The Master Gardener Articles

---

Houseplants

During the winter months our Horticultural skills turn inward. We often become more interested in our indoor plants and can only dream of spring challenges (the lawn, garden, pruning and more).  All to often our tender loving care gets us into trouble. Most of the problems we experience with our indoor plants are not due to infectious diseases (fungi & bacteria) or insects but an imbalance in the environment caused by poor maintenance practices. Stressed plants are more susceptible to insect and disease attack with stress being the secondary cause of plant decline.

When you first purchase a houseplant it should be disease and insect free. Inspect the plant closely. The leaves should be free of any blemishes, webbing, or insects. The color of the leaves should be uniform from the top to the bottom of the plant. Make a mental note or take some pictures to remind you of the appearance of a quality plant. A weekly inspection is recommended to prevent an infestation getting out of control. Some of the typical symptoms you might experience are brown or scorched leaf tips, leaf spots, blotches, blemishes, blisters, scabby spots, older leaves yellow, newer leaves yellow, leaf drop, wilting or drooping foliage, brown roots, soft or rotted roots, yellow leaves with tiny speckling, webbing, leaves covered with sticky substance, dark mold growing on leaves, distorted leaves, leaf drop and more. Many of the symptoms are not specific and may be caused by a number of imbalanced environmental factors. Some of the possible causes for these symptoms are over watering, excessive soil dryness, excessive fertilizer, low humidity, intense light (sunburn), chilling injury, insufficient fertilizer, pot bound, poor drainage, acidic soil, poor potting medium, low light intensity, sudden change in light, temperature or relative humidity, spider mite or mealy bug infestation and more. For more information on maintaining indoor foliage plants and diagnosing indoor plant problems go to http://www.ohioline.osu.edu and search for HYG-3068-96 and HYG-1227-96 or call the Extension Office at 644.8117 or 1.800.589.8584.