Sick Pachira Aquatica

Hello!

My Pachira Aquatica is very sick. It constantly loses its leaves. They go yellow and orange.Can anyone help? I really love it. I don't want to lose it.

Judging by that leaf, it's possible that you have spider mites. When they've been chewing on a plant, you tend to get a stippled yellow pattern on the leaves and it looks like you may have that. If you look at the underside of the leaves, you may see little tiny reddish brown dots, if you see those then you definitely have spider mites (they're very tiny--I have good eyes so I can see them, but if your eyes aren't that great you may need a magnifying glass). If you think it's mites, the first thing I would do is put the plant in the sink or shower and as best as you can wash off all the leaves (focus on the undersides, that's where the mites live). Then find an insecticide that says it works on spider mites and spray that on the undersides of the leaves to take care of any that the shower may have missed. You'll probably need to repeat this treatment again in a few days to make sure you really got everything, and then be really vigilant to make sure they don't come back. Spider mites don't like humidity so if you can set up a humidifier or something in that area that will help keep them from coming back.

Yes i do have brown spots on the back of the leaf. Thank you very much for your help

Hi,

I also have a sick pachria. It was doing fine for a year and a half and then we moved and it started to get brown spots on the leaves that then slowly dryed and fell off. Also the new leaves were already brown or dry when they were still little. I checked the roots and they looked fine. I used some spray against pests but it didn't help either. Now there are many new leaves but I am afraid that they will soon get brown and dry. The plant is next to the window, but not directly exposed to the sun, I don't water it too much and the pot is big enough. I really don't know what else to do. I am attaching a picture. I would be very grateful for any advice.

Thanks!

Grusa - I don't know what you sprayed with, but it's possible that either the vehicle or the insecticide was phytotoxic.

Going by both appearances AND the odds, I'd guess your plant is being over-watered or a high level of soluble salts has accumulated in the soil. The pot does have a drain hole, right? It's common if not usual for these issues to be associated with an overly water-retentive soil and possible excessive fertilizing, but it can occur even if you aren't fertilizing at all.

Al

I have to change the soil out for the things I have potted, usually every year but at least every two years. I use MG and it leaves salt deposits.

Hi there

I have a similar problem with my pachira, altough i have yet to find a solution. I also suffer from the yellowin-brownin-falling leaves, and i've been searching the web for answers. I had many, some of them contraditory, so i am kind of lost. First i thought it was lack of water. I used to water it every 15 days, because the vendor told me it required little water. Then they told me it requires more water than that, so i watered a little more, and even bought a humidity sensor rod (those you stick in the dirt) in order to check how much water was around the plant. Found out it was not lack of water so, i started to be careful about my watering - not too much, not too little. Then searching again in the web, they told me it could be too much sun - or too little. The vendor told me the plant was supposed to be in half-shade, and it is - near a big window but without too much direct sunlight. Then i thought i had to change the vase, because it was little, so i thought the roots couldn't support the plant anylonger, so i changed the vase to a bigger one. Then i found this site and i read about the mites - found none. Another evidence as you can see in the photos is the little drops of gooey substance you see under the leaves - i still don't know if it's normal or is it a sign of something. So here i am not knowing what to do next. My pachira keeps degrading day by day, but still sprouting new leaves despite the ones falling. Any help is welcome.

Thank you all

Jorge

The clear drops of liquid are due to guttation, which is most often the result of a wet soil, high humidity, and low light. If you are sure there are no pests, that is to say you've inspected carefully for mites and scale especially, then you need to look to things cultural. Your soil should allow you to water thoroughly at every watering, so at least 10-20% of the total volume of water applied exits the drain hole (it does have a drain hole?). If you provide a soil like that & fertilize regularly, the odds favor the bet that your problems will soon go away. A very high % of the problems most growers are forced to deal with occur because of an inappropriately moisture-retentive soil. The sticky thread at the top of this forum gives a good overview of what it takes to keep most plant material happy. You might give it a perusal.

Al

This message was edited Jun 10, 2013 3:48 PM