Drooping leaves on my rubber plant. Help!
10 years ago
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- 10 years ago
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What is on my rubber plant leaves?
Comments (6)Oedema is a common problem, especially in the variegated variations of several species of Ficus. It occurs primarily as a result of over-watering, but light and humidity levels at the time of over-watering, as well as temperature and nutritional considerations, all have their impact on severity of the symptoms. There is no need to mist your plants. First, it raises humidity for maybe 10 minutes if you're lucky. That leaves 1,430 minutes of the day where humidity is what it is - unaffected. Also, Ficus is a genus well-protected against transpirational loss of moisture in dry conditions by its thick, leathery leaves and the plenitude of cuticular waxes in leaf derma. I'll leave you a link that was written to help with the cultural considerations of maintaining Ficus in containers for the long term. If you find that helpful, and want to read more about maintaining trees (in general) in containers for the long haul, let me know. It goes into more detail. Al Here is a link that might be useful: More about Ficus in containers if you click me .......See MoreWhy does my banana plant's leaves droop sometimes?
Comments (1)Basically, the leaves droop to prevent leaf-burn. More water negates the danger to the leaf. Banana leaves are broad, light collecting tools of the plant. During the brightest, strongest of daylight hours, the sun provides more than the plant can handle. To balance out the transpiration rate of the plant (water evaporation through the leaves), the leaves droop, exposing less surface area to the sun. When supplied enough water, the plant can handle excess transpiration and has no reason to go into defense mode (aka droopy leaves). Mike...See MoreRubber Plant Dying - Drooping Leaves
Comments (17)Matt - that one plant tolerates what's killing others in the same pot is something less than a reason to think it's appropriate. Your problem is likely a combination of soil choice and watering before the plant really needs watering. There ARE some things you can do with conventional containers to reduce water retention, but that's not a conventional container. Reducing water retention and a little less exuberance from the quarter of the plant tender would likely go a long way toward at least changing the pot/soil/watering habit combination from potentially deadly to something the plant will tolerate. You might find this helpful. Al...See MoreBrown spots and drooping leaves on my Bird of Paradise, help!
Comments (3)Hi, I also have the exact same problem. Would love to know if either of you figured this out! I did find some spider mites on my plant and have been treating it for them, but I'm not sure if that's just another problem or the reason why. I also did worry that mine was getting burned in the sun, but from everything I read, they are supposed to be very tolerant of direct sunlight. Thank you!...See MoreRelated Professionals
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)