The most common causes are over/under-watering, too high a level of soluble salts in the soil (plasmolysis aka fertilizer burn), too much sun @ midday. The 'over-watering' issue could be from a collapsing or poor soil, even if you think you're not over-watering. When you're growing in a shallow pot, even a soil that supports only a half inch of perched water is unacceptable. If your pot is 3" deep and the bottom 1/2" of the soil is saturated, that is about 17% of the soil saturated - enough to root roots, impair root function, and cause the marginal or tip necrosis you inquire about. Al

I bought a one-gallon Fudingzu from Nurcar this spring. It grew right along over the summer. It responds to misting with new growth. Repeat, it responds to misting with new growth. I moved it to the front porch while my deck was being renovated, and neglected the watering. Leaves turned brown at the tips. Moved it back, resumed watering (and misting with the hose several times a day). It resumed new growth after several weeks. Left it outside til temps were threatening to go below 20, then moved it into the garage, which stays app 10 degrees warmer. Again, let it get too dry, since it was cold and dark out there. With the recent dip in temperature, finally brought it indoors to a sunny west window. Dropped a lot of leaves (too dry), but not all. It still has a nice form and plenty of leaves. Within a couple of weeks, set literally dozens and dozens and more dozens of buds, which are now opening. Butterfly's advice to flush salts out of the pot is very good. Osmanthus are said to react poorly to buildup of fertilizer salts. If you want new growth on your Osmanthus, please follow Mike's and my advice: mist the branches. Outdoors, you can just mist with the hose several times a day, til the branches drip. Indoors, maybe you can water it in the shower or tub, spraying the branches all over. I'm not sure why misting works so well with Osmanthus (I do it to my other potted plants outdoors as well). Maybe the humidity in its native habitat. But make sure, this really does work.

It sounds like this palm is inside, and even though you didnt describe your hardy palm (there are many), I think you have a windmill palm. Most palms brown indoors when its too dry, which is caused by the heat being on. Just mist it and water it well and it should at least make it to the summer. Once summer comes and it goest outside (april is probably a good time to take it out) it will grow much better. But all the cold tolerant palms are relatively slow growing especially while young, so dont expect too much growth. Good luck!

I got a tall dark pink peony? plant from the spring swap Thanks Adriana . It is so beautiful. I planted in the full sun, in miracle gro garden soil in an area where it drains pretty well. Here is my question...It looks wilted, (still flowers), but some of the tips are turning black... What is happening? I have not watered it much as they has been so much rain. ... I am not very knowledgeable about flowers.. Could anyone tell me what I must do to make it happy again?