sagging leaves, mites and mold

9 years ago

I have two house plants suffering the same affliction, flaccid leaves. The first is a fiddle leaf ficus that sits in a sunny, south facing window. The stems and trunk do seem a little dried out. I water it once weekly and when I do, the soil seems to suck up the water fairly well. I think the planter to about 24", well drained. I clean the leaves every 3-4 weeks and get a fair amount of dust off when I do. It's been in the same spot since I bought it about 6 months ago. What am I doing wrong? How much water should I give it (i.e: 1 cup, 2 cups) and how often? Should I try a less sunny location?
The second house plant I think is a coleus, but please confirm. I have two, purchased at the same time. Both I water once to twice a week and both sit sunny south facing window. The first has a case of the blues and the other has fantastic, perky, bright leaves. (see photo). What could I be doing wrong to one at not the other? How much sun light is too much sun light for an indoor location?
In other news, my plants are under attack. Big fluffy mounds of powdery mildew and some plants have more mites than leaves. It's serious and I've tried everything I can buy from a store. I've also tried using a splash of milk in the watering can. Part of the problem is that I hate to spray any solution in my home. Organic or otherwise, it smells awful and leaves a film on whatever is next to the plant.
So, what's the thing you've done that has been the most effective? Is there something I can add to my watering can? I'm also considering it might be an issue of grouping my plants too close together. How far of a distance should I have inbetween and is there really an issue of too many plants for one room? Thank you in advance for your wisdom.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

heatherjwalter
Original Author
9 years ago
Here's the healthy plant to contrast the first image.
MrBlubs
9 years ago
I'm pretty sure the plants pictured are a type of Croton.... Not sure on the exact type but someone else will defently know...
Most plants can't handle full southern exposure as the glass really magnifies the heat and can burn certain plants. I think it would be best if you moved them to either a west or East facing window as they'll still get a fair amount of direct sun yet it won't be hounding down on them all day.
If your plants have spider mites it usually due to a lack of humidity in the room and can cause serious damage on plants and can even kill them if given the chance. If one of yours has mites I'd separate from the rest of your plants as soon as possible so there no way to transfer them to one plant from another
When my Palms had mites I made a mixture of environmentally friendly dish soap and water and put it in a spray bottle and sprayed the heck out of the leaves. Then I turned on the shower and let the water remove the soap then I'd repeat. And I did that practically daily for a week and no more mites! But my spider mites problem wasn't an infestation. There's also other options such as neem oil but I've had no experience with that. I'd also stop putting things in your watering can as mites live on the leaves of plants and not in the soil.
Could the big fluffy mounds possible by mealy bugs? Can you get a picture of them and the ficus? And also a close up on the leaves of the Croton

Also, it's never bad to group plants close together (unless if one has pests) as they often help raise the humidity around each other. And you can never have to many plants for one room ;)

Someone more knowledgeable will come around just thought that I should try to help someone for once!
Howd I do gardenweb?
Related Discussions
Dahlia foliage problem: whitefly, mites, underwatering or virus?
Q
Comments (5)
I agree with Mandolls concerning the lower branches... they tend to deteriorate, and become bug food if you don't snip it off when they are on the way out. That helps airflow, avoiding leaf mold and makes it harder for bugs to 'climb aboard.' With that said, it is possible there is something else going on in your dahlia bed, but its hard to tell without seeing the plants and what percentage of each plant is effected at any given time. I, too, would defer that kind of diagnosis to a long time grower. It is certainly likely that you're under watering, especially if you're getting lots of sun. If the plant isn't hydrated well, it is more likely to be effected by virus and other ailments. Personally, I'd soak the soil all the way around the plant at least each week with a hose if you don't get a soaking rain, to ensure even moisture and tuber growth. i have single soakers down each double row, but have occasionally seen dehydration signs in the leaves, so I've been supplementing when needed. I really need to rework my watering system next year, as I don't want to invest more right now. Through the grapevine, I heard that a long-time grower runs four slow drip lines per double row to ensure enough water, and in the peak summer temps of 95 degrees, supplies two gallons of water per plant per day by running his system 24 hours a day.
...See More
When did your mites start showing?
Q
Comments (8)
I may be wrong, but I think anything growing in your bin is good with 2 exceptions. Anaerobic bacteria and things that fly and take their nutrients away with them. I'm thinking the mites are just a lot more noticeable on cardboard, at least that was my experience. The bugs, mold, mushrooms etc. speed up the break down of the food. The all 3 of the above problems freaked me out the first time they occurred, but now I just ignore them. (The first mushrooms were a fluorescent looking yellow with a green tinge. Very spectacular. I killed them all. Now I'd like to have them back but I have boring small tan colored ones now.) Other than flying things (fruit flies and fungus gnats), I haven't ever had any bugs leave the bin. jasdip just said 'the little buggers are relentless. I cannot keep them away.' Does anyone know if there is a good reason to keep them out?
...See More
Mite Questions
Q
Comments (6)
My understanding is that you can never get rid of those white mites completely. Keeping your bin from getting overly wet or burying the food can keep the population from exploding. In the end they are part of the decomposition process. In my bin they tend to get to the fruit and vegetable scraps that I put on the surface before the worms do but they get the decomp process going and my worms finish it off. They also appear first on the dry shredded cardboard I put on top of everything as it starts to absorb moisture. After the mites start to go to work on the wet parts the worms start to move in. I think I've read that the mite's feces also add to the microbes working on compost as well. Not scientific analysis, just my observation of what I believe to be happening. As steamyb says, keep it simple. Figure out what are good conditions, what are bad conditions and try to keep within that range but remember there is a wide margin for error. These critters all do well left alone in nature.
...See More
Adding molding to ceiling beam - how to offset curve?
Q
Comments (11)
There is an easy way. It's very simple, although it may sound complicated at first. I'll give you an example using some assumed measurements for your situation, and you can adjust to what you actually have. You will need a facing board whose width is just a little more than the greatest distance between the bottom of the beam and the ceiling, at whatever point that occurs. Let's say that the distance from the bottom of the beam to the ceiling is 6" at its greatest point (presumably one of the ends). Mark a distance on your board of, say, 6-1/4" from its bottom edge (so that, when you are done cutting, the facing board will give you some wiggle room by hanging down about 1/4" below the bottom of the beam). Then put the board in place so it butts up against the low center point, plumb it horizontal with your level, and fix it in place (2 nails?). Then, get out a drafting compass (you know, those things you use to draw circles on paper). Set the distance between the points of the compass to the distance between the ceiling and the pencil mark you made. In the next step, make sure that the distance you set the compass points to doesn't change as you are working with it. Then, simply run the compass point along the ceiling and the pencil point along the board, from one end to the other. The pencil will mark a line on the board that exactly conforms to any deviations in the ceiling. Take the board down, cut along the marked line with a saber saw, and you're ready to put it in place. If you've been able to follow my instructions, you will have a board that conforms to the irregular ceiling and hangs down about 1/4" lower than the beam at all points. Do the same thing for the other side of the beam. Then nail a third piece across the bottom and it's a wrap! If you have any slight gaps when you're done at the ceiling line, you can put a small piece of trim in place that will hide them. Hope that's clear. The link below (illustration 5) shows how to use a compass to scribe an irregular surface in a different application, but, hopefully, this may help your understanding of the technique. Let me know if you need anything clarified. Here is a link that might be useful: Scribing with a compass
...See More
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
9 years ago
HJW - if the leaves are losing turgidity, it's a drought response indicating root function is compromised to the degree they are unable to move enough water to the plants distal parts in order to maintain internal water pressure. Prime causes are a high level of salts in the soil inhibiting water uptake, under-watering, or over-watering, which leaves the soil lacking in O2 roots need to drive their function/metabolism. Water and nutrient uptake is an energy-driven process, and O2 is required to support metabolizing of the fuels that drive the process.

Insects and disease prefer plants whose metabolic rates are depressed by an unbalance in their systems. Weakened plants are the first to fall victim to predation my insects/diseases. Adopting a soil that allows you to water appropriately w/o having to worry about consequences related to the soil staying soggy for prolonged periods probably represent the largest step forward you could make at this time.

Let me know if you want to explore some of these ideas in more depth.

Al

sagging leaves, mites and mold

Comments (3)

heatherjwalter
Original Author

MrBlubs

Related Discussions

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

sagging leaves, mites and mold

Comments (3)

heatherjwalterOriginal Author

MrBlubs

Related Discussions

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

heatherjwalter
Original Author