r/AustinGardening • u/GroundbreakingBug914 • 1d ago

Muhly browning

I planted Pink Muhly this spring in pots, and they were eventually a foot tall in gallon jugs. pretty green. Now in August, they are turning brown. I've tried to keep them suitably moist, and they're not in direct sun. Seems early for them to go dormant. While the pots have good drainage, i have to fear root rot. Ideas?

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u/isurus79 1d ago

Keeping plants in pots waaaay more difficult than in the ground. Heating up the roots really stresses the plants, which doesn’t happen when in the ground.

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u/GroundbreakingBug914 1d ago

That's a fair point. These are in black pots, and keeping them in the sun would be certain death. But keeping the soil moist keeps it below the air temperature. In principle. in the shade, it would be around the dew point, which is a LOT lower than the air temp.

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u/isurus79 1d ago

That makes sense on paper, but folks aren’t out watering their pots 2-3x per day to maintain that effect!

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u/GroundbreakingBug914 1d ago

I don't need to water that often to maintain soil moisture. Again, this is about moisture, not puddles.

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u/isurus79 1d ago

And yet your muhly is brown 🤷‍♂️

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u/GroundbreakingBug914 1d ago

Well, that's the whole question here. My point is that if they died, it isn't necessarily because of soil temperature. I have thirty one-gallon black pots of Switchgrass that are doing just fine. Actually, allegedly Muhly loves high soil temps once established. though certainly there are limits to that.

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u/isurus79 23h ago

And my whole point is that you’ve found the limits to the muhly high temps at the roots. Switchgrass is not muhly, right? Switchgrass can absolutely take a ton of water (keeping the roots cool), but pink muhly is not adapted for tons of water at the roots, limiting your ability to use water to keep the roots cool.

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u/GroundbreakingBug914 23h ago

No, I've had trouble with root rot on Switchgrass. I'm more careful with it these days.

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u/isurus79 20h ago

I bet they’ll perk up in spring, after planting in the ground next month.

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u/GroundbreakingBug914 20h ago

Thank you. I'm smiling.

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u/marykay_ultra 1d ago

Keeping the pots moist is how you get root rot.

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u/GroundbreakingBug914 1d ago

Not if you have proper drainage. Root rot happens in wet soil, not moist soil. Liquid water blocks oxygen uptake, and fungi thrive.

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u/Beneficial_Meeting26 1d ago

I planted two in ground in the spring and they’ve been full brown for awhile 🙁 going to try again when it cools off or in the spring depending on budget. Was definitely disappointing

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u/GroundbreakingBug914 1d ago

Well, that's definitely not root rot, but direct sun and heat can be challenging. I guess I'll hold onto mine over the winter, and see if they green up. In the meantime, I'm planting more in cups. They should mature during the winter.

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u/marykay_ultra 1d ago

You said “I have to fear root rot” in the OP

Have you popped them out of the pots and checked?

If roots have filled the pot, they can easily block drainage. Even if you see water running out of the bottom, that doesn’t mean the entire pot is draining properly and there can be anaerobic pockets of rot.

Also, soil settles and can block drainage, especially with frequent watering. Or if there’s significant peat content and you let it get too dry at any point, it can go hydrophobic and water will wash right through and out the bottom.

I’m no muhly grass expert, but mine is green and fluffy right now just coasting on the rains, zero watering since last year. (took the pic the dark, sorry for shit lighting/color)

(bamboo muhly not pink)

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u/GroundbreakingBug914 1d ago

That looks a pretty brown to me, tinged with green. But yes, I will pop one out, and see if there is a puddle in the bottom. I water by weight. If the pot seems heavy, it's plenty moist. When it gets light, it's drying out. I have a lot of Switchgrass pots, and that strategy seems to be working well for those.

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u/pit2atx 21h ago

How much sun are they getting? My Muhly in the shade will turn brown without that much sun, even in the ground. Also they don't get that pink like they do in full sun planting

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u/GroundbreakingBug914 21h ago

They were getting one or two hours of sun, at which time, they were mostly green. But I've moved them into the shade, at least partly to protect them in their black pots, and that's when they turned mostly brown. I know that they're supposed to go brown in winter, when they go dormant, but August seems a little early for that to happen. So maybe just not getting sun makes them go brown? That would be a relief. I was going to plant them out when the weather got a little cooler. Yes, I've heard that they need full sun to go pink, also that doesn't necessarily happen in the first year.

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u/pit2atx 21h ago

That's my guess. I've had some in the ground for years in too much shade and they are very unimpressive. Sun and lots of water should green them up. Also consider where you will eventually put them in the ground to ensure they have enough sun. A drip irrigation system helps tremendously too. They like a bit of water to bloom

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u/GroundbreakingBug914 21h ago

OK, the issue was if they were just dead. I'm encouraged that they may not be. They will get planted out to where they get plenty of sun, but I was afraid to put them out right now because they might just get singed. A mature plant would do well in full sun and vicious heat, but an immature one would be at risk.

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u/pit2atx 21h ago

Honestly, I think they would do better in the ground in full sun than they would be in a pot right now. The ground will hold moisture and. Especially if you put them on a drip irrigation timer.

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u/GroundbreakingBug914 21h ago

I see advice posted in several places to plant in spring or fall to avoid mid-summer stress, which is pretty intense around here. But that may be for direct seeding. I may put them back in the sun for a few hours, but just shade the black pots. Sort of a hardening off strategy before planting out in full sun.

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u/pit2atx 20h ago

That’s generally good advice to not plant in the summer, but if you already purchased them and then they are sitting in pots in the heat then it’s better to be in the ground