ficus elastica stunted new leaves
britters_zone4
6 years ago
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Dave
6 years agobritters_zone4
6 years agoRelated Discussions
No new growth on Ficus Elastica........
Comments (9)Excuse me pls. but that plant does NOT need a larger pot. She mentioned she'd checked the roots already. Pot size on a plant like this is not by the height of the plant (which can always be cut back), but by the size & condition of the roots. If Elkay were to pot it larger & then continue to water as she does (when it's dry to the touch), the plant would be made more vulnerable to root rot. But I do commend watering 'til it comes out the bottom, a good practice. I'd use a stick or pencil to check when to water. Using my own plant as example, I can touch the mix & find it dry. But using a stick or pencil pushed well down (4" at least) into the mix, still shows moisture (some mix comes up on the stick). When it's dry, the stick comes out clean (rather like testing a cake for doneness for anyone who still bakes). The danger is that if there's more moisture in the mix than the plant can take up through its roots, the excess moisture interferes w/ the roots' ability to take in air & begins to suffocate the plant, which then can lead to root rot. I believe it far safer for a Ficus like this to be a bit underpotted than overpotted. Especially such a handsome specimen. Susan, for more info. & further explanations about this, look around for posts by Al (Tapla) on Ficus & he's also written a bunch at Container Gardening (I believe). Aside from being extremely experienced & knowledgeable about this stuff, (the science of soils, containers, etc.), he's also our resident Ficus maven & one of the sources from whom I learned some of this....See MoreFicus Elastica mix - Rubber Fig with browning leaves
Comments (1)If I'd give it a lot more light. What type is soil is it in? Did you repot or pot up? lastly, I'd place my bet on overwatering and accumulated salts in the soil. Watering once a week by just feeling the top of the soil means it's probably still very damp down below. Watering with a a cup also ensures you're not flushing out the soil regularly. Get a wooden dowel and sharpen it. Stick it in the soil all the way to the bottom and then pull it out. If it's dark and damp don't water. Wait until it comes out clean and dry to water. You can keep checking every couple days....See MoreFicus elastica - droopy leaves and leggy
Comments (42)As a bonsai practitioner, I have to know a LOT about how plants work in order to be successful. Technically, a new leaf cannot grow from the bud in question, only a new branch with the potential to give rise to many leaves can grow there. In every leaf axil (an 'axil' is the crotch formed by the leaf stem [petiole] and the branch the leaf is attached to) and above every leaf/bundle scar (the scar directly under the bud in your image), are a row of latent buds waiting to be stimulated to grow. In healthy trees growing outdoors these buds produce random branching whenever growing conditions are very good. Trees growing indoors, due primarily to lack of light and inadequate air movement, often need these latent buds to be stimulated chemically into becoming active. I'm not talking about them being stimulated by actually applying a chemical stimulant; rather, I'm referring to the change in the plant's chemistry which occurs when the growing tip of the branch is removed. This area at the tip of the branch is called the branch apex, plural is apices, or it's often referred to as the apical meristem. Primarily in that area of the branch, a chemical, auxin, which suppresses activation of these buds is synthesized. Auxin moves only downward toward the roots, so removing the the apical meristem where it is primarily synthesized sharply limits auxin flow and its suppressive influence on the axillary buds we're discussing. This allows another chemical (cytokinin) to become dominant, and one of it's jobs is to activate the axillary buds. This antagonistic balancing act between auxin and cytokinin is the chemical relationship on which almost all pruning strategies are based. This is a Ficus microcarpa cutting from which the apex/apical meristem has been removed. since that halts almost all synthesis of auxin, new branches are forming in the axils of both mature leaves. As these branches develop, many single leaves will grow along the new branches, and they too will have a row of buds in their axils, or if the leaf is shed, above the scar left where it was attached (what your image shows). So, leaves that form at nodes while the branch is extending will always remain a single leaf - like the two mature leaves in my image - they can never be anything but a single leaf. All growth that comes from the dormant buds in leaf axils or (the same) dormant buds above old leaf scars, will always be branches. BTW - these buds remain able to be activated at any time during the tree's life, even if the scars are no longer visible and bark growth has completely obscured the older leaf scars. Questions? Al...See MoreRUBBER PLANT PICKLE! Cloudy discoloration on Ficus Elastica leaves
Comments (5)It looks like residue from insecticide or fungicide applications; or, early on, the plant was in a situation where it was watered from overhead and the water was allowed to repeatedly dry on the foliage, leaving dissolved solids residue on the foliage. It's possible too, that the same chemicals mentioned above were injected into the water used for over-head watering and were left behind on foliage as the water dried. I don't think it's cause for concern. If it interferes with the plant's ability to carry on photo synthesis, chemical messengers will inform plant central the leaves aren't carrying their weight, and the plant will automatically shed them. Too, your plant looks healthy enough that removing the affected leaves shouldn't create a scenario where the plant is using more energy than it's creating by turning the sun's energy into food ..... so you can remove them w/o need to be concerned. Remove them by snipping through the petiole (leaf stem) about half-way between where it's attached to the stem and where it transitions to the leaf blade. The stub you leave will fall off on its own in a week or two. Pulling leaves off can easily damage latent buds resting in leaf axils (angle formed by a leaf and the branch it's attached to). Al...See MoreAndrea ME z5b
6 years agobritters_zone4
6 years agoAndrea ME z5b
6 years agoSans2014
6 years agobritters_zone4
6 years agobritters_zone4
6 years agobritters_zone4
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoErin Kelley
6 years agobritters_zone4
6 years agoErin Kelley
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoAndrea ME z5b
6 years agorobin98
6 years agorobin98
6 years agoAndrea ME z5b
6 years agoErin Kelley
6 years agoTim Passey
3 years agoHU-390300133
3 years agoHU-23162769
3 years agoAthiná Valera
3 years agoAthiná Valera
3 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
3 years ago
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