So last week I went on a bit of a frenzy, doing a plant overhaul in our living room. I bought about 6 different houseplants at walmart, and a collection of nice pots. I don't know what different kinds of plants they are, but I can't imagine you'd get anything too exotic at the walmart.
So I got them home, and put them all into new pots. They each went into a pot slightly bigger than the one they came in. I used a bag of all purpose potting soil to fill them in. I had made sure there were drainage holes in the bottom of the pots, and put those little plastic dishes under them all. I got a bottle of miracle-grow fertilizer and followed the instructions. The living room has two large windows and is reasonably bright, but not too bright. All the plants had the same default instructions - medium light, medium water, and so I've been doing just that.
And yet...
All the damn things keep dropping leaves. Not wilted leaves, or brown leaves, no, perfectly healthy looking leaves, they just commit suicide and fall all over my floor for no good reason.
I don't understand what I'm doing wrong. They have soil, water, pots, drainage, fertilizer, sunlight, they have everything they are supposed to have, they should be doing great, but instead, a week later, I'm still picking up leaves.
The only think I haven't done is play classical music for them, but I heard mythbusters found that thrash metal works better anyway.
Any ideas??
-------------------- a moment for old friends now estranged, victims of the flux of alliances and changing perceptions. There was something there once, and that something is worth honoring as well. - John Carroll Posts: 3375 | From: Ontario, Canada | Registered: Mar 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Do you know what kind they are? Did they spend any amount of time outside before you got them home? Is there a draft at the window?
Some plants will drop their leaves if they get too cold then get warm again. Others will drop them just because the season has changed. Are there any new leaf buds?
posted
I'm sorry -- it's my fault. I kill every plant I ever try to take care of. Even the supposedly "failsafe" ones. My plant-killing vibe must have travelled through Snopes and leaked out into your room.
It might just be part of their adjustment process. Without knowing what kind of plant they are, it's hard to tell. As tribrats said, there are differnt reasons why plants drop leaves. And it's not always a sign of distress or dying.
(And you'd never even know my grandfather was a farmer -- and a damn good one at that. It's sad I tell you, sad!)
-------------------- Like every good third-in-a-series it contains a whole load of ewoks, ‘Clubber’ Lang, whey-faced Sophia Coppola, Sean Connery as the Pirate Captain’s estranged dad, a crappy CGI alien, and Richard Pryor on a donkey. -- Gideon Defoe Posts: 2211 | From: Harford County, MD | Registered: Oct 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
no new leaf buds I can see. The room is kept at just over 20 degrees c as a fairly constant. It's a bit colder by the window, as windows naturally would be, but only two of the plants are by the window. Unfortunately I threw out the little cards, so I can't say what types they are. The only cold they would have had was in the car on the trip home, but that's only 10 minutes.
-------------------- a moment for old friends now estranged, victims of the flux of alliances and changing perceptions. There was something there once, and that something is worth honoring as well. - John Carroll Posts: 3375 | From: Ontario, Canada | Registered: Mar 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
well, the one I am most concerned about has oval shaped leaves, but pointier, about 3-4 inches long. They have a stem about as thick as the ink refil on a pen about 1 inch long and attach to a wooden stem. There are about 3 main wooden stems coming out of the dirt, and numerous substems that branch off of them. The leaves are a nice green colour, but the stem that goes down the middle and all the little veins that branch off of the stem are bright red, and there are spots of yellow randomly about. The entire botom of the leave has a slight reddish tinge to it. sound like anything you know? Thanks, by the way.
-------------------- a moment for old friends now estranged, victims of the flux of alliances and changing perceptions. There was something there once, and that something is worth honoring as well. - John Carroll Posts: 3375 | From: Ontario, Canada | Registered: Mar 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
No problem! Presuming Walmart up your way sells the same common plants they do down here, I have a couple that come to mind. Firstly Ficus. The underside redness can vary greatly depending on the age. And so can the woodiness.
If that isn't it, is it possible to post a picture?
posted
If the leaves are waxy, it sounds like it might be a croton of some kind. Mine has yellow and red veins, and when I give it enough light, it has yellow spots.
My houseplant book says full light for best color, and moist but not too wet soil at all times. It also says that they will drop their leaves in hot, dry conditions, so mist them for humidity. I got the one that I have at Fred Meyer (like a Kroger?), but I'm not really sure how I'm keeping it alive (dumb luck, I guess).
posted
Well, the one I was talking about is definitely not the Ficus, but one of the other plants is totally a Ficus, and it is having the same problem! The one I had in mind looks like the Croton, though the leaves on mine are much more smoothly oval-like. I water once a week until the soil is moist and I see some water collect in the plastic dish.
-------------------- a moment for old friends now estranged, victims of the flux of alliances and changing perceptions. There was something there once, and that something is worth honoring as well. - John Carroll Posts: 3375 | From: Ontario, Canada | Registered: Mar 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
NeeCD, that is the plant I was originally trying to think of. But all I could think of was the Zebra plant and those are yellow.
If that is what you have, callee, check it over very well for mealy bugs. If it is a young plant, they will be smoother. Or it could be a different variety.
I do best with succulents and cactus but I'm big into plants. For the ficus, my Sis has a fig (same family) that likes medium to bright light (similar to what you describe) and she lets it get almost dry between watering's. You may want to try cutting back watering's some and see how they do. They could lose leaves if they start getting root rot from to much water. Say water every week and half or when the top 1/2 inch of soil is dry.
posted
So you think I might be watering too much? I've only had these things a week though, could I be screwing them up that fast?!
-------------------- a moment for old friends now estranged, victims of the flux of alliances and changing perceptions. There was something there once, and that something is worth honoring as well. - John Carroll Posts: 3375 | From: Ontario, Canada | Registered: Mar 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
No, for some reason even though I read the OP a few times, I missed that it was only a week. So over-watering may not be it. Were they very dry when you got them? Walmart isn't the best at keeping plants watered. If they were really dry (you may not be able to know if they had just watered them) they may have gone into shock with being transplanted and watered all at once. If that's the case, only time will tell how they will do. Give them a few days and watch and see if they start having new leaf buds.
The best advise I can give you about buying from Walmart (most of mine are from there too) is don't go by the label. There directions are way to generic. Look up what is recommended and play around in that range. I have to adjust my care depending on which side of the room I have things on.
posted
I have very mixed luck with house plants, but this site has a houseplants forum.
Dawn--I can grow 'em outside but not inside--Storm
-------------------- Leashes?! We don't need no stinking leashes!! Posts: 4771 | From: The Berkeley of the East Coast: Montgomery County MD | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Thanks. I was hoping plants from walmart would be generic enough that the care wouldn't be so complex! perhaps the best lesson learned is next time to buy from a real plant store where some guy who actually knows what he is talking about can tell me about each plant when I buy it.
-------------------- a moment for old friends now estranged, victims of the flux of alliances and changing perceptions. There was something there once, and that something is worth honoring as well. - John Carroll Posts: 3375 | From: Ontario, Canada | Registered: Mar 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
I grow Bonsai, which can be easily over or underwatered. The trick with them is to stick a piece of chopstick or bamboo skewer etc down into the soil. Once a day take it out and examine. If it's wet, don't water. If it's dry or nearly dry then water.
me
-------------------- Check out my handmade pens Check back often because the page changes often Posts: 831 | From: Brisbane, Australia | Registered: Jun 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Sorry if this sounds stupid, but the plants are getting enough sunlight, right? It's winter, so perhaps you need to leave a light on in the room they are in for longer than it is naturally sunny outside.
-------------------- "For me, religion is like a rhinoceros: I don't have one, and I'd really prefer not to be trampled by yours. But it is impressive, and even beautiful, and, to be honest, the world would be slightly worse off if there weren't any." -Silas Sparkhammer Posts: 3239 | From: Ontario, Canada | Registered: Sep 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Clearly, your plants are depressed and suicidal. They need intensive therapy.
-------------------- "My sandwich choice is uncertain, until I actually order. It's like Schrodinger's Sandwich." "Is plutonium involved in this sandwich in any way?" "Maybe." Posts: 496 | From: Whitby, ON, Canada | Registered: Sep 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
callee, when I brought my croton home, I lost several leaves the first couple of weeks. I kept expecting it to die, but it's been several months, now, and it seems to be doing well. One thing you could try would be to get an inexpensive book on houseplants. When you get plants at Target or Walmart or where ever, you can look them up at home and find out what they need. I have an old Better Homes and Gardens book that I got at Good Will for 50 cents. It doesn't really matter if a book like that is older, since plants need the same care now that they did 20 or 30 years ago. Make sure any book you get has color pictures in it, though, as it makes identification much easier.
Oh, and if the tags that come with the plants are specific to the plant, try to keep them around. I even keep the generic ones and write detailed info from the book on them. It's easier than looking it up every time I can't remember which plants like to dry out between waterings and which prefer to stay moist. Damn picky plants, anyway. Good luck.
posted
It looks like you might have overnourished them. They shouldn't need miracle grow until the springtime or summertime, when the combination of sunshine makes growth plentiful. Often the root system retracts when they are kept in stores for overlong periods, and heavy fertilised watering then leads to root decay. Most plants only need tiny amounts of water in wintertime, unless of course if your room is very dry and very well heated.
-------------------- On my old guitar sell tickets, so someone can finally pick it. Posts: 799 | From: Dublin, Ireland | Registered: Mar 2006
| IP: Logged |
I had a rubber tree plant that hated me. I swear, it did. It flourished beautifully at school, and when I took it home over the summer, all the leaves started dropping, just like in the OP. I got mad at it, and banished it to the porch, because it was starting to get ugly. It started growing again. When the temp was hitting over 100 degrees regularly, the leaves started to fry, so I brought him back in. I don't have AC, so it wasn't a drastic temp change, but again, the leaves started dropping. It went back and forth like this. I finally left it at school, and gave it to the secretary for the office when I left that school because I knew if I took it home, it would die.
The replacement rubber tree plant is doing beautifully.
posted
The pic posted in Tribrats link is a Ficus elastica, otherwise known as a rubber tree. What most people think of when they say Ficus is this: Ficus Benjamina. This ficus is notoriously fickle, and not recommended for the "new" plant grower. They tend to shed leaves if you even look at them wrong.
-------------------- Where are we going, and why are we in this handbasket? Posts: 782 | From: Arlington, TX | Registered: Jul 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
This plant is one of many known as "The Money Plant"
This plant is simple to grow, and doesn't seem to mind if you overwater, as I think it originates from swamp conditions. It was given to my DW 20 years back and has proved to be virtually indestructible. It only needs attention when the leaves start curling due to lack of water. To procreate just take a leaf and stick it in potting compost and water. It will root and grow. It will end up with a stout trunk and many offshoots. It sometimes flowers in late spring. We've got dozens, and they make handy free gifts.
-------------------- On my old guitar sell tickets, so someone can finally pick it. Posts: 799 | From: Dublin, Ireland | Registered: Mar 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
Bearing in mind that my only credentials are about a 50/50 track record at keeping plants alive longer than 6 months, I wonder if maybe you should have let them adjust to the new environment before repotting them? Might have been just too much for them to take all at once.
Posts: 160 | From: Ontario, Canada | Registered: Feb 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
You don't have cats do you? My cats seem to think that any plant in their reach is a snack, toy, or place to sleep.
I would also second what j whale said about over fertilizing. I've accidently killed several plants because I gave them too much plant food.
I really don't know what's best for most plants (I love having house plants, but I've probably killed more than I've kept alive), but my grandparents have a ton of house plants, and they mostly water them by misting them rather than pouring water onto their roots. Their plants all seem to thrive on this treatment.
-------------------- If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning. Posts: 86 | From: Colorado | Registered: Jun 2005
| IP: Logged |
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
Good luck.
