AboutDarlene K. Kittle Expertise I have been a Master Gardener for 20 years and I raise around 300 houseplants a year including tropicals, succulents, and cacti.
Experience She is also studying the Japanese art of bonsai with tropical plants and is President of the Fort Wayne, IN Bonsai Club.
Education/Credentials I am not a hortculturist. I am a Purdue University Master Gardener for over 20 years. I have studied plants on a personal level by growing hundreds of plants annually for the last 35 years. I have also studied under several nationally known American Bonsai experts.
Question I had a plant (palm tree like)for the past 8 months and it had not been watered for over the past year or so it was dieing... I brought it home and brought it back to life it was doing absolutely marvelous until I brought this other plant (umbrella tree) home, with the same issue. The umbrella tree started showing these brown spots popping out all of the palnt and now the palm tree is doing the same thing. Please help me my babies are dying. Thanks
Answer Keisha,
Both of your plants must be in pots with holes in the bottom for drainage. An hour after you water them you need to empty any excess water out of the drain tray so they are not sitting in a tray full of excess water. Excess water will cause the roots to rot. After you water they need to dry out well so the top 2 inches of soil is totally dry before you water again. If they are kept too wet again the roots will rot and cause the leaf spots that you describe. These spots can also be caused by fungal infections that can be caused by high humidity and wet soil. To stop the possibility of any fungal infections you can spray the pllants lightly with Lysol spray making sure that you spray the fronts and backs of all leaves. Repeat spraying every 5 days for 4 times and it should stop any fungal infections that may be developing.
Keep the plant a bit dryer but not dry for months and you will prevent problems. If you have more questions feel free to write again. Good luck.
