Question
I have a wonderful Ming Aralia, which was, until about a week or so ago, quite healthy. I admit that I can become over-attentive to my house plants at times, and given it's past vigor, I thought no harm would come from an extra watering (to flush out salts/deposits before fertilizing). To my dismay, the leaf stems on almost the entire tree were drooping by the next morning.

   I know Mings don't like 'wet feet' so I decided to let it dry out some and see if it would clear up. I used a copper soap fungicide (Concern brand) on the lower trunk letting it seep into the soil and into the roots, as well as the leaves and stems. I made sure that a lot of it seeped into and immediately surrounding the root-ball, which, after days seemed to have no effect, at least none which I could note.

   As the plant worsened, I decided to remove it from the soil it was in and re-pot it in better-draining, sterile soil. After a few days, and with the plant looking worse, (almost all leaves deteriorating rapidly), I took an emergency step and re-potted in a high peat content, well -draining, 'seed-starter' soil. I gently removed the damp roots, and found the soil around them heavy and caked-on, really saturated but not 'muck' like swamp mud or something.

Answer
Micah, you have really answered your own question. Over-caring for house plants is the number one reason they do poorly. In your case, the problems were caused by overwatering, resulting in the root system literally suffocating from the drenched soil. When this occurs, the plant cannot take in nutrients nor oxygen, and will eventually perish.

I only water house plants once every 10 days or when the soil completely dries out. It may be necessary to water more in the winter due to the dry heat and lack of humidity. This is all that is needed if you are using a fertile potting soil that holds moisture. Just be sure to water deeply to the point the water begins to flow from the drainage hole.

At this point, do not add any more fungicides or insectides. It will only further stress the plant. Leave it to dry out, and hope for the best. I certainly hope it recovers.

Regards,

Mike