Dumb cane shedding more growing less

Discussion in 'Indoor and Greenhouse Plants' started by cryshnon, Oct 7, 2012.

  1. cryshnon

    cryshnon Member

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    Dumb Cane At First.jpg

    I bought this dumb cane a month and a half ago. It initially looked like the first photo I have posted. The brown tip on one of the leaves is because of a mite infestation that probably happened at the nursery.

    I have never had good luck with indoor plants. I have tried Vinca Rosea, Holy Basil and a few others whose names I do not know. They all dried out within a week of keeping at home. But I understand they were all outdoor plants and not meant to be kept inside the house. But the dumb cane I have heard is definitely the indoor type. Though it has survived a month and a half, I think it is shedding leaves way more than it grows. One of the older, lower leaves started yellowing and it dried out completely. I understand it is normal for this plant to shed its older leaves to get its 'canes'. But so far only one leaf has sprouted and that has not even unfurled itself. A few days later, the second leaf exhibited the same symptoms and started to dry out. The newer leaves do not show those signs, which means that the plant is not dying.

    Dumb Cane Second.JPG

    The plant receives moderate light. I water it everyday and keep the soil moist. Somewhere I had read that we shouldn't over water it. So I had stopped watering everyday. But that only accelerated the drying of the second leaf. Ever since I have watered it everyday. Two weeks later, the third and perfectly healthy leaf is now beginning to develop yellow tips. The pot was quite small and the keeper of the plant nursery had told me to transplant it into a bigger pot after 2-3 months. It has been barely a month and a half. But yet I thought of taking the risk and pulled it out of the old pot and found that the roots did appear to have outgrown the pot. I just don't know what else to do. The yellowing patch has increased in size on the third leaf two days after I transplanted it.

    Dumb Cane  Now.jpg

    I live in a city that is quite warm for most part of the year. The room I have placed the plant in has a ceiling fan running all through the night. Could that be drying the leaves out faster than the absorption rate? Besides I think at night the plant may not be absorbing water from the soil and the fan perhaps is vaporizing water from its surface. I am going to go into depression now. :(
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2012
  2. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    What you're seeing isn't the symptom of too little water, it's too much. Unless your soil is so fast-draining that most of what you water flows right through it (which is what Dieffenbachia in the wild prefers) you're watering far too often and the plant is reacting by dropping its leaves. The problem, of course, is that with Dieffs the symptoms of overwatering look almost exactly like those of underwatering.

    However, don't despair! Dieffenbachia are tough plants. What I'd do is repot into a mixture that's something like 50% orchid bark, 25% leaf mulch, and 25% rich black soil - this mixture is very similar to rainforest "topsoil" which is what the plant would grow in naturally. You may also want to replace the pot - you need something with generous drainage holes. If you still want the decorative clay, slip a plastic, well-draining pot inside it. When you do the repot, gently rinse the roots of the plant free of any of the old soil, and check for mushy bits - those should be cut off with a sharp, sterile knife to prevent further rotting. Then water it once, thoroughly (until water comes out the bottom of the pot) and leave it alone for a week minimum.

    In general, even with the very fast-draining mix I mentioned, Dieffs will only require water once or twice a week, when the soil feels dry to the depth of your first knuckle (stick a finger in the pot near the edge). At the moment, you're likely killing it with kindness.
     
  3. cryshnon

    cryshnon Member

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    Thanks for the reply. I did think it is a case of over watering. I am really worried about getting rid of the soil around the roots. I think I may have killed my other plants by of transplanting them completely into a new environment. I had cleared their roots of the existing soil before transplanting them. I don't want to risk doing that with this one. I re potted the plant in a bigger clay pot two days ago as you can see in the picture. The previous one was probably even smaller than half the size of this one. Besides it previously had extremely sticky and soft soil. It was so soft that someone could use that for a mud bath lol. I wonder where the nursery got such soft mud from. I have put plenty of coarse grain in this that doesn't hold water.

    I inspected the roots and they were pretty healthy and white. I read somewhere that rotting roots are likely to be brown in color. The second leaf as I said dried quicker when I stopped watering the plant. I allowed the top soil to dry out a bit before watering again. I had not watered for around 3 days. Ever since I am worried about not watering everyday. But if you still insist, I would not water again for the next three days and would tell you how the progress is.
     
  4. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    Well, here's something about Dieffenbachias - even if the root system it's got at the moment cakks it, you can cut just above that point on the cane and re-root entirely. I live in Dieffenbachia central, and keep several unusual species in pots at home. They all got there by me taking a cutting and just sticking it in the soil - the plants are incredibly resilient.

    I would absolutely hold off watering it - it was drowning, let it breathe! Dieffs in pots are basically indestructible if you keep them just a little on the dry side.
     
  5. cryshnon

    cryshnon Member

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    Like I said, I had re-potted it and kept the plant away in a room that is not windy so that the leaves don't dry out. But the wee bit of yellowing tip appeared to have expanded slightly. The new pot still had moist soil even after five days. So, going by your advice, I took out the plant again. I had not rid it of the existing soil that was stuck around the root ball. There was this thing I had not carefully noticed while re-potting. The whole lot of the existing soft mud had remained as a ball around the root system. When I examined it by touching them, the roots were mushy indeed. I almost dropped the plant in disgust because it felt like I was sticking my hand in carrion infested with worms. I just stuck the root in running water and most of the root hair got washed away. I cut off some and this is how the roots looked.
    Root Rot1.jpg

    Now after ridding it of all the squished roots, all that is remaining are the clear roots like the second picture. I had to rid it of quite a lot of the hair which were all very weak and tore away easily as I rubbed my fingers over them. I have hung the plant upside down for the roots to dry. Should I leave it like that for a day or so? Now the soil that I have is still moist. Should I let the soil dry in the sun for a day and then re-pot the plant in dry soil for a day? I don't want to totally rid it of all the roots because I don't think the plant has any stamina left in it to grow fresh roots.

    Root Clear1.jpg

    BTW, when you have to propagate these plants, do I like just cut the bottom one inch of stem and plant it in soil and plant the leafy part with some roots separately? Will the planted stem grow new leaves?
     
  6. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    Two words: New Soil. You can place your plant with its small roots in a vase with water, or you can hang it until you can get new soil, but don't work with the soil that's already got rot organisms growing in it. I'd also sterilize the pot with boiling water just to be on the safe side, and allow it to dry in the sun.

    When you propagate, I generally cut two nodes (those are the divisions of cane separated by the leaf scars), and plant in fresh slightly moist soil and then don't disturb for at least a week. The leafy part with some roots will take off, and the bare stem will grow new leaves. In nature, the plants are designed to root when they break and fall to the soil.
     

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