Umbrella plant headed south?

[happiness]

My umbrella plant seems to be increasingly showing signs of unhealthiness and I would hate to have it end up like many umbrella plants with 1 little stalk and no leaves.

A lot of the leaves are curling. Luckily only a few leaves have brown spots on them and I'm not sure if this is normal but the bottom of the stalks are beginning to brown..

So far one stem has lost all it's leaves..I really hope this doesn't continue. I bought the plant from Home Depot not too long ago and I hear they have a really good policy on their plants.. I'd probably feel to bad to return it though.

What is your opinion on my plants condition? Is this a sign of too much watering? Or is it possible not enough watering? I've never watered the plant since I've got it. I let the misting water do the job. It is also in the same pot that I bought it in. I'm thinking it could also be not enough light. The only sunlight it gets, comes from my kitchen window which is about 10 feet away..

Sorry for all the threads I've been posting! (I've been posting a lot!)

 

[misshissingroaches]

im confused........ get another plant or something cause i dunno.

 

[happiness]

I want to know what the curling of the leaves and the brown spots mean. Does it mean I'm over watering? under watering? Combination + not enough light? Is the browning of the stalk normal? I'd like to not have to get a new plant since this one cost me $24.99. I'd rather spend that buying a new type of feeder or something.

The plant is OK for now, I just don't want it to continue to curl leaves and brown even more to the point I have no plant left. o_o

Sorry for the confusion.

 

[misshissingroaches]

maybe a little more light. (im guessing cause ive never had an umbrella plant.)

 

[misshissingroaches]

nvm on new plant...... thats rlly freggan expensive.

 

[misshissingroaches]

I bought the plant from Home Depot not too long ago and I hear they have a really good policy on their plants.. I'd probably feel to bad to return it though.

NEVER feel bad to return something. if they sold u crab they deserve it.

 

[Kath44]

It may want a freshen up, repotting it, a good watering etc. think the stalks will go brown and branch like. So that could be normal.
Stick your finger in soil to gage how wet or dry it is.
Kath.

 

[happiness]

NEVER feel bad to return something. if they sold u crab they deserve it.

Well it was really perfectly healthy when I bought it, it is kind of my fault for it going downhill. $25 is a lot I'm hoping they have future ones on sale, so I can rotate plants in and out of the cage. I just can't imagine paying a total of $50-75 on 2-3 plants right now.

Thanks Kath for all your responses Would Peat moss be good to use as the potting soil?

 

[Lathis]

Umbrella plants will sometimes go into shock in a new environment. I have one that eventually sprung back and is growing steadily. The other is still alive but not growing. It's been about 6 months since moving them. They do pretty well with ambient light and seem to tolerate quite a bit of water if the pot drains well.

If you don't plan to return it, don't give up hope if it seems to die. It may come back.

I have a hibiscus that "died" down to a bare trunk. I got lazy and forgot to throw it away. Suddenly - new growth at the base! Now it's growing really well.

 

[Olimpia]

It could just be a problem with poor light? You could get another linear fluorescent fixture (typically under $15 for a 24" one or shorter) and a 2-pack of 5000K or 6500K daylight bulbs from a Home Depot or anywhere (for about $5 or so). The extra light will not just brighten up the cage and produce very little extra heat but it will do quite a bit for the life of your plants.

 

[MelissaB]

Is the soil draining well? If you stick you finger in the dirt, is it soggy, dry or moist? Also, a lot of the time, when you buy a plant it's been in the pot for a long time, and could be root bound. That's when the roots run out of room to grow in the soil. They'll circle around in the pot, and strangle themselves, so to speak. I don't have a lot of experience with that particular type of plant. I have one umbrella plant, and it lost almost all of it's leaves, but then sent out a bunch of new growth. It was too tall for my cage, so I'm using it as a houseplant, until Oscar is comfy enough to free range. He's still not too sure of me, and I don't want to push him. Hopefully the plant will recover by then.

 

[Kath44]

I'd say normal potting compost, with maybe a good handful of gravel mixed in for good drainage.
Kath.

 

[Kath44]

Oh and cover it up so Cham can't eat the dirt
Can use large pebbles, too big for Cham to eat too. Kath.

 

[happiness]

Is the soil draining well? If you stick you finger in the dirt, is it soggy, dry or moist? Also, a lot of the time, when you buy a plant it's been in the pot for a long time, and could be root bound. That's when the roots run out of room to grow in the soil. They'll circle around in the pot, and strangle themselves, so to speak. I don't have a lot of experience with that particular type of plant. I have one umbrella plant, and it lost almost all of it's leaves, but then sent out a bunch of new growth. It was too tall for my cage, so I'm using it as a houseplant, until Oscar is comfy enough to free range. He's still not too sure of me, and I don't want to push him. Hopefully the plant will recover by then.

The soil is moist and it drains right out of the bottom. (the mist water that gets to it at least)

I have an extra fixture and bulbs I can use if it comes down to light. (I use one right now for my venus flytraps)

 

[Ninkylou]

initially I had problems with my Sheffs that I attributed to excess water and eventually root rot, there started to be a sweet kind of fermented odor.

I got new plants. When I repotted them I did a 2:1:1/4 organic soil : play sand : activated charcoal. I put river rocks in the bottom of the pot. They are in a large kind of light weight pot and I put a utility garden pot in side that. I drilled a TON of holes all over that pot and put additional drainage holes in the bottom of the decorator pot.

I have Rain Domes that run for a total of 26 minutes a day and I have not had any problems with the Sheffs since then. Actually they grow like crazy and I have to trim the tops pretty frequently.

I think getting the soil to dry out can be a challenge in the cham cages with all of the water we add to them. I would guess, by how often I refill my tank that each enclosure is getting about 1/2 gallon a day. Thats a lot of water. I know that my drainage amount is much less than that so I am hoping that my plants are putting it back into the air. I don't have any problems maintaining humidity >50%

 

[Deevo]

Give it a light app of 0-0-10 fertilizer and water in lightly then cover soil with stones

 

[mrfixit01]

Olimpia has a great idea. I've tried umbrella plants before and they are pretty fussy. Once they start going down hill like yours, they rarely survive. The stalks will turn black with root rot and I don't think you want that around your cham. I'm pretty good with plants but I gave up on them in the chams cage. Now I just have some fake vines, some pothos, and some airplane plant. There are plenty of vines criss-crossing the cage at several levels so the hanging plants provide lots of cover. I'd return the plant as it is probably in shock and there's no telling what might be going on with the root system.

 

[Ninkylou]

It could just be a problem with poor light? You could get another linear fluorescent fixture (typically under $15 for a 24" one or shorter) and a 2-pack of 5000K or 6500K daylight bulbs from a Home Depot or anywhere (for about $5 or so). The extra light will not just brighten up the cage and produce very little extra heat but it will do quite a bit for the life of your plants.

I also added a 6500k LED bulb to each of my fixtures so this may have helped along with the better drainage.

 

[kdc5019]

Repot it in some organic potting soil with a 50/50 mix of grow stone (great for drainage and helps prevent root rot), add some good 6500 Kelvin lights and you should be good to go.