A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum Help with 2 office plants

Hi everybody,

This is my first post to the forum. I just bought 2 plants for my cube, and they looked really healthy. I've had them in my cube for maybe 3 weeks now, and they still look okay, but some of the leaves are yellowing/browning. I'm a novice at plants, so I don't know whether the problem is too much sun, too little sun, too much water, too little water, or something else. I also would like to know the names (scientific or common) of the plants. Links are below - there's a close up on the browning/yellowing, as well as a wide shot of the plant for ID.








Thanks very much for any help/information you can offer!

-Dave

yellowing leaves USUALLY means too much water. I'd snip off the yellow/brown leaves and let them dry out a bit more in between waterings. Well, let the top one dry out a bit more in between waterings. the brown leaves on the second plant I wouldn't worry about. anything could have caused that - poor air circulation maybe?
and I don't know the names of those plants. I have the same plant as your second one. mine is outside and not doing much since I moved it a couple of years ago. it's probably time to move it to another location.
Is that first one a diffenbachia?

I think too the first one is a Dieffenbachia---

and if I am not mistaken the second one is a Areca Palm

perhpas someone will come along with proper care instructions for you

Yes the first one is a dieffenbachia are some
may call it a dumbcane, and the other is a plam plan
they look good but the yellow leave's I think is
too much water

Hi all,

Thanks very much for all the helpful suggestions. I've since identified the palm as a Neanthe Bella, very similar in appearance to an Areca palm.

I'm trying to water them both less. Is it enough to wait until the top layer of soil is bone dry, or should I wait even longer than that?

Also, I have them in little plastic planters inside green ceramic pots. The planter doesn't reach the bottom of the pot, but there is a lot of standing water at the bottom of the pots. Do I need to empty the pots to give the soil the opportunity to dry out completely? Here's what I mean - the plant is in the plastic green planter on the right, which doesn't go all the way to the bottom of the ceramic pot on the left, but it's full of standing water. Should I empty the ceramic pot after I water it, or is standing water at the bottom okay?

[img]http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...Gv1sRgCJev7sjqtoX1Hw&feat=directlink[/img]

Thanks,

Dave

Hi Dave Welcome to the GardenHelper

Absolutely empty the water out of the ceramic pot,, it will turn stagnate and begin to smell if you don't,
Rule of thumb is 2 inches down of dry soil and it needs watering,
However your Dieffenbachia plant likes bright light but no sun actually shining on it. Too much or too little light in combination with the over watering probably caused the yellow leaves. From now on do not water it until it is very dry and the pot feels light weight when you pick it up, probably at least 2 weeks. Then only give it about 2 cups of water or less so the soil is barely moist.

Hi AngelBlossom, thanks for the info!