Plants-Indoors Problems
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Plants-Indoors Problems
African Violet
The leaves of my
African violets are falling off otherwise healthy plants. It starts with the leaf stem turning
almost clear and a few days later the leaves fall off.
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The buds of my azalea plants keep falling off.Bamboo
I have a bamboo
plant that is about 4 1/2 ' tall in a 16" pot with drain holes. The plant is now inside and watered
every other day. The leaves are
beginning to turn yellow, the tips are dry and flakey and mushrooms were growing
in the bottom of the pot. Does my
bamboo have a disease?
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Bay Leaf
We have a Bay Leaf plant that we keep in a sunroom during the winter and dig into the ground in the summer. We noticed the leaves are sticky. It is growing fine, but some of the leaves have black spots. Should we discard those leaves?
Begonia
Why do my begonia plants die every winter? I keep them in containers and move them indoors when cold weather sets in. Should I set them in a sunny location?
Bird of Paradise
I have a Bird of Paradise that seems to be doing very well. It is very thick and keeps sending up new shoots. Unfortunately, it has never flowered. I planted it 7 years ago this spring.Candy Corn Vine
My
mom has a candy corn vine. It gets these little red-orange to yellow cone
shaped flowers that are reminiscent of candy corn. The problem is that on every
leaf the tip or leaf margin turns very dark and then the leaf dies. The plant seems to be struggling but it
keeps growing up the trellis and is now 4 feet tall.
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Cactus
I have a 30 year old cactus
that has grown to be 5 feet tall. It was knocked over and the top foot of the
plant broke off. I was hoping to start a new one from that piece but it keeps
rotting in the soil.
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Cactus
I have been
growing cactus indoors for 15 years and never get any blossoms. Do you have any suggestions?
Christmas Cactus
I have several
Christmas cacti (Schlumbergera bridgessii).
One blooms in November and
again in April. Is this a problem
or do I have a special cactus?
Christmas Cactus
My 84 year old
mother-in-law has a large Christmas cactus that she has had since she was
14! It has always been in really
great shape, but now is looking very wilted, even though her pattern of
watering (about a cup every 2 weeks) has not changed. She did add soil from her garden to cover up some exposed
roots.
Christmas Cactus
Every
winter I bring my Christmas cactus in from my three season porch. It does great outside but as soon as it
moves indoors it starts dropping stems.
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Christmas Cactus
I have been having a problem of the leaves falling off my
Christmas Cacti. I put them outside in the summer and new growth comes on them
just fine, but when I bring them in the house in the fall the leaves start
falling off. It doesn't matter where I put them they do it. I have tried not watering
them until they are really dry and I have tried watering them more often.
Nothing seems to work. Do you have any ideas?
Citrus
About seven years ago we started several citrus plants from seeds. They have never fruited but have lots of sentimental value. Every winter we move them indoors, the leaves get sticky, webs appear on the branches and mealy bugs move in. When moved outdoors it attracts lots of ants. Anyway to avoid these pests so we can keep the plant?
Clivia
I have an 8 year old Clivia miniata. It has not bloomed in the 3 years I have owned it. What do I need to do to get those beautiful orange flowers?
Crown of Thorns
I
have a very large crown of thorns. I've had it 10 years or more. In summer, I
have it outside and it flourishes. Normally when I bring it in the fall it
loses most of the foliage and then starts blooming again. This year it is just forming green
leaves that quickly dry up and fall off.
Easter Cactus
My wife has a Christmas cactus plant that she bought in
Kansas years ago. It blooms and shoots in the same manner as a Christmas
cactus, but the leaves are rounder and scalloped. We think it has root
rot due to watering. It is limp, shriveled, and sad looking, but still
has its color and flowers. Is there hope for this plant?
Euphorbia Tree
I have a very six foot tall
cactus (Euphorbia Tree) that normally
thrives in our sunroom. We had
several very cold days and it got much too cold in that non-insulated
room. All of the new growth on the
cactus has either shriveled or turned light greenish-yellow and is droopy. What can I do to revive it?
Fern
I have a giant fern I bought in California 34 years ago. I have grown it as an indoor houseplant since moving to Illinois in 1975. Several years ago, it developed a dark rust-like browning to the ends of the fronds. I have transplanted it several times since owning it, but not in the past 5 years. We also changed our water system over to a softener but I try and give it well water most of the time. It sends up new fronds only to have the leaves turn brown from the edges inward.Ficus
I have 3 variegated Ficus ‘Sylvie' trees. Over the winter they each developed
brown spots in the middle and along the edges of the leaves. The spots are not
crusty and can't be scraped off and the brown goes all the way through the
leaf. Please help.
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Ficus
My weeping fig (Ficus benjamina) has a clear sap on the leaves, but the plant seems healthy. Should I be worried?Ficus
I received a 7
foot Ficus tree about 8 months ago.
The plant has been going downhill during the time I have owned it. It regularly loses leaves, has limited
new growth and has some white fuzzy substance on a few of the leaves.
Ficus
My
cat decided to use my large Ficus
tree as a litter box. Now, it
stinks!! Of course watering it
makes the smell even worse for that day.
The whole tree is about six feet tall, and is cumbersome to move, but
not impossible. Is there a way I
can "clean" the soil in the pot?
Fig
I live in zone 4 so I brought my dwarf fig tree indoors for the winter, and some of the leaves have turned brown and fallen off. Why did this happen? Also, will it bear figs indoors? Please give me advice on how to care for it.
Fungus Gnats
I have had a problem for several years with fungus gnats in my houseplants. I went to a florist and bought systemic insecticide, which killed the insects but I am concerned about the strong smell and safety of my cat and dog. The insects returned and I tried insecticidal soap that damaged my plants and did not control the gnats. Is there something more NATURAL that I can use to get rid of them? The bugs eventually kill the roots and are eating the leaves.Fuzzy Mold
We brought several plants indoors this
fall. The soil developed almost a
fuzzy mold or fungus on the top.
Any ideas on what we could/should do?
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Gardenia
I have a gardenia
with beautiful green leaves and no flowers. I have had several buds on it over the last year, but they
fall off. How can I encourage and
keep more blooms?
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Gardenia
My gardenia was doing fine
outdoors, but now that it is indoors for winter its leaves turned yellow and
began falling off. What can I do to save it?
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Grape Ivy
I
was on vacation for two weeks, and when I got back my grape ivy plant was
drooping. The leaves are still green and not falling off or brittle. Was this
caused because of lack of water?
Gardenia
For the past
couple years when I brought my potted gardenia plants inside they did fine for
about a month or two and then they started having problems. The deep green
color of the leaves starts to fade to pale green and they start to grow some
white things on the branches. The white things actually look like little tiny
cotton balls about the size of a fertilizer pellet.
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Hibiscus
I
have a hibiscus that I purchased this summer. It has always been in the house
in an east window. It flowered all summer long. The foliage still looks fine but there
have been no buds or flowers since late fall.
Hibiscus with Aphids
How can we get
rid of an aphid infestation on our hibiscus plant we brought in for the winter?
The plant is blooming beautifully, however each bud is covered with aphids. One
thing to keep in mind is the treatment must be safe for our 5 young
children.
Hibiscus with White Flies
I moved my hibiscus in for the winter and discovered it is covered with white flies. Where did they come from and how can I get rid of them?
The leaves of my Hindu rope plant (Hoya carnosa ‘Crispa') are wrinkling.Ivy with Mites
I love ivies (Hedera), but regardless what I do, they get mites. Is there something out there that I do not know about to avoid these pests?
The leaves of my jade plant are wrinkling. What should I do?Jasmine
I
recently discovered my jasmine tree is covered in clear sticky sap. What is it and what can I do?
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Jasmine
My son gave me a jasmine plant in the fall of this year. It has been indoors and seems like it is slowly dying. The leaves, usually on one branch at a time, become dry and then the whole branch eventually dries out. It is in a south facing window and set on a tray of pebbles.Jasmine
I brought my
beautiful jasmine plant indoors for the winter. It lost all its leaves. I am still keeping the soil
moist. Is it dormant or dead?
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Lemon
We have a dwarf lemon tree we got this spring. We had a lot of fruit on the tree and took it into the house for winter and placed it under a grow light. The lemons turn yellow and we have been using them. We water once every two weeks. Now the leaves are wrinkling. Should we cut back on watering or turn off the lights?
Lemon
The leaves on my lemon tree are falling off. There are tiny scaly things on the branches and undersides of the leaves that leave a residue on the plant. I have been spraying it with insecticidal soap without much success.
Lemon
I have a Meyer Lemon (Citrus x meyeri) tree that produces misshaped, discolored, small lemons. There is no sign of bugs. What could be happening?
Lipstick Vine
I
received a clipping of lipstick vine three years ago. It has grown quite a bit,
but never flowered. How can I get
blossoms?
Lucky Bamboo
I have 36"stalks
of lucky bamboo I purchased a few months ago. The opening of the pot is just
large enough to hold the stalks upright, surrounded by a few small decorative
stones and a little water. A few
leaves have turned yellow. Should
the bamboo stalks remain in water, or should they be planted in soil?
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Mealybugs
Several of my houseplants are covered with something that looks like bits of cotton. There is also a clear sticky substance on some of the leaves. What is it and how do I get rid of it?
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Orchid
My orchids suddenly dried up. I can't figure out if they had too much water or not enough.Palm
I am having a problem with my palm tree. It has
developed a white powdery substance on 50 percent of the leaves.
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Paperwhites
Every winter I force paper white bulbs into bloom. I love the fragrance but the plants grow tall and flop. I heard adding gin to the water will help stunt their growth. Is this true?Peace Lily
My peace lily is not doing well. The leaves are discolored and the plant just doesn’t seem to be getting bigger. Any ideas?Peace Lily
Our large peace
lily sat in unattended in our cool house (55 degrees) for about 2 weeks. Now it is real droopy. Is it because of
the cool temperatures? Can I cut it back and hope it will grow back, or do I
just give up and toss it out?
My
peace lily leaves are all brown on the edges.
Philodendron
I have a huge
philodendron. For the most part it
looks healthy. But I always have a
few leaves with spots. The center
of the leaf turns brown with a yellow edge. What can I do to stop this problem?
Poinsettia
Every year I buy a poinsettia and it looses all its leaves and looks ugly by the time the holidays arrive. Please help.
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Poinsettia
I bought a poinsettia for Christmas. The plant started to wilt and go bad soon after I brought it home. The leaves turned gray-green and wilted. Watering does not seem to help.
This
year the lower leaves of my poinsettias turned yellow and fell off.
Poinsettia
Every summer I take my poinsettias outside. Within 2-3 weeks of bringing them indoors for winter a white powder appears on the leaves. I am able to get them to bloom but the leaves eventually yellow and drop off.Prayer Plant
I was recently given a prayer plant (Maranta leuconeura). It was very full and beautiful. Now the bottom leaves look okay with some withering at the edges, but all the inside and top leaves are withered and brown. I do notice new sprouting. What should I do?Rosemary
I have a Rosemary plant that has started to wilt and die since I moved it in for the winter.
Schefflera
The leaves and the branches of my schefflera are coated with a shiny sticky substance and small oval brown spots all over. What is it and should I be worried?Shamrock Plant
I have a maroon shamrock that I cannot grow. I keep it in a well lit place. It will do beautiful, and then it goes crazy and dies.