Well, my best friend’s Lucky Bamboo has found a new home, and you’ll never guess who with…ok, well, you might be able to guess. You’re right, it’s me! As of this afternoon, I am now the proud owner of some miniature Bamboo, and hopefully all the glorious Feng Shui benefits that come with it!

Having been the property of a well meaning but black-thumbed individual, the plant was on a one way track to the trash can without someone to run an interception. The little Bamboo had become extremely root-bound in its previous container, and was fairly covered in limp leaves that had black mold spots on it. You would think that as a garden loving person my heart would have immediately bled for the miniature plant, but like all good Americans I didn’t really care about the plant until I was swayed by marketing campaign that convinced me that I too desperately needed some Bamboo in my life!

I was on an unrelated mission at the local Lowes Home Improvement store, when I noticed the display they had of Lucky Bamboo, and realized that I was slightly envious of her and her “little Bamboo that could.” I texted her to see if she would mind if I adopted the plant as an alternative to trashing it, and recieved the big OK from her to proceed. I immediately checked out the underwhelming selection of garden planters for small plants, but left the store emptyhanded. I decided to do a quick breeze through of a Ross department store two doors down, in case they had any quirky containers on the cheap, and found this cute green teapot that I thought would look charming as a planter! Having a slightly “Bamboo-meets-spa” type of bathroom already set up in my full bath at home, I couldn’t resist combining the two elements together to create a tranquil planter to rest on the top of my toilet. Not really knowing much about feng shui, I’m hoping that planting Bamboo in a bathroom isn’t some major faux paux! While I’m not really sure exactly what luck I would expect to find behind a bathroom door, I’ve decided that years of extreme “regularity” would be ok with me since the teapot doesn’t really go with any other room’s decor.

For some reason plants rescued or given as gifts often mean more to me over time than those I have bought for myself, and I’m already pulling for this little plant to thrive in it’s newer, and roomier container. I had to trim off a lot of foliage before I planted it, but with the potting soil and the coffee grounds I mixed in with it, the plant has a great shot of rebounding quickly with moisture and nutrients all around it. With a little TLC, I’m sure I’ll have this Lucky Bamboo around for a long time, and each time I look at it I’ll be able to remember my friendship with the Bamboo’s previous owner - something far more concrete and valuable than feng shui any day!

Your Thoughts: Are you the green-thumbed friend in your group, or are you cursed with a black thumb? Have you ever adopted a friend’s plants, or needed your friends to rescue one of yours?

Unfortunately even our home or office plants can become prone to diseases, no matter how great a life we try and provide for them.  Often a disease can be an indicator of another problem altogether in a plant.

This mold spot developed on the leaves of a friends Lucky Bamboo, after weeks of yellowing leaves on the previously healthy plant. My friend was at a loss as to what to do with it, and set the bamboo outside on her patio for the last months of the summer in the hopes that the yellowing leaves on the plant were due to a curable lack of sunlight.  Unfortunately, the yellowing leaves quickly gave bloom to black mold spots, a condition that seemed peculiar in the plants dry location. Not knowing what was wrong with her Lucky Bamboo, or if it was salvageble, she was prepared to throw the plant out and start over fresh, so I looked the plant over from top to bottom to find the problem.

Mold spores are one of many living organisms that are always present in the air, and that thrive in outdoor gardens, regardless of whether you ever see any signs of them on other plants.  They are also a opportunistic, and will take advantage of a plant that is suffering under other issues, as was the case with this particular plant. Here is one of the problems, many Lucky Bamboo plants are advertised as being a no-maintenance home or office plant, capable of living in a small container with no food source needed other than tap water.  Over time however, many of these plants begin to develop yellowing leaves, and mold spots like this, due to a lack of several things. Lucky Bamboo, like all plants needs water, and a reliable source of nutrients.  Mere tap water cannot meet their needs over time, and the plant actually need a reliable source of nutrition, whether they live in a glass of water, and recieve bi-monthly liquid fertilizers, or they are potted, and a give granular, or time release fertilizer.  The second problem with this plant was that after several years, this plant had outgrown its pot, and was what is known as “pot bound.”  A pot bound plant has a root system that has outgrown it’s container.  The roots of this Bamboo plant continued to grow naturally, as the plant seeks out more water and nutrients to feed the stems and leaves of the plant, but in a small container, the root system wraps around itself repeatedly with no where to go, and can kill itself if left alone.

In this case, the root bound plant was under stress in these cramped quarters, and responded by displaying limp and light yellow leaves.  When a plant is unable to take care of all of it’s foliage, it often begins to slowly shut down, letting leaves die, and fall off.  The yellowing leaves, and the weakened plant are then susceptible to other diseases, which in this case led to the plants current issue with black mold spots.

What To Look For In Cases Of Black Mold Spots In Home And Office Plants:

• Over watered plants and wet soil
• Poor drainage in the potting container
• Overcrowded plant life
• Pot-bound root systems
• Poor fertilization, or a lack of fertilization
• A home or office environment prone to high humidity and warm temperatures

What To Do With Plants Displaying Moldy Leaves:

• Trim off any branches that are infected, and discard.

Almost any plant can be saved from mold if you catch the problem before most of the foliage is gone, discover the source of the problem, and find a remedy.  In the case of a root bound pot, the root system will be loosened and trimmed, and the plant will be repotted in a larger container with fertilizer.  The moldy foliage will be trimmed off, and the plant will rebound over a few months, and send out new growth.

Can plants get sunburn? The answer is yes! Most plants are not susceptible to sun damage, but many common home and office plants can suffer from sunburn because they are specifically suited to shadier locations – a leading reason they have earned a place in artificially lit environments.

Pictured here are a few leaves on a Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema modestum) plant, that was accidentally left outdoors on a sunny ledge during an office cleaning spree. The plant was brought back indoors two days after it was set outside, and was already showing signs of burn damage.

How can you tell if leaf damage is sun related?

1. The most immediate symptom displayed by a sun damaged plant is muted leaf color, and an overall greyish tone to the previously green plant.
2. There will be an obvious difference in color between the leaves exposed to more light on the top of the plant, and the leaves deeper into the interior of the plant, which have been kept shaded. Yellowing will occur in the leaves that follows straight lines, such as above, denoting the areas of the plant that have been shaded by overlapping leaves. Unlike fertilizer burn, and plants suffering from a lack of water, which display irregular yellowing patterns (developing at the tips of the leaves), this yellowing does not turn into brown leaves that curl, or dry up.
3. Burned leaves remain on the plant looking off color, or yellowed slightly, without falling off. Often the color of the burned area will soften to a transparent hue, where you will be able to see through the leaf, or the leaf will develop irregular bumps on the yellowing area that will look much like a reaction to sun-poisoning in people.

What to do with sun-damaged plants:

1. Place the plant in an area away from direct sunlight, drafts, and excessive heat.
2. Water the plant to keep the soil moist, but not wet.
3. Monitor the amount of leaves damaged by the sun, and remove burned leaves by pruning back.  I generally prune off the leaves in groups over a gradual period of time (several days to weeks), to give a plant that may have a serious case of sunburn a chance to send out new leaves to take over the photosynthesizing, since a badly damaged plant may need most of it’s leaves eventually trimmed off. Trimming all the damaged leaves at once could place the plant into additional shock.

Remember, any shade loving plant can suffer from sunburn, it’s what you do with the plant afterward that will assure the plant’s full recovery.  Err on the side of caution with office plants, when exposing them to direct sunlight, and you may be able to prevent problems like this from ever occurring with your green office companions.

Your thoughts: Have you had plants with sun damage? What tips and tricks have you tried to bring them back to health? Please share any ideas you have with everyone!

I was recently delivered a spindly, wilting office Ficus Tree from a sheepish co-worker, who was hoping for a miracle. The tree was dropping all of its leaves, and the only ones remaining were pale yellow-green, and browning on the tips. I agreed to take the tree for a time to see what I could do for it, and took it outside to check it over.

Here are basic tips for diagnosing office plants:

1. Check the plant’s root system for symptoms of being “pot bound.” This is a big problem for office plants who may begin to “blend in with the wallpaper” after a year or two, and who don’t get the basic care that garden plants do. Make sure a plant isn’t strangling itself with its own root system.
2. Look for bug activity in the soil and under the leaves. See if anything is sucking the life out of the tree, or the leaves causing the yellowing and browning.
3. Ask if the plant has been fertilized within the past 6 months. Over-fertilizing, and under-fertilizing can both be a problem.
4. Note whether the plant looks like it has been trimmed, or pruned to encourage new growth.
5. Ask if the plant is near a regular light source of any kind.

The first week I observed the plant, it dropped almost every leaf that it had, and was dubbed “The Charlie Brown Christmas Ficus” in our office. In the case of this Ornamental Ficus Tree, the first problem was that the plant had never been pruned (since purchase), and had sent out too many branches that had not been trimmed back. As a result the tree had “diversified its assets” in a way that the small container of soil couldn’t help it maintain. After pruning all the dead, wilting, and dwindling growth, I left a few main stems that showed strong signs of life, and tackled the second problem by fertilizing the anemic plant with a product containing “minors.” Very light leaf color, followed by major leaf loss on what used to be a healthy plant, are often connected with malnutrition in a plant. The plant has been going strong now for about three weeks, with a healthy amount of leaf growth, and dark green foliage (a good sign of health!), and will be delivered back to it’s office sometime next week - unless I fake its death, and keep it for myself!

Tip: The best fertilizer for any plant is one that contains trace amounts of the “minor metals” that may have been used up in the soil by plants over time. The quickest way to recover “exhausted” soil is by applying this type of fertilizer. Look for the phrase “With Minors” on the front label of any fertilizer.

Don’t forget to take care of your office plants with once or twice a year fertilization. And for the green-thumbs out there, keeping a tiny bag of fertilizer in a common area drawer is a great idea! One way to meet new people, or network around the office, is to help people with their plants!

Your thoughts: What success stories have you had nursing wilting plants back to life? Do you have any favorite indoor/office plants?