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Pot-bound Aspidistra looks anaemic and has white spots on leaves

matt-toonmatt-toon Posts: 3
in Problem solving
Not sure if this should go in the Plants or Problem Solving forum. Please move if needed. :smile:

I’ve had this Aspidistra for two years. It’s about 70cm tall measured from the top of the pot. It’s been kept in a north facing porch which is double-glazed but unheated. It gets fairly good light. It gets down to about 9 deg C in there on a cold day at the moment. 

1) The leaves look faded and not like the deep green colour I would expect.  

2) It has some whitish spots on some of the leaves and stalks which can be wiped off. I don’t know if these are a pest/eggs etc. They look a bit like they could just be something that has not been absorbed by the plant, a bit like dried up Baby Bio or similar. I have not fed the plant much at all though. In the saucer there is a bit of soil and there are a few tiny insects in there. 

3) It also looks like it is in real need of being repotted and I’m unsure what is the best way to do this without damaging the roots. Should I cut through the plastic plant pot as best I can without damaging the roots and transplant to a bigger pot that will house all the roots more comfortably?

4) Would the plant benefit from a different location? If it can be revived I’d be happy to move it inside the house where it can be appreciated more. 

Thank you for any advice on what I can do with it. 

Posts

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    It's starving so has no spare energy to fight off infection or bugs.   Cut away as much of that pot as you can to free up the roots and, while you're on, cut out the worst affected of the leaves.   Then soak the whole root ball in water for an hour or so to rehydrate the roots and drown any insects.  Use a shower spray on the foliage and wipe off as many visible insects, eggs etc as you can. 

    Then re-pot in some good John Innes type no 3 loam based compost and make sure the pot is wide and deep enough to let the roots expand a bit and gain access to nutrients.

    Keep it in a cool but frost free place in good light in winter but move it out of direct sun in summer.   I find the best wayto water houseplants is to dunk the pot in a bucket of water till no further air bubbles appear and then let it drain completely before putting it back.   A regular shower to clean dust off leaves and deter insects is also good.  Frequency of watering and showering depends on the time of year - less in winter, weekly in summer.

    Have a look at this link which includes pests that can affect this plant and how to deal with them - https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/1715/Aspidistra-elatior/Details 
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • matt-toonmatt-toon Posts: 3
    edited February 2021
    Time for an update!

    I cleaned the leaves thoroughly with soapy water and snipped off three or four of the worst looking leaves. I then managed to get the plant out of the existing pot without losing too many roots, taking a while to unravel and untangle them. 

    Reading back over your post @Obelixx I did not actually cut out those leaves fully down to the root which you perhaps meant, but just snipped above the soil line. Hopefully that will be okay. I was doing this in the hallway while trying not to make too much mess as I did not fancy going out in the snow to do it! :smile:

    I repotted into a new larger grow pot using John Innes No. 3, gave it a good soak and then put it into this smart new Habitat planter.

    Thanks for all the tips. Hopefully it will benefit from all this care! :sweat_smile:

  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Once it has recovered, a monthly feed might help too.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    edited February 2021
    Fingers crossed your efforts pay off and it perks up.  It certainly looks better now tho I'd take off those little stalk stumps to improve the look even more.   

    For my leafy houseplants I use little sticks of fertiliser that get poked into the compost and release nutrients when watered.  Yours should be OK now for a couple of months but a regular feed after that won't hurt.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • Cambridgerose12Cambridgerose12 Posts: 1,134
    I’d also add to this that they don’t like too much sunlight on the leaves. That bleaches the leaves of my one. I’ve learnt to be careful because it takes ages for new leaves to replace the old ones.
  • matt-toonmatt-toon Posts: 3
    I gave the leaves another wash today with some soapy water and a rinse off with a watering can afterwards. Then I snipped off the messy bits of remaining stalks and bits of old leaves to tidy up the base. 

    The leaves are starting to look healthier and I was pleased to see it has a couple of flowers too. I’m aware the flowers on this plant are not anything spectacular but it must be doing alright if it has produced them  :smile: 


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