Can my Ficus elastica “Tineke” be persuaded to make greener leaves?
kittykombucha
6 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (12)
Related Discussions
Ficus elastica
Comments (22)Hi Dana, welcome to Gardenweb! To start a new discussion on house plant forum, just scroll to the bottom of the page and fill in the form, click preview. Looks like it's had too little light, and being inside where there is no wind blowing to force them to become stronger, has caused the stems/trunks to become weak. A possible incidence (or pattern) of getting way too dry could be what caused some of them to be unable to continue standing up straight. Being too wet repeatedly can cause the same, but I'd expect to see some yellowish/brown-tipped leaves if that had been happening. Some of the leaves may be brown, the light is kind of funky on some of them, can't tell if it's camera flash or some kind of damage. What do you see in person? Does that pot have a drain hole? How long have you had it/how long has it been in that pot? Are the stems connected to one main trunk or do then disappear into the soil separately? Sitting the pot on something to raise it up 8-10" might help more light reach this plant. Looks like it was dark outside when you took the pic - which way does the window face?...See MoreFicus elastica Tineke spotting
Comments (2)I looked at the other pictures and can see there is 'something' going on with your plant, but I don't know exactly what. There is a cultural condition your plant doesn't like, and the way it is telling you so can be seen in the shedding foliage. As plants prepare to shed foliage, the sap flow, which contains the bio-compounds that serve as the plants defense, is shut off by the abscission layer at the base of the leaf. This makes it easy for any number of fungi that cause rot or leaf spot diseases to get a hold, their presence being manifest in the symptoms you're seeing. The cultural condition I referred to, if we go only by the odds, is likely related to a decrease in the amount of light the plant is getting, or to over-watering. The over-watering may be caused by less than ideal watering habits or a poor soil. Most often, it's a combination of the two. You can keep working on fixing the problem you have, or you can concentrate on learning how to supply better cultural conditions so the plant is better able to take care of itself, the later being the best path, by far. Look at it a little like preventative maintenance - the difference between changing your oil in your car or never changing it .... One way takes more effort, but the rewards are certainly worth it. It wouldn't be a bad idea to get your watering under control after inspecting roots for rot and correcting if required. You're fortunate in that in about a month, the plant will be in the part of the growth cycle when the plant tolerates repotting best and recovery is fastest. I'm not sure how interested you are in learning all this 'stuff', so I'll just see what you have to say about what you'd like to do. Al...See MoreEncourage branching by cuttling a leaf in half?
Comments (10)I guess it DOES look like a cheerleader. I never would have made the connection, but you're right. ;-) By "hardly anyone" I meant people like authors or others in a position to teach or in some way help growers to learn more and better practices they might use in keeping plants healthy and attractive. I try to share anything I've learned or discovered in my search for ever increasing proficiency at bonsai if I think others can use it to get more from the growing experience. Almost all of what I've learned about plants is an outgrowth of my efforts to add to my skills as they relate to bonsai, and a high % of what I do as a bonsai practitioner can be adopted as part of the houseplant growers bag of tricks. It's not so much that the things a bonsai practitioner are different than what a houseplant grower might do or have to deal with; rather, a seasoned bonsai practitioner already understands those things required of houseplant growers if they want to keep their plants healthy in pots. The things I've learned in my bonsai pursuits, both the artistic side and horticultural aspects, about keeping plants healthy in pots pretty much universally applies to all plants grown in containers. The only thing that stops a houseplant grower from utilizing the same techniques I've acquired is the fact they might not yet have been exposed to all these little tricks. So many of the things and practices we take for granted today were born of science to fill a specific need for a very specific application, only to find that someone later discovered the invention of the thing or methodology had significant potential for applications in areas that might seem totally isolated from the original application. Examples are Super Glue, WD-40, nano technology, laser technology, ..... the list of examples is as endless as the list of applications beyond the original intent. Plus, anything you learn about plants is almost always going to prove valuable over and over again. That's why I push a greater understanding of how water behaves in soils as the major pivoting point in any container grower's search for proficiency. It's knowledge you'll never stop using until you stop gardening. Al...See MorePlease Help...Fürguson may have been water boarded during repotting!
Comments (9)Robin & Gudang's hep and advice... robin98(NZ(9b)) 23 hours ago Len, don't be too down! Of all your plants this one is the trickiest, if that's any consolation. How was he when you got home? 1 Like Bookmark Edit|DeleteLen M 21 hours ago Thanks so much for the reassuring words, Robin. I have to say that I am much better today than I was when I left out for work on my last trip. I returned home last night to find Fürguson was not as bad as I imagined he'd be. His leaves at the bottom of both stems were dry, curled up and pretty much dead. Some of his larger leaves had brown spots and he was drooping extremely badly....To the point where I'm wondering if his petioles will ever rebound & lift his large heavy leaves back up? Also, his stem seemed a little shriveled from midway down & the greener part of the stem toward the top was quite soft. Last thing I noticed was the soil was SOOOO dry almost throughout. Of course I refrained from watering him, but I do wonder if this is normal for the gritty mix or is it b/c I failed to soak the bark for an adequate amount of time? I sure hope to receive answers and advice soon. I'll sit tight until then. In the meantime here are the photos I took of him before flying out this morning... Not as brown & shriveled as I thought he would be... Dead looking shriveled bottom leaves :( Some browning on the larger leaves... The 2 new leaves that sprouted on top of the stem w j-hooked roots. Still very flacid. They're being supported by a branch I found in my backyard & I wrapped the limp new leaves with one of the only leaves that had broken off from the bottom of my Fiddle during the repotting. Again, thank you, Robin for taking the time to show interest in my Fiddle's well being. Len Like Bookmark Gudang TropEq 20 hours ago Yeah, seem good enough for plant that just got extreme root pruning. For healthy tree, i don't clean soil on the rootzone since too many root hair in there. I just fix root position and cut only the root that extremely circling, so after repot, no need to wait till it rebound to it's normal condition. On your case, the tree need to regrow root and root hair, so it will need more time to metabolism normally. During developing root, the leaves will suffer since no suply energy for them so some will fall. In extreem, it will reduce stems so only few inches of the trunk above the ground that it keep alive, with new buds as old stem replacement. On your case i ussualy give foliar feeding since root still unable to give nutrients for the leaves. Only few absorbed, but it's better than none. robin98(NZ(9b)) 20 hours ago You're very welcome. I'll try to give you some advice, but first off have to say I've never made or used gritty, hopefully someone experienced with that will chime in to help you. And I'm a bit useless with the root pruning - I had to smile when I read that part, because that's pretty much what I do : trim the long roots straight across the bottom but chicken out of doing anything major! It will be a week in the new mix by the time you get back, so I wouldn't pull it out again. He'll have been putting energy into growing new fine root hairs, and you'll just set that process right back again, making it harder to recover. It sounds it was best to change the old mix, if it was staying wet that long. That would have been trouble in winter. I'd let it recover now, get through winter, build up some energy reserves in spring then repot with more thorough root pruning in summer. I'd also suggest using 511 for the soil mix as it retains a bit more water (while still being aerated) which gives you more leeway than gritty. If it gets hot where you live in summer, and your job takes you away for a few days at a time, you might find the gritty dries out too fast. Right for now its care will be a bit different, while it's recovering. Put it in a warm bright spot, out of direct sun or drafts. Keep its roots moist while it is re-establishing (my understanding of gritty is that the top levels dry out pretty fast so you might need to water more often and/or put something on the surface to keep moisture in the upper levels, correct me people if I'm wrong...) Usually you're not supposed to fertilise until you see new growth, but that also might be different with gritty. New growth means roots have regrown and now energy can be directed to the leaves. When you see this move it to more sun and let it dry out more in between waterings. I wouldn't cut any leaves just yet. Hope some of that helps :)...See Morekittykombucha
6 years agokittykombucha
6 years agokittykombucha
6 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agokittykombucha
6 years agokittykombucha
6 years agoJean
6 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
6 years ago
Related Stories
MOST POPULARThe Perfect Houseplant for People Who Kill Houseplants
If you can fill a jar with water, you can keep golden pothos vine happy — and it will pay you back with cleaner air and a greener home
Full Story
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL