Help- my rubber tree is sad! Dropping leaves.
lindsaymargaret
9 years ago
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tlbean2004
9 years agoUser
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Rubber Tree Dropping Leaves - needs help
Comments (6)I think that it's an over-simplification to put most issues causing leaf drop at the feet of watering habits. That's like saying that the cause of most traffic accidents lies at the feet of the driver's use of brakes. It can always be argued that if the driver had only used the brakes earlier, there wouldn't have been an accident; but upon closer examination we often see the contention set aside in favor of a reason that goes deeper and has more qualifications attached. I'm quite certain this issue goes deeper than just watering habits. There is no credible evidence I've seen, and I've chased the issue a considerable distance, that watering with cold water causes leaf loss; and while sudden cold drafts can cause leaf loss, this plant doesn't have the look of the problem having been caused by light issues, cold drafts, warm night temperatures, or the plant being too close to a heat source. The most usual causes of older or lower leaf loss are several. Natural senescence (aging), a N deficiency, tight roots, and low light, are the most common, and deserve equal consideration as the primary cause. There is a difference between repotting and potting up. While potting up can be undertaken at any time with little in the way of ill effects, as long as you are careful about over-watering until roots have colonized the entire soil mass, repotting is BEST undertaken in the summer months - in most cases between Father's Day and July 4th would be considered ideal. No plant likes it's roots 'compact' or congested. The grower may at times use the stress associated with tight roots to bend the plant to the grower's will in any of several ways, but its a surety that the organism as a whole will not appreciate the stress associated with root congestion. Al...See MoreHELP! My hibiscus tree is dropping tons of leaves everyday!!!
Comments (12)I, too, am having a problem with my hardy hibiscus. They came up on time(after I cut off the dead from the winter) and grew up really fast. But now they have buds and are starting to drop leaves. They didn't do that last year. I was wondering if they might have a virus? I fed them Osmocote in late April/early May. Should I boost them with Miracle Grow now? Maybe the budding is starving them? They're in pots on my deck and they are HUGE!...See MoreIs my new Carambola tree Dying? (it's dropping it's leaves) :-(
Comments (9)hello Johnathan J, for me (hot and dry here), I would leave it shaded for at least a week or until you see new growth, then slowly aclimate it to its spot. My carambola is just a seedling but here are my thoughts on repotting: give it a week or two (or three) when you see active growth, move it to a larger pot. I would not reccomend moving it to a huge pot just yet. This is my experience, one plant I moved to a huge pot after purchase (last fall) I had difficulties planting in the ground this spring. The extra soil broke away from the rootball, taking all the new delicate roots with it. My other experience is overpotting and rot. This last winter another newly purchased plant was placed in a huge pot (it was going to stay potted). As winter progressed and cool spring arrived, I started watering more. The soil at the top of the pot would dry before the soil at the bottom. Before too long the soil smelled foul and the roots rotted. This is not the case with all plants, my guavas and solanums have such dense root systems, they jumped a pot size. good luck, -Ethan...See MoreDrooping leaves on my rubber plant. Help!
Comments (30)..... appears the soil is to water-retentive and compacted. Roots need oxygen to function normally. If the soil doesn't hold enough oxygen or you over-water, The plant's internal water pressure drops, causing loss of turgidity and wilting. The best way to tell if the/a soil is 'completely dry' is by using a tell. 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 plenty of air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support the kind of root health most growers would like to see; and, a healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to avoid over-watering leads to a residual build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil from tapwater and fertilizer solutions, 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 MoreSans2014
9 years agolindsaymargaret
9 years agofloorwalker IN zone 5b/6
8 years ago
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