Question
i just got an anita plant, when i came home i put it in a bigger pot, two weeks later a lot of leaves started falling off at the bottom.. the top still looks good but the bottom looks very naked.. what is wrong with it, and how can i fix it, i really like the plant, and when i repotted it i gave it some plant food. please help me, thank you

Answer
Yana,

You are watering it too much and you repotted it into too large a pot at the wrong time of year. You should never repot a new plant into a larger pot. The nursery probably just put it in a larger pot in the fall and it should not need repotted for 2 years. You never repot a plant unless when you unpot it you can only see roots and they hold the soil together in the shape of the pot. If you put a plant in too large a pot and you water it enough to moisten all the soil in the pot the plant cannot use up that amount of water and dry the soil out before you are bringing more water. Plants need to dry out between waterings so their roots have a chance to breath in carbon dioxide and breath out oxygen through their leaves. When they can't do that they are not performing their natural cycle and they get sick and drop leaves as you are seeing. Also when the soil is constantly wet the roots begin to rot and you are in danger of loosing the plant.

I reccommend that you move the plant back to a smaller pot the same size as when you bought it. In the future only repot plants between the months of April 1st and July 30th when the days are getting longer, never during the short days of winter. Repotting this time of year shocks a plant too much. And only repot it into a larger pot if it truly needs a larger pot when it is badly root bound. Only move it to a pot with a diameter 2 inches larger than the pot you are taking it out of. Never larger than that.

After you move it back to a smaller pot you should keep it on the dry side, give it half as much water and allow 2 weeks at least between waterings or until it is dry. Keep it in a very bright location. If you have more questions writ again. Good luck.

Darlene