|
E-mail to Emily
Composting Wildflowers and Weeds of the Week Articles Who's Who in Gardening Quotes Emily (who we are)
|
emilycompost |
||
|
Here are some questions and answers from Emily's mailbox.
Q: I would really appreciate some help. I've had a beautiful dumb cane for about a year. It grew tall, lush, and healthy. Now, in the past month, one by one the leaves have turned brown, withered, and died. From the bottom leaf working upward, each leaf has died. Now there are only a few leaves left: the bottom two nearly dead, the next two browning at the edges. Is there anything I can do to stop this? My beautiful plant is now just a thick stem with a few leaves at the top. A: Dumb canes are tropical plants that are pretty hardy. Q: I just want some suggestions for houseplants for my apartment. A: The best are low light requirement plant such as pothos, Chinese evergreen, dracaena, spider plant, and any variety of philodendron. Q: My mother in law tongue has this white-looking stuff on it. It is making holes on the plant and it may be a fungus. How can I treat it and will it survive. It has begun to affect the new shoots coming up. Would appreciate any advice you could give me. The plant is about 1 year old. Thanks. A: It certainly does sound like a fungus or perhaps mealy bug. Hard to tell with out seeing the real thing.
Try each one at a time and wait ands look for the good results. Q: I have recently planted some houseplants into clay pots. After watering them a couple of times all of the clay pots have a white powdery substance on the outside of them. What does this come from? Q: I've been reading on your website concerning growing Boston Fern's. What is the ratio of water/detergent wash that you have recommended? A: I recommend 1-2 tbs. of liquid dawn to a gallon of water and that should do it. A little more or less will be ok. Several applications may be needed and always do in the early morning out of the direct sun as not to scald your plants. Q: I have about twenty five house plants. I can't name them all but they are mostly foliage: mother in laws tongue, peace lily, dumb cane, and a ficus tree to mention a few. The ficus tree began excluding a sticky sweet substance from its leaves a few months ago and then most of the other large leafed plants began doing the same. The leaves are very shiny and sticky, but other wise everything seems normal. I have several jade plants and some other succulents that aren't affected. What could it be?????? What can I do about it? The floor and any thing under the plants eventually get sticky also. A: I am afraid you have aphids, and the honeydew is what you are experiencing. Q: I was looking for some help with bug problems in my houseplants. I have a hibiscus tree, 3 citrus trees (lemon, orange, and tangerine, that have never bloomed), a fig tree, and about 15 or 20 various other houseplants including a miniature potted rose bush that I just received that wants to droop. My biggest problem is that there are little bugs in the soil that seem to crawl and others that little like tiny black gnats that fly around. I tried using soap in the water I poured in the soil last summer, but they are still there. The fig tree and the citrus trees starting getting sticky leaves and the floor underneath would get sticky, although I couldn't see anything visibly. I took these outside and sprayed them with insecticidal soap. I hope that will clear this up. I don't know what the bugs in the soil are. The hibiscus tree sheds a lot and I had been picking up the leaves and throwing them on top the soil in the pot. But... decided to take them out. When I scooped up the brown leaves to throw them out, the soil under them was teaming with small black bugs that quickly disappeared into the soil. There is no sign of them now, but I know they are still there. Last summer, someone had set a couple of plants on the curb to throw away. I brought them home to try to nurse them back to health. I think that is when the problem started. A: Houseplants - "ya gotta love em or hate em" for care. They do need great attention at times. Q: I also have a jade plant that does not grow hardly at all. It sits right next to the window. I moved it to a direct source of light, filtered through sheer curtains of course. What am I doing wrong, the jade should have grown some. In eighteen months, it might have grown maybe, an inch or so. No kidding. Help A: The jade grows best in a clay pot. It should never be over-watered. It is better to under-water this plant than too much. Too much and rot starts to set in. Jade plants have their biggest growth spurts in the spring and summer. Q: About house plants flying bugs: I have an indoor palm that is about 4-5 feet tall. I just repotted it about one month ago, now all of a sudden, this poor plant has these little black flying bugs. They look like a fruit fly? There is not an over abundance of them, just enough to irritate one. What can I do to get rid of them? A: Chances are you have an insect that can be easily eliminated with a soapy solution. Without immediate identification I would try washing down the plant with either a commercial safer soap or make up a solution of dishwashing detergent and just plain water.(1-2 tsp. in a gallon of water ) Take the palm in the shower or bathtub and spray all over and rinse well. It may take a couple of applications. Q: I am looking for a tall indoor/house plant for a NYC loft (10 ft ceilings)- something unusual- and not too wide…. Even shopping in the "plant district" here in New York has left me yawning… everything is so… done. I have southern exposure but not too much direct light – but plenty of light much the same. Temperatures are typical – humidity is generally low in the winter and seasonal otherwise. Any thoughts? Also looking for a medium sized plant for a hallway – it will not receive much light – other than the occasional bath when brought inside - not much of the typical low light plants excite me - Snakes, Parlor or Areca Palm, Chinese evergreen, heartleaf Philo.,or the oldie but goodie maidenhair fern… any others come to mind? A: Looking for a plant in NYC will be a tad expensive but.......there are several options. You may be looking for something that does not require a tremendous amount of light but if you do have the light it will surely benefit in anything you choose. Finding something very unusual is great but not always successful for a houseplant. You can raise the humidity by providing a humidity tray with pebbles and just placing the container on top and keeping a water level. It does make a difference Your light situation appears to be good. Most plants will acclimate... I assume you are looking for a 'tree' plant for height reasons. I do suggest a dwarf banana if you have southern exposure. Finding one may be difficult. I am just going to list some that might work and comment as I go along if you can provide the conditions:
My other suggestion is going to an outdoor nursery and see what they suggest that will tolerate indoors. Work backwards..... definitely you would want an evergreen. This is a challenge....... Q: I have a 12-year-old ficus in my home. It's about 6 ft. tall. I have a watering schedule for it and know just how much to give it each week. Recently the GOOD leaves have begun to fall off leaving bare branches. I found a puff of white fluff on one branch and removed that one but the shedding continues. I have used indoor insecticides to no avail. Can you help me? It was suggested that perhaps it was root bound. I moved the plant to our three season porch in April. The temperature has not gone below freezing, usually ran about 36-40 in April and warm in May. Please help I just hate to loose the plant. Thank, you. A: Fussy ficus as I like to call them, are fickle about being moved. They acclimate very slowly. It is a tropical and should be treated as such. Some temperatures below 50 degrees might take a toll but if protected by a porch you are border line. Colder evenings might effect it. Lots of good bright light, never full sun for this one. Twelve years old is doing pretty good for a plant age and it was probably a 3 year old when you got it at least. A 'puff of white stuff' might mean mealy bug or wooly aphid. You are treating it correctly. You might also apply something called Dyston. This is a systemic that will get in to the root system and help keep insects away. Washing several times with soap and water and using insecticidal soap is good. Drooping leaves may mean too little water, and if it were pot bound and you know your plant well, I would repot. If after you take the plant out of the pot and find that it is not, this is a good time to use new sterilized potting soil. Giving it a good fresh start. Stick with it, I am sure the plant will come around since maturity is on its side. Q: I live in Wellington, NZ. I am hoping that you will be able to advise me on workplace plants. I work in a corporate environment and am surrounding by computers and sit at one for at least 6 hrs of the day. I am sure the radiation they emit can not be healthy and I want to counteract this by using appropriate plants. It would be much appreciated if you could list some plants suitable for this purpose and also explain why they are useful. I look forward to hearing from you. A: Yes, work places can become stale and end up with a lot of questionable breathing space. A: Thanks for continuing to use my site. Yes, dry out the jade stem. Try using a clay pot, for it dries quickly. Start again in the shade and then let the plant tolerate to the sun. Water only when your finger comes out of the pot bone dry. Do not fertilize for a month or so, making sure the roots are completely anchored. Q: I hope that you can help me. I have a beautiful ficus tree (for about 8 years) and have never had a problem with it. However, this winter, I think it got too cold in my Sun Room and it started shedding leaves. So, I brought it into my living room and it is still shedding leaves. It has new growth, so I know it is not dead, but I don't know what to do now. It looks so pitiful with hardly any leaves. What should I do? Thank you for any help you can give me. A: Ficus trees, sadly do not like to be moved. Yes if your sunroom did get too cold the leaves would drop, but this does not mean that it is dead. Since you mentioned new growth, I think it is on its way to recovery. Water gently and misting is great. Leave the tree in this spot as long as you can. Stability is the key to these finicky trees. Good luck. Q: I came across your web-site while doing some research on the basics of houseplant gardening. I really just need simple instructions on how to nurture a couple houseplants I bought from K-mart (one is a fern, another a spider plant). I've never had much success in keeping plants healthy and I really want to this time. The problem is that I live in a not so sunny apartment, and I sometimes see little black flying bugs around the plants I try to grow. I want to be as organic and environmentally sound as possible. I bought the two plants in early January and they seem pretty young. K-mart may not be the best place to buy from, but they looked healthy and the price was right. Where do I go from here? What products do you recommend? When and why fertilize? Do I use compost with houseplants? Also, I have two cats, and want to ensure their safety as they sometimes try to chew or bat at the leaves. As you can see I'm a lost beginner gardener who really just needs some step by step pointers. A: I am happy you are so concerned and wanting for your new plants. They are two good selections to try. When it is pot bound it also will produce babies (new growth), water well and then let go dry . By placing your finger in the pot you can tell if it is moist do not water. It is easier to bring a plant back from under-watering than over-watering. A: Spider mites show up when the plant is very dry. Wash leaves with soap and water. Continue several times. A product known as insecticidal soap will also do. Q: When do I water my house plants? A: That depends. All plants have different watering requirements. Generally the thinner the leaf, the more water a plant requires. The thicker (i.e.. jade plant) the leaves, the less water the plant requires. Push your finger in the potting soil. If it's dry, time to water. Remember: it's always better to underwater than over water. Do not let any plant set in water run off. |
|||
| ©2003 - 2006 by Emily Compost, all rights reserved. Emily's privacy policy |
|||