Question
A few weeks ago we got a snowbush for our metaphysical store on the coast of So. California.  It's in a bright place just under the front west-facing window.  The window gets bright direct sunlight most of the afternoon, which can make the space quite warm, though the plant is sheltered by shelf (the sunlight doesn't touch it, but it gets lots of reflected light all day long).  It was purchased as a houseplant which recieved no direct sunlight from the grower, and it looked beautiful.  It has since dropped several leaves, and even whole stems have turned suddenly yellow and wilted.  Other stems seem to be fine.  I caught a co-worker over watering it, allowing it to sit in an inch of water for several days (poor thing)  I wanted to know if the sudden wilting is related to being overwatered, or if it's environmental.  I did lift the plant out of it's conainer, and I think it should be repotted, but I hesitate to do so if it's already shocky.  Please help our poor little plant ... It's so very pretty.

Answer
Hi Maegan,

Snowbush like lots of light and is usually grown in direct sun when indoors. I am surprised that the grower had it in filtered light. However, filtered light in a greenhouse is much more intense than filtered light through a shop window. The closer you can match the light intensity that it has been grown in, the better the plant will do.

I am concerned that the shelf may be blocking a lot more of the light than you realize. "Filtered light" includes a wide range of light intensity and your location may be too far on the low end of filtered light.

Wilting is usually an indication of a soil/root problem. Certainly if the soil gets dry much below the surface, then that will cause wilting. On the other hand, keeping the soil wet for an extended period of time will cause the roots to rot and the they will not be able to absorb water for the plant. A few days of saturated soil is not long enough to cause root rot.

Repotting is not a good idea for any recently a acquired plant, but especially for one that is struggling. Plants do best when quite potbound, so I don't think repotting is warranted in any case.

Fertilizer will also not help as it is intended for healthy, vigorously growing plants.

The snowbush is a lovely plant, but it doesn't hold up well outside of the greenhouse. It does best in a warm, humid environment with lots of sunlight. Few of us can provide that.

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