Question
I bought a Canela (it says Canela TM with no official name) from Home Depot last fall. It was loosing a few leaves so I moved it to more light and and seemed good for a month or so. Now all of the sudden it has dropped about half of its leaves in the past week.

The leaves will droop and stiffen and it's as if the stem dies before the leave. I tried to pull off all the sickly leaves and cut ones that looked like they could be on their way to sickly. But to no avail... I'm loosing the whole plant rapidly.

I don't think I'm watering too much or too little. And it says low to medium light... so I think that's oK too.

Can you help?

Thanks- Stacy

Answer
Hi Stacy,

The botanical name for your Canela is Cinnamomum kotoense. It can survive in low to medium light, but only if the soil is allowed to get very dry between waterings. In bright light it will do better and will use more water.

I am guessing that you had yours in low light and were probably keeping the soil too moist. If you repotted it to a larger pot, then that has also contributed to keeping the soil too moist. The moist soil has caused the roots and the stems to rot. Depending on how badly the roots have rotted, it may or may not recover.

Move it to a sunny location and allow the top quarter of the soil to dry out in between waterings. Then hope for the best.

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

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