On another note, the new leaves are open and growing but they are curling backwards (towards the bottom of the leaf). Any reason why this might be happening?
As for taxonomy...some of our members are mavens on this subject, and qualified to answer your q. as to the exact classification of your plant. Ficus elastica 'Doescheri'..F. elastica 'Variegata'...? Or something else? To complicate matters further, I daresay that there are other multicolored cultivars out there, too. Me, I say 'variegated Ficus elastica'. As for curling leaves---how about a photo of this phenomenon? Are the leaves turning yellow or brown? Crispy? Mushy and/or puny? ---Suggest a run-through of The Usual Suspects: light; temperature; moisture; bugs. First 3---too much/too little? Check for bugs: they can be insidious and multiply rapidly.
Thanks for the reply togata. I'll get pics up tonight of the leaves. The leaves look healthy aside from the curling. The color is good, they are solid and all. No browning on those leaves at all. There are a couple leaves all the way at the bottom of the plant that are browning. One completely browned out yesterday and another has a brown spot about 1inch in diameter on another low leaf. The plant is 4.5 feet from a Southeast facing window. I'm watering once a week since its a new plant (only had it about 3 weeks now). No bugs, I had a little run in with spidermites (on other plants) but I got rid of them. I mist the plant every other day to keep the humidity up. I'll get those pics up for sure tonight. In the meanwhile if anything is wrong with the above info, please let me know.
Probably should be 1ft from a S.E. window in Brooklyn. After-all they grow outdoors in full Florida sun from dawn to dusk. http://gislab.fiu.edu/treesofMiami/trees/sp_pages/Ficus_elastica.html http://toptropicals.com/pics/garden/05/23/3681.jpg
Pics as promised... This leaf has the brown spot... Notice in the next two photos how the newest leaf is curled akwardly...
http://mrec.ifas.ufl.edu/foliage/folnotes/ficus.htm I suspect moisture stress, either too much or too little. Does that ceramic container drain into a saucer? If not it could lead to root rot.
The container does drain into the saucer below. I added rocks to the bottom of the pot before adding soil to help with drainage as it gets clogged from time to time without the rocks there. Could I be misting to often? Is once a day to frequest for the plant? And is moisture stress the cause of the brown spots and the curled leaves? Thanks for your reply salt!
Misting should be fine as long as fluoride isn't building up in the leaves or soil. It's a common cause of marginal scorching of leaves. If the plant is going from bone dry to sopping wet it may get leaf drop and curling. Try for just damp at the depth of your first knuckle. Might let it sit in the rain from time to time to let the fertilizer or other salts flush out of the soil and off of the leaves. Add a dab of bone meal or other Calcium source too since you've got acid soil, rain and tap water.
Got it. I haven't fertilized the plant yet, since it's still new and I wouldn't say its actively growing. I can put it out in the rain next time we get a shower here. I'll water when the soil is damp down to my first knuckle. Will the leaves eventually uncurl?
Update: The plant is losing leaves from the bottom up rather rapidly. They are turning completely brown and have this white/silverish substance and bumps on the leaves. There are more leaves taht have small brown spots on them, but I'm sure they are heading downhill as well. What can I do the reverse/stop what is happening? The plant is still at the location 4 feet from the SE facing window, watering once a week when it's dry down to my first knuckle. No pests on the plant.
Could you give us a photo of the bumps and/or the white-silverish substance? Did you buy the plant from an outdoor location, and does its new home have air-conditioning?
The plant was bought at Lowes from their indoor selections. They had been sitting in the store for a while, first listed at $6 then at $3 when i bought mine. The room the plant is in does not have air conditioning, nor does it ever receive cooler air. The SE facing window in this room is open 24/7 unless its raining, which is very infrequent as of late. It receives direct sunlight for about 2-3 hours midday and the room remains very bright for the rest of the day. Also after taking the picture below I'm noticing there is some kind of brown sap coming from the leaves. Thanks for all the help! Pictures below:
Well, first let's see what other members think...before you treat anything, it's gotta be correctly diagnosed. ---Opinions, please! http://house-plants.biz/page/Key_Diseases_pot_plants This site is, apparently, translated from a language other than English, but does offer some suggestions treatment-wise.
Thanks for the link togata. Today another 2 leaves fell off the plant. I read that you should remove the infected leaves, there are about 3-4 more that have brown spots, should I just take them off and dump it? Also if for some reason ALL of the leaves fall off, will the plant be able to survive?
