Is my dieffenbachia a lost cause?

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FutureC Bellingham, WA Jan 14, 2012

Greetings from the Pacific Northwest! About 3 years ago, I bought a dieffenbachia of about 3 feet in height. It was luscious and full and thrived for a while. (I have about 20 houseplants and, while I am no expert, do well enough that they are healthy and happy) I kept it moist but not wet, fertilized with Alaska Fish Fertilizer every couple of months, and had it in a spot of filtered sunlight. About a year ago,the leaves began to brown, curl and drop like flies, until it was just a collection of stumps. Which is what it still looks like to this day, averaging around 6 inches in height. After all this time, I would have given up hope on this thing, except that each stump keeps pushing out a new growth here and there, grows a leaf half heatedly, and then drops that one too. I can't see any rot or mold, nor does it smell like such. What do I do with this thing? Can I bring it back to it's original glory, or is it a lost cause?

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Bloomfly22 Palmdale, CA(Zone 8a) Jan 14, 2012

From the research I did, possible causes for the problem could be from over watering (dieffenbachia like to dry out a bit between waterings), over fertilizing, possible infestation, disease, salt and other minerals building up, or even to much light. Dieffenbachia are "parlor plants" that like low light situations. Hopefully, one of these is the cause. I will continue to research for you!

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Jan 14, 2012

I agree with Bloomfly, I think it's likely something on that list. The first two things I would look into are overwatering (probably the #1 killer of houseplants) and salt buildup in the soil. Gradual compaction & loss of structure in your potting mix over time could have made it drain worse now than it did when you first got the plant, causing an amount of water that used to be OK now be too much for it. Add on top of that buildup of salts in the soil over time from the fertilizer, minerals in your water, etc and it could be the combination of those two things that's caused problems. I would consider repotting it in some fresh potting mix and watch the watering. Even if it hasn't outgrown the pot it's in, just putting it in some fresh mix can help. And if it's gotten potbound, take the opportunity to move it up to a slightly larger pot while you're at it.

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Bloomfly22 Palmdale, CA(Zone 8a) Jan 14, 2012

I went on to eHow.com and they say that you only fertilize in early spring and in the summer. As for watering issues, they say only to water when the soil is dry to 1 inch deep.

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Willowwind2 Union, WA(Zone 8b) Jan 15, 2012

I would wash off all the current soil and re-pot in fresh soil. Wait and see if the new growth wll live. I wouldn't use fish fertilizer on indoor plants.

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