Plants losing bottom leaves

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Dragonflys4me (Chris), IA(Zone 5a) Dec 28, 2014

Good morning - my son has poinsettia plants in the house that keep losing their bottom leaves. Is that normal? If not, what can he do to prevent that from happening? Also, some of his outside plants are doing the same thing. He has a watering system, so the water is the same as what's in the house (which he uses on the poinsettia), which makes me think that water might be the problem. Could chemicals be the culprit and if so, what should he be looking at in the water for his leaf problem?

Thanks!

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sallyg Anne Arundel,, MD(Zone 7b) Dec 29, 2014

It's more likely the amount of water than the chemicals, to cause leaf drop.
Or something else entirely.
I don't think the outside and inside plants are reacting to the same thing, but just coincidentally doing it at the same time.

Poinsettia plants have had a stressful life getting to you so its not surprising to me they can lose leaves. But watch out for keeping them too wet, or for letting the soil dry completely so that it doesn't absorb water when it IS next watered.

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Cville_Gardener Clarksville, TN(Zone 7a) Dec 30, 2014

If he has a water softening system or your city water contains an excessive amount of chemicals (sometimes due to groundwater runoff, that could definitely be the problem. But otherwise, I agree with sallyg.

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tapla Bay City, MI(Zone 6a) Jan 01, 2015

Plants are reactive organisms, and as such, anything they do is normal. They shed foliage as a drought response, and that response can be brought on by a high level of salts in the soil, under-watering, or over-watering. They also shed foliage when the light level or duration of light exposure is reduced - such as what might occur between the greenhouse and your home. Natural senescence can also cause shedding of older leaves, as can deficiencies of the nutrients more mobile in tissues (N, P, K, and Mg, but mostly N). Finally, insect predation can cause shedding of older leaves.

Often, figuring out what IS the problem is preceded by eliminating those possibilities that AREN'T the problem. The most likely suspects would be reduced photo load and over-watering.

Al

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Dragonflys4me (Chris), IA(Zone 5a) Jan 07, 2015

Thanks, everyone, for the input. I'll tell my son all your ideas 😊

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