I have tropical plant that starting to get brown streaks on the leaves. The leaves eventually curl up and brown. I also noticed there are some tiny white bugs crawling around the soil after I water my plant. I would like to know the name of my plant so I can take proper care of it. Thanks.
It looks like, Strelitzia reginae (Bird of Paradise) I have a white flowering one (Strelitzia Nicolai) which is kept in a south window and watered well when dry, about every two weeks.
Yep, I have had them before. Could be your seeing what's called, "Springtails" but don't worry, they will not hurt the plant, just not something you want to look at! They eat the decaying material in the soil. When the soil is watered, springtails tend to race around and can even jump, like they are on a springboard! Could be your soil is staying too wet since they need that moist soil to survive. I often saw them if a plant was double potted. Make sure your plant is not over-potted (excess soil) and the soil drains well, away from the pot and any excess water is dumped out. A couple things you can try to get rid of them.... At the next watering, really flood the soil, like over a bucket, or outside, sending the critters over the sides. You'll most likley need to replace soil that went over with them. You'll want to keep the plant dryer. Adding a couple drops of a mild dish soap to the water should help too.
Thanks for your advice. I have one more thing. A few of my plant leaves are starting to get little brown streaks and curl up. Is this from watering the plant too much? My boyfriend have been watering the plant once a week. I believe it should be watered twice a week. Please verify. Thanks a bunch!
Watering twice a week would be too much. Your plant looks like it's in a good size pot, so it should stay moist pretty for a while after watering it thoroughly. If the soil is more then an inch, or two above the top of the root-ball, you should take some out to that point so it dries better. You'll want the soil to "dry out" completely before re-watering. If your not sure if it's all the way dry, feeling for moisture with your finger inside the drain opening will let you know for sure. If it feels moist, wait another week and then check again. There's no harm if it's dry for a few days, or even a week. So the plant looks better, you can cut off any really bad looking leaves, plus their stems because they will not recover.
