The Stem On One Of My Oriental Poppies Blackened And Snapped A Few Inches Below The Bud. There Is A Long Black Line Going Down The

Question

rest of the stem to the dirt. Its starting to happen on a few other stems as well. All leaves looks healthy. No discoloration whatsoever. The very bottom of the stems are yellow where they touch the ground but don’t appear to have any lesions or rot.

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Answer 1

This appears to be a combination of two things-

The first thing to consider is that these plants produce alkaloids, though not the same as their opium-laden cousins, that will oxidize in a similar manner. This may be some of what you are seeing here.

The second thing to note is that budding problems and brown streaking will tend to be a bacterial problem. This can be controlled with a bactericide, or fungicide. There is quite a bit of overlap between them.

Here are some articles that will help:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/info/using-fungicides-in-garden.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/organic/biofungicide-information.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/info/homemade-fungicide.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/info/applying-bactericide-to-plants.htm