weak rubber plant or is this natural???
tigereyes
15 years ago
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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
15 years agoRelated Discussions
Weak blueberry plants
Comments (10)Blueberry shrubs will thrive if the soil pH is down around 4.5. There should be some vegetable fiber, or organic matter, in the soil, to feed the fungi that live in symbiosis with the blueberry roots. If these conditions are met, and if the shrubs are given enough water, they should approximately double in size every year, until they are about 5 years in the ground. Here in Madison, Wisconsin, we have naturally alkaline soil, with pH around 7.6, so I have to lower the pH around each blueberry shrub in order to keep them growing. Since the shrubs are scattered around the yard, at various locations, I do multiple pH tests every year, about 10 soil tests total. To keep the cost of testing down, I do my own pH testing, using bromocresol green indicator solution. A five dollar bottle might do 100 tests. Add in the cost of the filter paper, and the DI water, and each pH test might cost around 25 cents. I am using agricultural sulfur to lower soil pH. This is a slow method for lowering pH, and it can take two years for an application of sulfur to be completely metabolized by soil bacteria. But there are two advantages to this method: 1-sulfur, in 50 lb bags, is inexpensive, and 2-sulfur is relatively non-toxic and safe to store....See Moreficus burgundy (rubber plant) leaf spots & drop
Comments (34)In an extremely high % of cases, necrotic leaf tips and margins are caused by over-watering, an excessively high level of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil solution, or some combination of the two. High root temperatures, nutritional imbalances, ammonium toxicity, and phytotoxicities (things poisonous to plants) like air pollution can also cause or contribute to the physiological disorder causing the symptoms. In most cases, the greatest amount of traction is to be gained from making sure your watering appropriately and flushing the soil of accumulating salts when you water. If you can't water appropriately w/o limiting normal root function or root health, you might want to take a look at the soil you're using. In any case, getting to the point where you can water to beyond the point of total soil saturation, so you're flushing the soil when you water, without having to worry the soil will remain saturated for an extended period, represents something of a breakthrough for the grower. When you find yourself at that point, it is much, much easier to consistently maintain your plants in a state of high vitality, which means you don't have the unsightly symptoms to remind you that the plant is being asked to tolerate something it's not genetically programmed to deal with. I'd start using a 'tell' to 'tell' you when it's time to water (see more below). I'd also keep learning more about how much impact soil choice has on your potential for consistent success. A General Overview (click me) Using a 'tell' Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support good root health, which is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to a build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor. In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water. Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'. One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue. Al...See MoreRubber Plant: Droopy and yellowing leaves
Comments (13)It would seem then, that your answer to what's critically ailing the plant is to be found in the watering interval. The plant isn't going to die from root congestion in the immediate future (before an opportune time to repot rolls around) but it's decline and how it will decline if all you do is pot up is predictable. The following numerical model is an illustration to delineate between the effects of repotting vs potting up. Repotting vs Potting Up I often explain the effects of repotting vs potting up like this: Let's rate growth/vitality potential on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the best. We're going to say that trees in containers can only achieve a 9. Let's also imagine that for every year a tree goes w/o repotting or potting up, its measure of growth/vitality slips by 1 number, That is to say, you pot a tree and the first year it grows at a level of 9, the next year, an 8, the next year a 7. Let's also imagine we're going to go 3 years between repotting or potting up. Here's what happens to the tree you repot/root prune: year 1: 9 year 2: 8 year 3: 7 repot year 1: 9 year 2: 8 year 3: 7 repot year 1: 9 year 2: 8 year 3: 7 You can see that a full repotting and root pruning returns the plant to its full potential within the limits of other cultural influences for as long as you care to repot/root prune. Looking now at how woody plants respond to only potting up: year 1: 9 year 2: 8 year 3: 7 pot up year 1: 8 year 2: 7 year 3: 6 pot up year 1: 7 year 2: 6 year 3: 5 pot up year 1: 6 year 2: 5 year 3: 4 pot up year 1: 5 year 2: 4 year 3: 3 pot up year 1: 4 year 2: 3 year 3: 2 pot up year 1: 3 year 2: 2 year 3: 1 This is a fairly accurate illustration of the influence tight roots have on a woody plant's growth/vitality. You might think of it for a moment in the context of the longevity of bonsai trees vs the life expectancy of most trees grown as houseplants, the difference between 4 years and 400 years lying primarily in how the roots are treated. ******************************************************************* Since I don't know where you live, it's difficult to offer any meaningful advice insofar as a date for you to target as the ideal time to pot up, but for the US, mid-late June is the best time. I often suggest the summer solstice (first day of actual summer) or Father's Day as target dates in the northern hemisphere because they're easy to remember. BTW - including where you live in your user info [like my tapla (mid-MI z5b-6a)] allows others to give more meaningful/specific advice. Al...See MoreRubber Plant leaves weak and drooping - help!
Comments (9)I've just taken the plant out of the pot and the soil looks very dry, I've read that you can soak it in water to help it regain the moist that it needs. It was in a plastic pot for two years, then changed to a terracotta pot (which was wet) for a year. I cleared the root ball as much as I could and then used new potting soil to pot it....See Moretapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
15 years agoMentha
15 years agohawaiitropics
15 years agoMentha
15 years agohawaiitropics
15 years agoMentha
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15 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
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15 years agoMentha
15 years agopirate_girl
15 years agotigereyes
15 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
15 years agotigereyes
15 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
15 years ago
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