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Please help! My Rosary Vine's leaves are looking straggly and some are turning yellow and others still are a bright green color. They are also falling off. The normal color for these leaves are a dark green silvery in the shape of a heart. My plant is under an overhang and it receives direct morning light and has bright light the rest of the day. What is going on?! I've only had her for like 3 weeks or so. Does she need repotting? Fertilizer? What can I do?!
Anytime I hear yellowing leaves that are falling off my immediate first suspect is overwatering (or very occasionally underwatering, but way more people overwater their plants). I'd stick your finger down a couple inches into the soil and see how wet it feels, if it's very wet then you're probably watering too much. If you do find it's quite wet, the plant may benefit from some fresh potting mix...pop it out of the pot, shake off as much of the old mix as you can, then trim off any mushy looking roots and put it in a new pot (or clean the old one out with bleach and then re-use it) with fresh potting mix.
I will do this when I get home. However, I don't think that this is the problem. I haven't watered it since I bought it. I've had it about 3 weeks. The top of the soil is actually very dry. I knew that yellow leaves usually are due to overwatering so I haven't watered it yet. The oddity is that the yellow leaves aren't the ones falling off either. It's the leaves that are down on the vine. The smaller leaves are the ones which are a brighter green so maybe this is just normal new growth?? I don't know what is going on with the yellow leaves?? And my plant is definately dying! :(
The symptoms of overwatering and underwatering are often very similar. I suggested overwatering first because that is a much more common mistake for people to make, but underwatering could definitely cause the symptoms too (it's possible the place you got it from hadn't watered it in a while either!) I really think we need a picture though, there are probably a million different things that can cause leaf problems, watering issues are the most common and the easiest to rule in/out so I always suggest starting there, but it's entirely possible it's something else.
My vine dont like a lot of sunshine though I have to grow it indoors, but no water for three weeks in summer is I would say too little, if the top soil feels really dry, then you need to put the plant and pot into a bowl of water till the top soil has changed colour to a darker brown, this indicates that the compost has soaked up enough water, also the position of the plant could add to the problem, if it gets HOT sun in the mornings, it could be stressing the plant, also try to mist the foliage in between watering's as they naturally gather moisure from the air in their natural habitat, hope this also helps you out a bit. WeeNel.
Thank everybody for your help. I've just watered it and it seems to be responding. I also see new growth so this is a good sign. I'm gonna keep an eye out on it and see if the watering perks it up. We shall see! I may have to bring it back inside. :(
These plants are usually very easy to care for once you get the hang of it. They are easy to care for and good for beginners. I love them, and have a few different ones, and 3 or the heart shaped common variety. One is on a tall shelf in my atrium and the vines trail down 6 feet to the floor! A change in light levels sometimes causes yellowing until the plant adjusts. I put a few of mine outside in the warmer months and they always yellow at first, then turn a dark greenish red and spend the whole summer in bloom.
They are very tolerant of underwatering, so it is best to let it dry out between waterings, just to be safe. Most plants are killed by overwatering.
Occasionally, if my rosary vine starts to look to ratty, or too many leaves fall off leaving bare spots on the vines, I just cut all the vines off and let it start over. They grow so fast. They also like alot of light, and the common heart shaped leaf variety will take full sun. I have a pointier arrow shaped leaf one that burns to a crisp in the direct light.
Where did you get your plant? The big box stores like Home Depot are notorious for overwatering. Plus, if the plant is new, it needs adjustment time to your conditions.
Thank you for being so informative Bhavana34.:) My rosary vine is doing so much better. I did purchase her @ HomeDepot. LOL. I have her outside on my back deck which faces the North. The yellow leaves have all fallen off and I have alot of new growth. :) Yippee! She is still little though filling out her 6 inch pot. Question for you, does the root system of this plant include some sort of tubular type structures? And if so are they supposed to be under the dirt? If this is true it seems the root system seems shallow. Do I want to add any top soil?
