- PROBLEMS, SYMPTOMS,
- & POSSIBLE REMEDIES
DISCLAIMER: It is impossible for a doctor to prescribe cures for a problem without examining the patient! If it is an emergency, a doctor needs to at least be given all facts accurately and be able to talk with a person able to give clear correct information.
I've come to accept that people interpret directions in their own irrational way! We try to write the cultural information sent with each plant as clearly as possible. But every so often I'm told that a plant is dying and when I ask how the plant is being watered, I'm told: "BUT I NEVER ALLOW THE PLANT TO DRY OUT AND IT'S ALWAYS SITTING IN AT LEAST 1" OF WATER!"
Sometimes when it's obvious that a person is not following our directions, I'm told that so-and-so told them to do it that way. SO WHY IS THAT PERSON COMPLAINING TO ME! AHH . . . the joy of dealing with idiots! The great majority of these people are not my customers. They purchase from others, aren't getting the needed help, and somehow since they found our website, believe that I should drop everything to help them. This is the most difficult type of problems to solve so here's the path that I use:
1. POSITIVELY IDENTIFY THE PLANT VARIETY! Each plant has different requirements regarding temperature range, water and moisture, light, fertilizer, etc. If you don't know what kind of plant you have, send me a photo. If you're not a customer of record, mail it and don't send me an email attachment. We've been hit with so many computer viruses that most email attachments are trashed.
2. TRY TO IDENTIFY WHEN PROBLEMS STARTED AND WHAT YOU DID THE MONTH OR TWO BEFORE THE PROBLEM STARTED. Plants don't die quickly. Most problems start a month or two before anything is noticed. We generally get request for cold damage assistance in February or March. That about the same time that we get over-fertilizing problems as people recognize that their plants are not growing during winter so they fertilize heavily. They don't realize that low temperatures and weaker sunlight slow growth!
3. SOME PROBLEMS SEEM TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFERENT KINDS OF PEOPLE. Men tend to forget to water and their plants dry up. Notice that the trunk is really hard and shrivelled forming deep vertical creases as the plant dried out. I recommend Brassaia for men who have this tendency. It will still die if it's grossly under-watered, but it will hang on longer. Ladies tend to nurture, pamper, and fuss with plants and this often translate into over-watering Brassaia. For them I recommend Dwarf Schefflera. Some offices and homes are very dark with no windows and very high ceilings with "romantic" light levels. Plants generally don't grow well in caves or these areas and I recommend Dracaena, our low-light champs. If the caves are really dark and you need additional light to read, I recommend having three Dracaenas and rotating them so only one is in the really dark area for a week or so. For the person with a reputation for killing almost everything, I recommend trying Pachira before giving up.
A PLANT CULTURAL PHILOSOPHY
The late Dr. Horace Clay was Hawaii's favorite radio horticultural personality who had a loyal following. He took groups throughtout the Pacific on plant tours, especially to Japan where he loved the people and customs. He was the president of the Hawaii Bonsai Association, a good friend, and a founding director of Fuku-Bonsai Inc. in 1985. Horace tried to teach us that there really are no secrets and once you find something that works, stay with it!
The amount of improvement that you can get by nit-piking the details usually isn't worth the effort. Learn solid basics well and you really don't need all these "miracle costly plant items!" If your plant is happy, smile and move on. If it's not, figure out what's wrong, fix it, smile and move on. Horace enjoyed life and people and after you've been around him awhile, you'd know the answers to his radio show questions.
He'd listen very carefully to each person calling in to ask a question and sometimes he'd ask a follow-up question to get a better handle of the situation. It got to a point that no matter what the details, if the subject was fertilizer, Horace's recommendation was alwas use 10-30-10! These were for vegetables, lawns, fruit trees, orchids, and bonsai! He taught Hawaiian gardeners to use the fertilizers properly, to be sure to water it in. Each caller got personal attention and the same advice! In those days, I'd get a little irritated hearing the same questions. But Horace was a very gracious person who reminded us that although we've heard the same questions thousands of times, it's the first time for the person who asked the question!
I try to remind myself of this whenever I'm answering emails requesting help! But I don't always have Horace's patience so I usually ask people to send me the information that would go on the REQUEST FOR INFORMATION FORM. Without that a minimal email doesn't even tell me from where the question is coming.
But I really enjoy email exchanges, especially with bright and interesting people like Loredana and Angela who are developing pages on this website. They enjoy learning and are willing to share their experiences to help others. I don't have the time to run a moderated chat group and would go crazy if I encouraged and had to answer the same questions every day! So I'm letting everyone who reads this on my secret. If you read the key stuff, you'll pretty much know the problem and the solution and so most of the emails are now more fun.
Those who haven't done their homework and send questions are asked to send the information on the REQUEST FOR INFORMATION FORM and a number who start describing the situation sometimes figure it out themselves and write to tell me how the solved their problem! That's great and I hope that throughout this series that I've given you the tools to figure it out. If not, please contact me and I'll try to help. Like the late Dr. Horace Clay, I can share the basics and the simple things that work. Here's one you should consider as it has a lot of applications.
"HIGH HUMIDITY CHAMBERS"
This recomendation came up as:
1. "FIRST AID PROCEDURES FOR HEAT OR COLD DAMAGED PLANTS."
2. "Helping a plant acclimate."
3. "Reducing load on root-damaged plants that have been under watered."
4. "Emergency first aid for over-fertilized plants whose roots are dying."
If you don't know, try this first and contact me as soon as possible! I believe this works because it provides a very stable environment. Keep it in a warm area with bright indirect light. But besides first aid, this technique is great for rooting cuttings. See Loredana's page.
A VACATION HINT: Here's an alternative to depending upon the neighbor's kid to keep your plants alive. Build a giant high-humidity chamber in your bathroom. Seal the drain. Tape clear plastic film over the bathtub or shower stall. Leave an opening to load your plants. Place them on over-turned food storage plastic containers to keep them above water. Close it up air-tight with tape, leave the lights on, and go off for a month! It's works, but I still haven't received photos to share with readers!
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This series of articles will attempt to explain the various factors affecting plants. This will continually be amended to include recommendations or suggestions of how to improve your environment to get the best possible growth. Continue to: