These plants are found in one particular house. The symptoms do not seem to be exclusive to any one variety. About 20% of F. Red, F. White, F. Pink, Prestige, and J. Bells are affected and in various areas of the house. I see no definite pattern. Temps have been on average 63 to 68 at night and as high as 85 during the day. Any ideas as to what might be causing this leaf problem?

Hi Tim - There may be a couple of different things going on here. Lower leaf yellowing, especially on larger containers sizes, is not uncommon at this point in the season. This is because the canopy becomes so dense on a mature full size plant that the lower leaves don't receive enough light and the breakdown of chlorophyll begins and the leaves yellow and drop. The other thing that happens towards finish is that the plants should be drying down between irrigations to avoid problems with root rotting. We can still get some very warm days and sometimes plants get a little too dry. Lower leaf yellowing, curl, and leaf drop can be a problem. If your EC levels are too high and the plants dry this can also happen. The good thing is that the canopy and bracts usually hide any problems with lower leaf drop. You will want to make sure you clean these leaves up from the plants and benches as they can harbor botrytis spores and won't help in your battle to prevent botrytis.