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Bottom leaves yellowing and dropping

10 years ago

Hi, I bought a large desert rose locally, it was crammed in plastic pot with very little soil . I repotted and now leaves are turning yellow and dropping. Is this too much water? Not enough? Or transplant shock? TIA

Comments (12)

  • 10 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    Is the yellowing confined to just some of the lower leaves? How extensive is the problem?

    If there is no sign of disease, and if it's just a few of the bottom leaves, it's likely it got too dry and hot in the small plastic pot. If it looks otherwise healthy and is budding or flowering, just give it plenty of water - but don't drown it - and it should rebound.

    If leaves throughout the plant are yellowing, it could be a sign of overwatering.

  • 10 years ago

    Thank you!

    I'm it's sporadic so far but seems to be increasing. I will decrease watering. Thanks

  • 10 years ago

    That looks to me like a symptom of overwatering. Remember, adeniums are succulents and can tolerate drought quite well.

  • 10 years ago

    Thank you for the interest. The soil is SunGro Black Gold succulent mix I get from Amazon, it's very gritty.

    you are correct, the planter is shaped like a frog with a lot of soil under head and body. This may not be the best pot for my desert rose. The caudex just fits and I also considered how'd I'd get it out but I was hoping it would have slow enough growth that I would watch and remove in time.

    I just bought about 2 weeks ago and have watered about 3 times since repotted. There is a large drainage hole and I soak when watering

    . The temps here in north Al are steady around 90 degrees during day and mid sixties at night. It is on east side of house, gets direct sun until about 1 pm

  • 10 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    Hello again, I'm not familiar with that mix, maybe not available here in the UK, does the wat drain out instantly you water? It should really need to. If you place a portion on your hand that's moist, does it hold together or does the amount of grit make it just crumble apart? Just a few pointers as to its structure. Just my personal take on things, but, I just hope that container is ok for your plant, I personally would swap it for a half pot/shallow pot/bowl that a lot of us consider best for larger DR plants like yours. It would suit one very well and not get fastened in. The underground caudex can grow surprisingly fast, you will have no clue as to which part is growing where, so it may well end up getting stuck in the frog! Also there is not a lot of spare room surrounding the visible caudex, I predict it will fill the circumference of the hole easily during next season if not this year, then you really will be forced to repot. Be careful with the watering, three times soaking in two weeks 'sounds' a lot to me, where do you live? Can you add your zone/state/or country after your name to give us a clue as to the temps please?

    Gill UK

  • 10 years ago

    Gill is right. I'm actually more afraid for your frog. Adeniums grow fast when it is warm and have been known for breaking pots as they do so.

    As for the yellowing leaves, it happens when adeniums are repotted. Old leaves also die out normally that way.

    Have fun!

    Pagan

  • 10 years ago

    Thank you all, I am repotting. Now to figure out what I can plant in my frog!

  • 10 years ago

    Can we get a pic of the roots? They can be interesting. Raise or not to raise

  • 10 years ago

    Sure, repotting tomorrow. I will post pic of roots

  • 10 years ago

    Good luck! I wouldn't worry much, black rot is about the only thing that will outright kill an adenium

  • 10 years ago

    That's good to know!