umbrella plant not staying alive

[zele]

Hi all,

We're having an issue with our umbrella plant - it has been losing about 10 leaves per day since we've got it about 2 weeks ago. It does show some new growth especially in the main trunk where the basking light shines, but the grown leaves are falling off rapidly and they look pretty healthy and green.

Given that we don't have any sunlight in this room - I suspect this is a light issue.

We're using a 100 w mercury lamp for all of our lighting that is raised about 1 foot above our 2x2x4 foot screen. We have no issues with keeping temps in 75-85 range and humidity in 45-60 range. The resident of this cage is our 6 m.o. panther.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[asongforyou]

Have you changed it to a bigger pot? Umbrella plants require moderate lighting. So I'd take it outside so it gets some sunlight (but depending on our location I wouldn't leave it in full sunlight) I leave my large one outside so it gets indirect sunlight. Make sure the soil dries between watering sessions and the water drains so it doesn't sit in standing water.

 

[aimhigher38]

It may be adjusting to the new enviroment and new conditions...I had one that was dropping leaves for a lil while and eventually it adjusted and the leaves stopped falling. I think it usually happens when theres changes in their conditions like temperature or areas where it normally got light.