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New Ming Aralia

KKaufy
10 years ago

I purchased a beautiful 6' tall Ming Aralia last week. She is adjusting to a north facing window and gets a lot of light in the morning. When it's not to windy, I keep the window near her open. I have heard the Mings have an adjustment period so I have tried to keep from disturbing the plant. I watered her once, as she was quite dry and have sprayed her leave with water a few times. For the most part her leaves are still green, but there are clumps of leaves that have turned yellow. These leaves are not dried an shriveled, rather limp. Is this part of the transition process or indicative of a greater problem. I would be very appreciative of some feedback and I would really like her to thrive.
Thank you!

Comments (9)

  • teisa
    10 years ago

    I would love to see a picture of her! if you can please post one. I have just learned about the "MIng" cactus.
    TFS

    -Teisa

  • pirate_girl
    10 years ago

    Sorry, but Ming is neither a cactus nor a succulent. It's formal name is Polyscias or Ming Aralia (or Polyscias Ming). I think it MAY be a semi-tropical, thought to original in Asia.

    It's said to be quite sensitive to moving but I'd guess in time it'll settle down.

    I've never had one larger than 12" tall. For that size, likely you spent some serious $$, if it were mine, I'd consult the vendor who sold it to me.

  • petrushka (7b)
    10 years ago

    a pic would be very helpful. of the whole plant.
    aralia shouldn't be quite dry - leaves drop then. they should never completely dry out. what sort of soil it's in?
    what is the size of the pot?
    commercial plants up to 6' can grow in 14" pots.
    but they are watered properly and kept warm and in hi humidity.
    do you see the sides of the soil pulling away from the pot?
    chances are the rootball is extremely compacted, and the water does not penetrate well. you need to water carefully sev times: water in 1 cup slowly, then another 1 cup in an hour, then may be next day give it one more cup.
    check with a chopstick all the way deep to see how damp is the soil. evenly damp all the way is good.
    then do not water until the surface becomes barely damp and the chopstick is barely moist. but do not let it dry more then half way down. but it should not be wet/soggy or standing in water.
    misting daily is very good. to grow well it needs to be warm , at least 70F, 80F is best and at least 60% humidity, 80% is much better. sev hours of morning sun or diffused western sun is optimal. it won't grow much in just northern light, even if it's very bright.

    This post was edited by petrushka on Thu, Jun 13, 13 at 15:41

  • bozwell
    10 years ago

    Mine had some lower leaves that turned yellow when I first got it. They would fall on their own in time and brushing them with my hand would oftentimes get them to drop immediately. While it worried me at the time, the new growth was always green and healthy. After a few weeks, it stopped dropping leaves and has adjusted nicely to my home. I would keep an eye on yours, but these plants are known to drop some leaves when they change environments. So long as the new growth on yours remains healthy, I wouldn't worry much.

  • KKaufy
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Here she is! Post away!

    I'll show some closeups of the leaves.

  • KKaufy
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Ming

  • petrushka (7b)
    10 years ago

    overall it looks good. some loss of leaves is to be expected initially.
    could you answer some of my questions about soil and watering?
    also what are the temps near the window?

  • KKaufy
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks Petrushka! I really don't know what soil it is in. Is there a way I can tell? I did not change the soil since I bought it a week and change ago. I wasn't sure if it was watered when I got it so last week I gave it 2 cups of water. The top is still damp so I was going to wait. The leaves that are falling off are not dry. just limp and yellow. The inner pot is about 13" x 30" deep.

  • petrushka (7b)
    10 years ago

    pot can't be 13" x30" ! you mean 13"x13"?
    take a skewer or a chopstick and sink it into the soil half way between the stem and the pot rim. then take it out and observe: how far down is it wet? or is it just damp? or it is dry on the bottom?... it's like a cake test.
    then you report the results. this way you can determine how far the water went - if you watered deep or not.
    for ming aralia in big pots most roots are not on the surface, they are at the bottom of the pot. so if you just watered the surface, the bottom might be dry - and the plant will drop leaves.

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