Question
Hi Darlene,

I have three certain plants that don't seem to be growing very much. One is a False Aralia, the other is a Buddhist Pine, and the last one is Croton. I got these plants around a year and a half ago and they are all under 8 inches tall.  When I got them I didn't know much about plants so, of course I transplanted them almost as soon as I got them. Yes, I know now that was a bad idea, and I don't do it anymore (Thankfully). So I was wondering if you could give me some suggestions about how to help these plants grow better.

Oh, and about the transplanting I did to these plants. They were all in 2 - 2-1/2 inch pots when I got them and I put them all in 6 inch clay pots. And they really haven't done much since then.

My False Aralia has grown about 4 inches since I got it. But it has lost three of its five beautiful stems as well. It is about a foot away from a eastern facing window. And I water it when the soil seems dry. Mostly all the leaves have yellow tips on them.

The Buddist Pine has grown the least out of these three. In fact, I'm not sure if it has grown at all since I got it well over a year and a half ago. Like the Aralia, it has also lost three of its five stems and the leaves have yellow tips too. It's a foot away an eastern facing window so, it gets good light (I think...). And I water it when the soil is dry. But probably when it's too dry.

The Croton is really close to the same eastern facing window and it used to be growing well, but for some reason this summer it just kinda sat there. It seems like it's trying to grow, but the stem just isn't letting leaves out. The last few leaves that have grown are small and odd looking compared to the more healthy leaves in the middle. The lower leaves are starting to get very brittle and pale so I'm thinking something is wrong. I keep the soil pretty moist.

I know that giving a plant too big of a pot can rot the roots. Has that happened to these plants? Do plants just stop growing when root rot happens,  or would a plant with rotted roots just die?

I really enjoy seeing my plants grow and I have a around 45 of them. I take the best care of them that I can and most all of them are growing very well.

I'd really appreciate any advice you could give me on helping these plants to start growing again. I'm guessing they just aren't in the right light conditions. But your thoughts would be great!

Thank you for your thoughts on this and for answering my questions. I really appreciate it.

Answer
Ben,

You transplanted all three to too large of pots. When you transplant any plant the new pot should never be more that 2 inches larger diameter than the old pot. When you move to too large a pot as you know it can rot the roots because you overwater.  It also forces the plants to spend all their time and energy trying to grow roots to fill the pot at the expense of growing the top.  I would suggest that you move all 3 back to 4 inch pots.

The Buddhist Pine and the croton both need more light. If you could move them to a south facing window it would be better.  

It is possible that the Croton has spider mites. Examine it closely in a sunny location for fine webs covering the plant. If you find them you have spider mites. If so use the sprayer on your kitchen sink to wash the webs and the spider mites off. That is usually sufficient but you might also want to spray the plant daily with rubbing alcohol for a week to make sure they don't come back from eggs that hatch.

The false aralia is probably not getting eough humidity, Try putting a humidity tray under it

Also have you been fertilizing your plants?  A regular dose of Miracle Grow or any water soluable fertilizar will help them grow better

If you have more questions write again.  Good luck.

Darlene