Normal result from a tip-pinch only, 1 or 2 new tips but no real reduction in upward mobility or increase in girth. Remove the lower leaves to encourage lower branches at the nodes where those leaves were attached. Practicing on Coleus is so fun because they grow so fast.

It seems that folks are ignoring your questions. Most likely that's because this forum is for edible figs. Need to add enough to saturate the entire rootball and to have at least 10% run off. Anyway, I suspect the 1.5 cups of water has the tree on a very stingy diet. Also, the tinted window is a problem in that it allows barely any suitable light through for a live plant. Suggest you go to the Houseplant Forum for more responses. Go to http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/houseplt

Your plants' issues, relative to the spoiled foliage, are most likely related to over-watering, a high level of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil solution, or an ammonium toxicity that develops when roots are asked to live in saturated soils. I'd suggest that you start using a 'tell' to determine when your plants actually NEED water, and only then supply it. A 5/16" wooden dowel rod, ends sharpened in a pencil sharpener, makes a good 'tell. Read more below, and please forgive the formatting. It's from something I wrote and saved. The leaf shedding can be from a decrease in light during the last 6 weeks or so, from nutritional issues; it can be a drought response to a high level of dissolved solids in the soil solution, under-watering, or over-watering. It also appears there might be some mechanical damage (like a bruise would be to a human or animal) and some oedema symptoms on the calathea. Using a 'tell' Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support good root health, which is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to a build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor. In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water. Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'. One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue. You might find this helpful. Al

I've had this happen time to time. It just seems that that leaf didn't develop properly. Eventually it'll either grow to normal size or turn brown and die. The latter is more common. Don't be to alarmed your plant has healthy new leaves so that's good.