Question
Can it be saved?  The leaves of the top ball have been dying steadily over the past 3-4 weeks.  I bought the plant from a chain supermarket 6/22/2012.  It was doing well until the 2nd week of August when I did not water it for around 5 days.    I now realize that I should be able to tell you the (specie) of the plant.  Unfortunately I threw the little tag on the plant out after noting only that it's name was Eugenia.  I transplanted it hoping that would help but it continues to drop leaves, mostly from the top ball which is about bear now. HELP!!

Answer
Hi Veronica,

Eugenia myrtifolia topiary is the correct botanical name so you have provided good information.

This is a beautiful but challenging plant. It requires a location right in front of a sunny window so that it gets direct sunlight for most of the day. The soil should be watered as soon as the surface feels dry. It is not at all forgiving of either over or under watering. Either inadequate light or improper watering can cause the symptoms you described.

Like many folks, you thought that transplanting would help. It almost never does with any plant species and is the most common cause of plant failure. Repotting disturbs fragile roots and adds soil that usually does not have the right consistency and may include plant pests. In addition, added soil usually retains water for too long and leads to inadvertent over watering and root rot, which is usually fatal.

If you transplanted into a larger pot and left the original rootball intact, then you should be able to un-do the repotting and get it back into its original pot. Then, you can move it to a sunny location and water as I described above. If you removed a lot of the original rootball, then your plant is probably permanently damaged and unlikely to recover.

I'm sorry about this not very good news. I only wish you had sought my help before you decided to repot or maybe even before you purchased this challenging plant. It is not one I recommend to anyone who does not have a good location for it and has not had considerable experience with indoor plants.

I have written an article on repotting that I will email for free to you (or anyone else) who emails a request to me at [email protected].

Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions.

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Regards,
Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC

Visit my website at: A link to HorticulturalHelp.com