Question
zebrina (wandering jew
I have a Wandering Jew that I rescued from my Mom a few years ago. About a year and a half ago I replanted it from cuttings in a hanging basket. It gets water about once a week, and it gets bright indirect light from the east, some direct morning sun during the summer. It has a few problems - ones I haven't seen during the last couple of years- which seem to have started during the early part of the winter. I'm now wondering whether the plant is salvageable, and whether any of the problems pose a threat to my other plants.
The issue that has me most worried are brown spots that appear on the leaves. They seem to be most concentrated toward the tips of the leaves. They are visible on the top and bottom of the leaf and nothing comes off of them when I rub them. Some of them appear very faint, while others are large and darker. The lighter spots have an almost crystalline reflectivity, but that might just be a result of the leaf's natural shine. I'm wondering if this is a fungus, maybe tan spot or rust?
Possibly related, I've noticed that some of the leaves have wilted about half way from the tip of the leaf. I've seen the leaves die back from not watering, and they usually turn light brown and the entire leaf dies. This is different - the leaf is closer to black, and the wilt sometimes occurs even on very young leaves. It occurs sometimes on a single leaf, sometimes on multiple leaves on the same stem.
A third issue, which might be a separate pest issue or related to the wilt, is that some of the leaves seem to emerge almost as if they have been shredded. Again, I've seen transparent circles that I would guess have been a result of aphids, but this is a different order of destruction. I found a caterpillar a couple months ago and thought that was what had caused the problem, but there are still some signs of recent damage. The attached image provides a better description than I can give verbally of this damage.
I've taken some cuttings, and I'm probably going to destroy the original plant. However, I think if I'd caught some of these things earlier, I probably could have saved it. My main concern now is whether any of these problems might be systemic so that the cuttings will still suffer the same symptoms, and also, how to treat them if they happen to spread to any of my other plants or recur. I've tried to get pictures to help with the diagnosis. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks,
Dan
AnswerHi Dan,
Your list of symptoms does not suggest a single cause. A photo that shows the entire plant including the pot would be more helpful than multiple photos of isolated portions of the plant. I don't have a sense of the extent of the symptoms and their specific locations.
Zebrina really needs several hours or more of direct sun each day. This is especially true during the shorter days of winter. Lack of adequate light can lead to a host of many problems. This plant also should be pruned back regularly, keeping the stems from becoming too long. Long stems inevitable will start to lose some of the older leaves closer to the soil.
Pot size and soil quality both make a huge difference and you have not provided any information about either. The pot should be small enough to keep the roots quite potbound, especially if you are watering weekly. The potting mix should be peat-based with extra perlite mixed in for porosity.
Caterpillars are chewing insects and certainly will damage foliage so it is important to make sure you have eliminated all of them.
Any fungus problems are very unlikely.
I suggest that you prune back all of the stems to a length of 3-5 inches. Root tip cuttings in water and after roots are about an inch long, transfer as many as possible into a small pot filled with the potting mix I described above. There is no reason to believe the new potted cuttings will suffer any of the symptoms you described as long as you provide good light, proper pot size and potting mix and water when the soil surface is dry.
The pruned back stems of the original plant may respond by putting out healthy new growth as long as the light and water are appropriate.
One last thought, if your local tap water is hard, then the build up of excess mineral salts may cause leaf deformities. If so, then use distilled or filtered water instead.
Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions.
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Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC
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