Does the pot have a drain hole? How do you decide when it's time to water? Do you know what type of grow medium the plant is in? What is the temperature and relative humidity (if known) range over the course of a day? Do you fertilize regularly? With what? How long have you had the plant and when did you last repot or pot up? Have you wiped the leaves with anything other than water to remove dust or make the leavers shine?

Al

Hi Al, I got this plant from Ikea last August. At first I was watering irregularly but for the past few months I bottomwater it weekly/sundays. It has draining holes, left it in it's original container that it came in. I stick my finger into the soil about 2-2.5 inches in and it's typically dry. Id say the temperature is about 70-74 degrees throughout the day, i live in the northeast. Not much humidity, might even be dry air so I was debating on spritzing my plant maybe once every two weeks or something. I'm a beginner with plants so I don't use fertilizer (I welcome any tips). I haven't repotted it yet, was going to wait til the spring time. I've seen 3 leaves grow since having it and it's getting taller, I'm excited.

After a closer look, it appears the pot it came in is in a cache pot ..... yes? Does the cache pot have a hole in it and is the plant allowed to sit until it absorbs all of the water provided during your bottom-waterings? ....... and you haven't used any type of cleaning product (like dish soap) on the leaves?

Here is what I would do. I suspect it's either oedema from over-watering, or, a deficiency of Ca(lcium) caused by over-watering. When Ca is deficient cells cannot form normally. Ca is essential if cell walls are withstand the stress of varying internal water pressures. Cells of plants that lack calcium often rupture and leak their contents into surrounding tissue. That might be it. If it's not, I suspect it is 'oedema', which is also driven primarily by over-watering. I'll leave some info I wrote about the physiological disorder, oedema, below. The best way to deal with over-watering is by using a "tell" to "tell" you what moisture levels are deep in the pot where it matters most. If your plant's pot is deeper than 5 inches and you use the finger test you described, odds are high you are over-watering. In a 10" deep pot, the top 2" might feel completely dry while the bottom 6" of the soil column is still 100% saturated. Using a "tell" will allow you to avoid watering at inappropriately short intervals.

1) Start using a "tell" to monitor moisture levels.

2) Next time the plant needs watering flush the soil thoroughly with a volume of room temp water = to at least 10x the volume of the pot the plant is in. This will flush out any accumulating salts from tapwater and 'reset' the soils EC/TDS (fertility level) to 0.

3) Immediately after flushing the soil, fertilize with a production strength dose of a soluble synthetic fertilizer. I highly recommend Foliage-Pro 9-3-6. It is a superb product for almost all plants grown in containers.

4) When you water, make sure the entire soil column is moistened and at least 20% of the amount of water applied exits the drain hole.

5) Do not allow the plant ti sit in the effluent that exits the drain hole. There should no pathway by which the effluent can make its way back into the soil.

6) Keep track of how many times you have watered the plant by dropping an object (button/ marble, etc.) into the pot at watering time. About every 4th time you water, add fertilizer to the water.

This link takes you to an Overview of Good Growing Practices, which will help you avoid all the worst pitfalls you're likely be forced to deal with on your journey to a green thumb.

Questions?

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 plenty of air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support the kind of root health most growers would like to see; and, a healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant.

Watering in small sips leads to avoid over-watering leads to a residual build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil from tapwater and fertilizer solutions, 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.

Oedema

Oedema (aka edema) is a physiological disorder that can affect all terrestrial plants. It occurs when the plant takes up more water than it can rid itself of via the process of transpiration. The word itself means 'swelling', which is usually the first symptom, and comes in the form of pale blisters or water-filled bumps on foliage. Under a variety of circumstances/cultural conditions, a plant's internal water pressure (turgidity) can become so high that some leaf cells rupture and leak their contents into inter-cellular spaces in leaf tissue, creating wet or weepy areas. Symptoms vary by plant, but as the malady progresses, areas of the leaf turn yellow, brown, brown with reddish overtones or even black, with older damage appearing as corky/ scaly/ ridged patches, or wart/gall-like bumpy growth. Symptoms are seen more frequently in plants that are fleshy, are usually more pronounced on the underside of leaves, and older/lower leaves are more likely to be affected than younger/upper leaves.

Oedema is most common in houseplants during the winter/early spring months, is driven primarily by excessive water retention in the soil, and can be intensified via several additional cultural influences. Cool temperatures, high humidity levels, low light conditions, or partial defoliation can individually or collectively act to intensify the problem, as can anything else that slows transpiration. Nutritional deficiencies of Ca and Mg are also known contributors to the malady.

Some things that can help you prevent oedema:

* Increase light levels and temperature

* Monitor water needs carefully – avoid over-watering. I'd heartily recommend a soil with drainage so sharp (fast) that when you to water to beyond the saturation point you needn't worry about prolonged periods of soil saturation wrecking root health/function. Your soil choice should be a key that unlocks the solutions to many potential problems.

* Avoid misting or getting water on foliage. It slows transpiration and increases turgidity.

* Water as soon as you get up in the AM. When stomata close in preparation for the dark cycle, turgidity builds. If you water early in the day, it gives the plant an opportunity to remove (for its own needs) some of the excess water in the soil.

* Put a fan in the room or otherwise increase air flow/circulation. Avoid over-crowding your plants.

Al

It's a black plastic pot that has about 4 drainage holes on the bottom. The plate is something Ill rest it on top of just to catch as dirt or excess water after watering.

see in the pics is what I put it on after . No cleaning products on the leaves, I just use a paper towel to wipe off any dust from the foliage. I've been using rain water to water my plant for since October last year. Wow thankyou so much for these tips, I'll get a watering meter. The marble idea is brilliant!