Hi, If it happened as soon as you bought it, pls. consider returning the plant to where you bought it. A plant that shows illness immediately is not something I'd investment my time or energy on, never mind money. I don't know what it is or how to fix it. I do know that's not looking good. I'd get my money back & go elsewhere. I wonder if that's fungal.

Grice, what I meant to say is, if the soil is dry (on most plants) and you bring the plant to the sink to hose leaves, you can also water soil w/the hose. To be honest, I prefer using water that's been sitting out, but w/all the plants I have it's impossible trying to water them all w/containers..lately I've been watering a section at a time..(only when soil is dry)w/tepid water. This is especially important with spider plants. Lauren, it's good your gradma is loaning you her humidifer..She's smart..leaving town to go to a warmer climate..LOL Don't blame her one bit. At one time I had at least 18 milk containers sitting behind plants. LOL When one got old, it was replaced w/a new one..and they're free when you think about it. We all use milk for recepies/drinking. Smith, you're welcome. Since you use tepid water on your spider, does it get brown edges? I would think not, but nothing's impossible and using water that's been sitting out is just my opinion. Is it me, or do RT's grow slow? As I mentioned earlier, I've two RT's. The green was originally in a baby 4" pot..it's now over 2' tall..Oh, I bought it say 2 yrs ago. The variegated was purchased in the late 90's and only grew half a foot if that..They're both kept in south windows, and outside in summer. It's not root bound, nor is it too large a pot. When I fertilize, it gets the same type of food as the green. Am I doing something wrong? Thanks, Toni

When the soil mass is very compacted and the root mass severely tangled and impacted, there is no question vitality and growth rate is being significantly affected. Most growers believe that messing with roots is taboo, and you risk killing the plant if all you do is stick a wooden skewer deep in the pot to check moisture levels. With attention to a few details, root pruning is no more dangerous than pruning the top of the plant. It SHOULD be a regular part of everyone's skillset, because w/o root work, a gradual but steady decline with notable and visible symptoms are inevitable. The only way to turn that stead decline around is by eliminating the cause, which brings us back to eliminating root congestion. This is a Ficus benjamina. It was purchased in a 3 gallon nursery can and was about 4 ft tall when acquired. The roots were horribly entangled - a solid, 3-gallon mass of roots. I chopped the trunk off so there wasn't branch or leaf on the trunk, sawed off the bottom 2/3 of the roots put it in this large bulb pan and took 3 years to get a start on the branching. The plant rebounded from the severe work like nothing had happened. The roots are a mess after 3 years in the bulb pan, so I do another root reduction. My goal not only includes the elimination of the root congestion, but also root reduction to the degree I can fit the plant into a bonsai pot, something you're obviously not concerned with. This illustrates how severely the root mass was reduced. Note the HUGE roots I cut through and simply eliminated. These roots serve no purpose in containerized plants, and their removal makes space for the fine roots that do all the work. This is the plant after a pruning and being reinstalled in a training pot. Note the huge scar near the soil on the left where a very large root was removed. That will heal in a few years. In fact, I think it's already healed. This plant is scheduled for more root work within the next few weeks, and I'll be sure to take pictures. I'm hoping to put it into a shallow bonsai pot as a lot of progress has been made in development of branches and it's ready for a pot. Many would pooh pooh what I said because 'this' is houseplants, 'that' is bonsai, but skilled bonsai practitioners know how to keep plants healthy, happy, and beautiful under extreme circumstances. Borrowing a page here & there from their book only sets you apart and above those that don't recognize expanding their skills benefits both grower and plant. I'm not pressuring you to act on what I said. My only goal is to put the information out there and relate/illustrate the advantages in case you DO want to act. The difference between a houseplant people struggle to keep healthy for more than a few ears and a bonsai that is both healthy and beautiful after hundreds of years, lies primarily in how the roots were treated. Take good care, and good luck with your new tree. ;-) Al

This is definitely over watering. If I was you I would put in another pot with a few drain holes or one at least and inch big. I use cactus soil, perlite and fir bark chips which I get at the pet store and mix in quit a bit of bark and go heavy on the perlite. The plant like moist soil but likes to dry out some in between watering indoors. Outdoors in the heat it would probably need more but it's better to under water than to over water. You can take off the damaged leaves a couple at a time so you don't shock your plant and it will get new leaves. Mine I water in my plant room under lights in a south facing window with a white curtain once every 7-10 days with luke warm water not cold. I don't spritz them with water either. That promotes fungus and rot. They need a lot of bright light no direct sun to keep the variegation. You can also invest in a cheap moisture meter from Lowe's or Home Depot for under 10.00. I don't water until it goes into the dry and stick it down by the roots. Try it in a 6 or 8 inch pot if the one it's in is a 6 inch. I use regular tap water and once a month I use 1/2 what the ingredients says Dyna Gro Foliage Pro fertilizer.