly severed themselves from their roots, giving up on life... The rest of the unsevered plants were in nearly the same state as those two... I barely touched them, and they also severed. After that I saved as much lettuce as I could (some of the inner leaves weren't wilted yet), and uprooted the plants. The root systems were also incredibly tiny. The more wilted and close to being severed the plant was...the smaller the root system would be. Any idea what could have caused this? If I can figure it out, I'm hoping I can save the green leaf lettuce which is only slightly wilted so far... Help!

Thanks everyone!
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Posts

  • treehugger80treehugger80 Posts: 1,923
    they've most likely been caught by frost, it may be warm during the day but its still frosty at night, its still a little early to be planting stuff like lettuces out, particularly if they haven't been hardened off a little first
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 52,005
    They will also be growing a lot on top, at the expense of the root system, because the warmer weather has encouraged that. That means the root can't support the top growth.
    Far too early for lettuce to be outdoors, as treehugger says. It would need to be in a greenhouse or similar :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Kitty 2Kitty 2 Posts: 5,150
    Maybe the OP is not in the UK. 
    They were planting out "a few weeks ago"...
    My garden was covered in snow a few weeks ago ⛄

    Time of first post 5:22 am... Southern hemisphere possibly?
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 52,005
    Good point Kitty!  :D
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 11,408
    I think you are right Kitty, l assumed when l started reading that they were maybe in a polytunnel or greenhouse,  but then read on. Hopefully @hugatree1357 will get back to us.  :)
  • hugatree1357hugatree1357 Posts: 5
    Oh, yes! I should have said before... I live in Florida! The Florida panhandle. I signed up for like 3 different gardening forums last night, in my desperation to find out what’s wrong with my lettuce and forgot to mention my location on every one. Oops! 
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 8,786
    Could they have been damaged during transportation or planting? The stems of soft young plants are fragile so it's usually best to handle them by a leaf or the root ball, not the stem.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • hugatree1357hugatree1357 Posts: 5
    edited February 2019
    JennyJ said:
    Could they have been damaged during transportation or planting? The stems of soft young plants are fragile so it's usually best to handle them by a leaf or the root ball, not the stem.
    Thanks for the idea! But like I said, they were planted 3 weeks ago and doing great. And every single one of them was wilted a few days ago, then they started severing. Also, I’ve been handling plants for years so I was careful when I planted them 3 weeks ago. :smile:
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 52,005
    Have you got a photo? That could help us to help you  :)
    Could they have been eaten by something? In the UK, slugs and snails are a big culprit where lettuce is concerned, and they can munch through them very easily. 
    I'm also wondering if you've overwatered them, and they've simply rotted right at the base. Small plants can be tricky to get right when it comes to watering, and they're usually better on the drier side rather than wet.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • hugatree1357hugatree1357 Posts: 5
    edited February 2019
    Fairygirl said:
    Have you got a photo? That could help us to help you  :)
    Could they have been eaten by something? In the UK, slugs and snails are a big culprit where lettuce is concerned, and they can munch through them very easily. 
    I'm also wondering if you've overwatered them, and they've simply rotted right at the base. Small plants can be tricky to get right when it comes to watering, and they're usually better on the drier side rather than wet.
    Here are some pictures. Keep in mind, they weren’t this wilted when I first pulled them. They’ve been been uprooted for a day and I just took the pictures this morning. I don’t think it’s snails or slugs because the leaves themselves were completely unharmed. As for the overwatering, probably not. I hadn’t watered them in 3 or 4 days, and then I noticed they were slightly wilted, and the soil was dry, so I figured it was time to water them. Then I watered them and the next day they were even more wilted. And the third day they were severed like this. Thanks for your help!cause 
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