Office Foliage – How to Identify and Treat Common Office Foliage Problems

Office foliage needs to be kept healthy if you wish to enjoy the many benefits that come with houseplants. Properly watering your plant and making sure it gets adequate sunlight is the most important things you need to do. You will also have to ensure that the plant is in the right pot and that you add fertilizer whenever it needs it. All in all, if you are seriously interested in keeping your houseplants healthy, you have to learn how to prevent, diagnose as well as correct common houseplant problems. The purpose of this post is to educate you on how to handle common plant issues.

Inspect the plant before buying
The best piece of advice you can get when it comes to caring for dracaena or any other plant is to inspect it thoroughly before bringing it home. Inspect it for signs of disease or insects. You have to stay away from plants that are wilted mainly because their leaves are usually damaged. An off color on the plant leaves may indicate nutrient problems, pest damage or overwatering. You also need to understand the light and maintenance needs of the plant before taking it from the interior foliage provider. The idea is to bring home a healthy plant that you can easily care for.

Pest issues
Pest problems are a common menace to indoor plants. Regardless of the efforts you make to prevent these pests, you might still find yourself dealing with them. You can get rid of most of the pests by wiping the pest off, or by removing the insect by picking by hand. Chemical solutions should be your last option. Common pests affecting plants even in wholesale nurseries include the following:

  • Aphids: this causes stunted growth and distorted or curled leaves.
  • Mealy-bugs: This will cause stunted growth.
  • Mites: cause webbing on the leaves and stems. They cause distorted yellowish leaves.
  • Scale: Suck the juice from the plant thereby causing stunted growth.
  • Thrips: Feed on the flowers and leaves. They will cause the plant to be discolored and distorted.
  • Whitefly: They feed on the leaves causing them to become pale yellow or white.

Disease problems
As you buy interior foliage from plantscaper suppliers, you also need to familiarize yourself with the common diseases that affect plants. Diseases are common in plants that are under stress. If your houseplants are not growing in a cultural condition that has proper light, air circulation, water and humidity, it will be under stress. Common diseases you can expect to deal with include the following:

  • Anthracnose: causes yellow leaf tips then brown before the plant dies.
  • Leaf spots. Causes brown leaf spots with yellow halo.
  • Powdery mildew: White powdery fungal growth will be seen on the leaves. Leaves will drop prematurely.
  • Root and stem rots: Stems become soft with a black or brown ring near the soil.

The best approach to plant diseases is to separate the diseased dracaena from the other plants. You then need to understand the root cause of the problem before making any effort to treat it. Never be afraid to seek expert help when dealing with troubled office foliage.

Office foliage