A drooping Caladium is a depressing sight. However, this indoor superstar’s flashy, brightly variegated leaves deserve to be on full display during their short season of growth.
Why is my Caladium Drooping?
This question is one of the many questions new Caladium plants owners do ask. Other issues include with weak stems or Caladium turning brown and yellow. Whichever challenges you face with your Caladium plants, be assured that your plants can survive them, including Caladium leaves drooping.
Caladium plant droops mainly due to under watering or over watering, temperature stress other reasons are fertilizer salts, affected by pests diseases. To solve this needs to give correct enough water to plant, keep the plant indoors, have enough humidity, check for fertilizer salts, and for any diseases (use Neem water for solution).
Caladium is a beautiful plant with astonishing leaves. They preferred a moderate shady place with indirect sunlight, high humidity, and a well-structured watering schedule.
Caladium is a tropical plant native to Brazil. It is intolerant to low temperature or prolonged absence of water. It is essential to note that after a while without water Caladium leaves will go dormant and droop.
Here are the steps I followed to solve my caladium plant from drooping.
Causes of Caladium plants drooping?
1. Watering Habits
– Leaves droop because of improper watering habits. Overwatering or Underwatering can lead to wilt and dying of Caladium plants. And if the leaves of your plants are affected same goes with the stem and its growth.
Caladium strives best in moist soil that is neither too watered nor dry. therefore, striking an appropriate balance for water is essential if you want the plant to grow with beautiful leaves.
one of the reasons is underwatering, it comes to play when your plant does not have the required measure of water they need for survival. When this goes on for a long time, Caladium leaves turn dormant and finally droop due to drought.
Activities that can lead to Underwatering of Caladium:
- When you keep your plants straight under the sun, the water evaporates from the soil and dries it.
- You neglect to water your plant as and when due.
- Less humidity around the plant makes the plant transpire to keep the air damp. And it results in the drying of the plant leaves or drooping.
How to fix the Caladium drooping caused by Underwatering?
- Keep your plants in a little shady environment. It helps prevent direct contact with sunlight that causes excessive evaporation of water.
- Providing a humid place for your plant will help keep your plant hydrated.
- Make sure your pot has rock mulch to help the plant retain moisture.
- Check the soil regularly for dryness. you can do that by trying to push your finger into the earth. If your finger can go through, then the soil is dry.
The next reason is overwatering, almost all plants get affected by this. Overwatering makes the soil to be over logged with water. It stops the flow of air in the soil and chokes out the roots by denying them air.
Prompting root rot and Caladium leaves turning brown, which further hinders the growth of your plant.
How to solve the problem of Caladium drooping caused by overwatering?
- If your plant is in the pot, ensure there are enough holes around for drainage.
- Ensure you mix perlite into your potting soil for better aeration.
- Try not to overwater the plants except if needed.
- Use good soil mix for planting Caladium.
- Only water the soil when the top two-inch layer of the earth is dry.
2. Fertilizer Salts:
– High fertilizer usage can lead to the de-position of salts on the soil that causes Caladium leaves to turn yellow. Fertilizer salts can hinder the growth of the plant. Both the overuse and underuse of plants food can stunt the growth of your Caladium.
So extra care is needed when applying fertilizer. Regardless of whether you use a lot of fertilizer, only what’s needed by plant will be utilized. So then, where does the excess go?
The excess gather on the soil as salts and block the ability of the plant to absorb water. Along the line, it can result in leaves drooping and yellowing of Caladium stem.
Furthermore, a lower amount of fertilizer might not be enough for your plant needs leading to malnourishment and poor growth.
The solution to the Problem of Caladium drooping caused by Fertilizer Salts?
When your plant is facing the problem of fertilizer salts, you can solve it by prolonged watering. This action eliminates the gathered salt and prevents any further accumulation of salts. Before doing this, make sure your plant’s pot has holes for proper drainage. And if your Caladium is in the garden, ensure the plant is in well aerated and free soil. Preferably, Caladium is fertilized weekly during the growth season. Use liquid fertilizers or pellets with a slow-releasing ability.
3. Temperature:
– Caladium are tropical plants and native of brazil. These plants have no tolerance to low temperature. When the air around the plant is cold, it takes its toll on your Caladium plants.
A fall in temperature below 65 degree Fahrenheit will cause your Caladium to droop. A further fall in temperature can lead to the death of your plants.
How to fix Caladium Drooping caused by Temperature stress?
- When the a low temperature at night, bring the potted plant indoors and set them outside during the daytime.
- If your Caladium is in the garden, cover the plants with plastic sheets to retain heat at night.
- Please maintain high humidity around the plants. You can do so by using a humidifier and pebble trays.
4. Potted Plant:
– Sometimes lead droop shows that there is a salt buildup in the soil of potted caladiums. You will see a yellow or white crust forming layers on the soil or around the inside of the pot.
How to prevent Potted Caladium plants from drooping?
- Caladium plants in the pot must have holes for proper drainage.
- Salt buildup in the soil can be reduced by pouring twice the volume of water onto the soil and running out the drain hole.
- Plotted plants can be leached every four to six months to prevent salt buildup.
- Re-pot plants if there are severe crusts from the fertilizer salts buildup.
5. Infected by pests:
– Your Caladium will lose its luster if it is infected by pests. They literally suck the life from its leaves. Take a good look at your plant, especially around the veins.
The fleshy white buildup is a sure sign of mealy bugs. Spider mites cause thein, delicate webbing, and thrips leave light scarped areas and are sometimes spotted as tiny black dots.
On top of all that, small seed-like creatures known as aphids collect on veins, appearing in various colors from creamy to dark brown. The stems may be infested with scale insects and cause the plant to droop.
For mild infestations, it’s often best to simply get rid of the pests. For eg, suppose you have spider mites or thrips. In that case, you can use a garden hose or showerhead to blast them away, and mealybugs can be wiped away with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol to get rid of them.
Applying neem oil or another insecticide will take care of more severe infections.
6. Diseases:
– It’s also possible that diseases is to blame for Caladium leaf wilt.
Pythium root :
A fungal infection known as Pythium root rot causes roots to turn orange-brown before they die out completely. This causes the Caladium to lose its leaves and stems, which bend and are consistent signs of dehydration and malnutrition.
Rhizoctonia Stem Rot :
Symptoms of Rhizoctonia stem rot are similar to those of Pythium root rot, with the addition of distinctive oval-shaped brown lesions on stems.
Fusarium Wilt :
It is another disease that causes wilting and soft leaves. Root dieback and lesions are caused by this pathogen, as are Pythium and Rhizoctonia.
It can be difficult to tell one disease from one another. However, soggy, over-watered soil is essential for the growth of all of these organisms, and they all exhibit similar symptoms.
First and foremost, quarantine any plants that appear to be infected. You don’t want to spread disease. These three diseases all necessitate aggressive treatment with a commercial fungicide. It’s best to go all-in from the start because they aren’t to be messed with.
Your best bet is to use a broad spectrum copper fungicide. Always follow the manufactures instructions. It’s also best to use it outside.
Final Thoughts:
I followed these steps to recover from the caladium plant drooping problem. Were you able to recover your plant ?
