House plants struggling

Ol' Donie

Hello there,

I wonder can someone help me.

I have two house plants, I believe they are ferns, which have suddenly started struggling badly in the past 2-3 weeks.

I've had them for more that 6 months, and have not changed how I treat them. Water every week or two, and feed with the spray I got from the garden centre.

Anyone know what I can do to save them?

Or do they struggle at this time of year? Is it cos the heating is on more?

Thanks a million for any help.

New Home

If they're near a heating source, they'd definitely suffer. They also need light, maybe not direct sunlight, but if they're in a dark corridor I don't think they'd thrive.

Would you be able to post a picture, please?

Ol' Donie

Tried to before but file was too big. Hope this works!

Thanks, I'll bring them down in front of the window for a few days.

Ol' Donie

The other one

Thanks again

New Home

Poor things! They almost look burnt, I can see why you'd be worried.

What's the soil like, moisture-wise? They could also have had too much/not enough water.

New Home

BTW, I found this, it may help.

http://www.howtocareforit.com/how-to-care-for-ferns

Over-watering kills more plants than anything else. Only give your fern water when the soil is starts to look dry. Don’t use a plant mister on your fern. It can cause the fronds (leaves) to brown and wilt.

The soil of your fern should be moist, but never wet. Over-watering a fern is a common mistake. Over-watering can damage a plant’s roots, and once the roots are damaged the plant may not survive.

Because ferns like humidity, fill a tray with pebbles and water (enough water to cover all the pebbles) and place the potted fern on the tray.

Ol' Donie

New Home wrote: »

Poor things! They almost look burnt, I can see why you'd be worried.

What's the soil like, moisture-wise? They could also have had too much/not enough water.

They were fine for ages, I feel like I'm mistreating the poor yokes!

The soil is damp, I try to give them a good soak every 10 days or so. Sit them in the sink for an hour or two, that sort of thing.

Ol' Donie

New Home wrote: »

BTW, I found this, it may help.

http://www.howtocareforit.com/how-to-care-for-ferns

Super, thanks a million.

I have been using that bloody spray more since it started!

Will follow this, thanks again.

New Home

Hope they recover... and don't forget to talk to them!

looksee

Ferns are difficult enough indoors, especially when the heating is on. Stop feeding them, give them a break till the spring. Keep soil moist but definitely not soggy, they do not need as much water in the winter, but confusingly they need extra moisture to compensate for heating - as was suggested, stand over a tray of pebbles and water to keep the atmosphere moist.

Anything that has shriveled and changed colour is dead, I suggest you take a scissors and carefully cut out all dead fronds, you will then be able to keep an eye on new growth. You don't really get two goes at ferns though, if enough fronds shrivel its hard to bring them back.

Its sometimes a bit helpful to regard house plants as semi-disposable - the common ones do not cost much more than a bunch of flowers that you get a week or two out of. Be philosophical about them, hint for them as presents and enjoy them as long as they are happy and plumptious.

dickidy

i hope you dont mind if i jump on this ,

i bought a small indoor plant (tree thing ) from woodies and all the leaves are falling off ...
i spray the leaves and soil most days , just a small bit mind you .

New Home

What kind of plant is it? Would you post a picture, please?

dickidy

Hope this works

baaba maal

As far as I know, if the leaves are still green when falling off a plant, this usually indicates overwatering- but I am open to correction.

roper1664

dickidy wrote: »

Hope this works

It looks like a Ficus benjamina Bonsai.

I wouldn't be too concerned about some minor leaf drop, especially at this time of year, and if it's recently been moved to a new environment. Be careful not to overwater it.

Focus benjamina don't like be moved and will drop some leaves.

Watering is challenging with a bonsai in Ireland in the winter.

dickidy

thanks guys, its about a month in my house and i use a spray on the leaves and soil.
ah i suppose it trial and error at the moment
thanks again.

dickidy

Hi is there anyway to bring fresh growth to Ficus Bonsai. i over watered it and lost a lot of the leaves.
thanks

looksee

Not sure about ficus bonsai, but I stopped buying ficus plants because they were so enthusiastic and random about dropping leaves. At a guess I would suggest it will not do much about new growth at this time of year, give it a while and see if it improves. Daylight is usually important to promoting new growth so maybe ensuring it has enough light would help.