A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum Plant leaves dropping like flies

Hi, first of all, I don't know what kind of plant I have - I will try adding an image and see what happens, but if it doesn't work, I can e-mail some to you.
This plant came from my mother who has now passed on so it has immense sentimental value.

The issue: I think I overwatered it back in the summer. In the fall, I repotted it so I could have a look at the roots, I washed all the roots - very carefull - and removed all dirt. The roots did not look rotted. I gave it new dirt and waited for it to go out of shock - it did. The leaf sets are still dying and some have brown spots (kind of looks like rust spots) and some look like scaly spots on the back of the leaf - while some are just becoming droopy and turning yellow, then dropping off, but there is new growth happening as well. I used to have over a hundred leaf sets, now I might be down to under 25. Any assistance / ideas you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time.

Welcome Dawn. I hope your plant recovers and settles in for you.
It is really difficult to help diagnose without a picture. Rust and scale are two different problems and usually handled differently.
New growth is a major plus though so I have hopes.
To post a picture here you need to upload them to a picture hosting site (a lot of us use Photobucket, it is free) and then copy the 'img' line and paste it here.

Thank you for your response Tina.

I have uploaded some photos to Picasa. Here is the link.

http://picasaweb.google.com/dawndmg4/20091220#

Dawn

What a very pretty plant! Even with the disease it is pretty. I am not sure what kind of plant you have or what may be the problem it is suffering.
I hope someone comes along soon with an answer for you.

My internet connection is atrocious tonight so I can't see your photos. This is attempt #2
Is there a chance to see a close up of the underside of the leaves? (rust and scaley spots) if not there already?
Have you checked the 'Troubleshooting' page yet?
http://www.thegardenhelper.com/troubleshooting.html

Hi, there is a picture on Picasa that shows the "scales" on the underside of the leaf. I think it is the last pic.

Thank you for trying to help.

Dawn

I think (and hopefully someone will verify) the the problem is Black Spot fungus, much like you might get on a rose Bush. It can be caused by conditions that are too moist (as when you over watered),wet foliage and prolonged, high humidity You did well when you washed the roots, but like most fungi and mold spores it is hard to kill what you can't see. A dusting of sulfur on the soil will control spores in the soil but you will need to remove and destroy any and all infected parts of the plants.
PLEASE WAIT before you strip your plant, until someone else on the forum speaks up, but in the meantime, isolate your plant.
Why does the name of your plant elude me?

After reading several trouble shooting forums, I should add the following.
The plant hails from Yellowknife North West Territories, Canada - cold - dry, but lots of light and clear clean water - the best there is world wide - drink it from the tap.
I then took the plant from Yellowknife to Sidney, BC - Canada humid area - the house is usually 50-70% humidity - water is bottled and you should let your water sit for a few days when you use it on your plants.
The plant loves light so I have it in front of a window where it gets the morning sun and light all day.

The problem first began as yellow leaves falling. I assumed I need to water the plant more. My mom barely ever watered the plant. I am 100% I overwatered it. But as I said I checked the roots and they did not look rotten. After repotting, the rust spots appeared and the scaley look on some of the leaves (those might have been there before, but I do not think so)....and the scale look comes after the rust spots. The leaves look fine, then after about 1-2 weeks, they get turn a lighter green, then rust spots, then wilty, then scaley, then die. Hope all this info is helpful

Thank you again for your time.
Dawn

Thank you for all your help Wild Willy. I don't know the name of this plant. I have never known it - wish I could find someone that does know it. :=)

Looks like I will just have to keep monitoring and praying that my plant lives. The new growth (if it grows to full leaves) is a good sign, but there was a lot of new growth in the early fall and it all died so I am playing the waiting game.

Thank you again.
Dawn

Hello everyone. It has been confirmed that my plant is called Ming Aralia and it has root rot. Things do look promising for it though as I have once again transplanted it to another soil type, with bone meal and rooting powder. It seems to like this and along with all the new growth, I have high hopes that it will recover.

Thank you Willy and Tina for taking the time to respond.

Dawn

It is still a beautiful plant. I have such difficulties identifying house plants because I don't grow them. Although I have a ming aralia growing outdoors myself.

Wow

Hope it revives .
Gorgous plant .

I have a plant like that to... It's weird because mine to loses a few leaves but it doesn't have black spots. I just have it since a month so I'm going to keep on watching it.