browning, drying up and dropping leaves - persian shield

dear Friend at Shoot : i just registered with your wonderful site and being in a bit of a quandary abt my persian shield which is experiencing severe leaf drop, which i cant seem to control. the leaves get brown and dry up and fall out. the stems supporting these leaves too have turned brown, almost as if they have a growth on them or are drying up. i water regularly and being in india have good humidity which the plant needs. i fertilise as well could there be some plant rot or the soil needs more
fertiliser pls advise tks, leroy

Re: browning, drying up and dropping leaves - persian shield

Reply from Kathy C

HI, Leroy,
I don't think it's feriliser - unless the leaves are getting a yellow, mottled appearance before turning brown. Sounds like either too much or too little moisture. You have said you water regularly - how often and how much? Is there adequate drainage in the container (I am assuming it is in a container). What sort of position is it in? Is it getting too much or too little light? Finally, how long has it been since it was repotted? Can you post a photo?
Kathy C

Re: Re: browning, drying up and dropping leaves - persian shield

Reply from Leroy Santos

Dear Kathy : tks for replying / taking time to reply.
1. leaves not yellow and not mottled
2. watering is once a day. misting is twice a day, at least
3. drainage is fairly okay, but i do not water such that water runs from the container
4. light is afternoon sun, and morning fairly bright light
5. repotting has been done once when the plant was prcoured, but i notice the surrounding earth around the root area is hard (clogging?) but this was how i repotted it, without disturbing the original set up
6. note new shoots are coming as you see in image
7. bark of the stems supporting leaves are browned and furry (see image) a bit
8. present images show minimal browning since many leaves are lost, but the browning spreads quickly and completely. i have snipped off some of the brown leaf parts
9. darlene of this site says maybe seasonal leaf shedding, and to watch for new shoots. well, new leaves are appearing (see image)

Click image to enlarge

Re: Re: Re: browning, drying up and dropping leaves - persian shield

Reply from Kathy C

Hi, Leroy,
Sounds like a couple of things are going on.
2) Watering once a day is too much UNLESS it is outside in full sun during very hot weather. Doesn't look like that is the case with yours. Water thoroughly but cut back to every other day or every third day. Most 'experts' recommend watering moderately during the growing season. Since you live in a humid climate, you probably don't need to mist so much - perhaps cut down to once a day? Is it under glass/indoors? If so, its growing environment should be fairly humid already.
3) Whenever you water, always water until you see water run out of the bottom of the container. This ensure that all the compost is moist and all roots are getting moisture.
4) Avoid direct sunlight in summer. It wants a brightly lit spot, but not direct sun when its hot.
5) If you haven't repotted in a year, do so. Also, any 'hard' soil/compost needs to remove and replaced. That hard soil will not allow water to permeate the rest of the compost. It is best to repot in spring and not a good idea to do so if a plant is stressed, so you might want to wait until it perks up a bit.
7) The furriness is a fungus, probably encouraged by too much moisture. As I stated before, you should cut back on the misting, especially since you live in a humid climate.
9) Yes, I agree with Darlene that seasonal shedding could contribute to the leaf drop, but the fuzzy, brown, rotting stems indicate something more.
Final thought is Persian Shield tends to decline with age. How long have you had it?
Hope this all makes sense :)
Kathy C