Withering leaves

I live in Florida and planted a couple of Cascades and a couple of Zeus since folks seem to have a lot of luck with those around here. My zeus are doing fine (middle image), however much to my surprise the cascades are off to a rough start. Planted around a month ago, the leaves are looking withered but they're not dry or brittle to the touch. They get hit with the sprinklers around 10+ mins a day in the early morning then full sunlight. The soil is a mix of sand and potting soil plus some Milorganite fertilizer for nitrogen. I also spray some organic 3-in-1 weekly or so, although my zeus have been growing so that some leaves are unprotected and have been getting chewed on.

What do you think I'm doing wrong with the cascades?

Are you on city water?

Yes I am. We've been getting ok rain lately.

The municipal water in my town is chlorinated, and softened. Purely undrinkable, and the plants at the shop do not do well at all, and my raspberries, if sprayed with the hose, the leaves dry out and wither.

Are you saying that you water your landscape 10 minutes or longer every day? No landscaped plant needs that no matter the temps unless it has not acclimated to the transplant yet. Skip a day or 2 or 3.

I'll give that a try and see what happens. The soil gets pretty dry by the evening that's what bothered me, not to mention it's already hitting high 90s in Florida... I hear what you're saying, just hard to hold back on the watering

xhermit said:

I'll give that a try and see what happens. The soil gets pretty dry by the evening that's what bothered me, not to mention it's already hitting high 90s in Florida... I hear what you're saying, just hard to hold back on the watering

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Overwatering kills plants more often than under watering. If the hops soil allows high filtration I could see watering for a short time every day. If it holds water though you can rot the root system. A drip system would be best for high frequency to avoid fungal or bacterial problems.

Xhermit where in Florida are ya? I'm just north of Tampa and was going to try out a fee plants next year. How long have you been growing these plants? First season? Second?

Tallahassee. I've tried twice before and failed... planted either too deep or too late in the heat. For the ones pictured, this is their first season. The zeus are taking off, the cascades are struggling a bit.

If the water quality is the reason, then why are is the Zeus doing so good? Wouldn't all of the plants be affected the same way? I thought Cascade was the most hardy of hop varieties. Seems like it is something effecting just those plants.

I would severely doubt water quality is the culprit unless your municipal water supply is incredibly out of spec/over chlorinated etc. If that was the case irrigation systems would not be very popular On that note however, is the municipal water saline? Is the water table where you are saline? Is the sand mix in your soil from a reputable source?

What time does the area get irrigated? The leaves need to be dry before 10 am.

Have you checked for aphids or spider mites? They may be able to do something like that. Spider mites are very tiny red arachnids that leave a telltale webbing. Aphids are a bit easier to spot and could cause damage in severe numbers.

Barring that looks to be fungal or viral. I would stop fertilizing until you know if its a fungal issue or not as that will only make the problem worse.

I agree with kellanv. Looks kinda like it could be a variety of mosaic virus causing the blisters and wilting around the edges. That explains why the Zeus is normal and healthy while the cascade suffers. Investigate and see if this is a potential evil.