I have a beautiful Tibouchina bush and was wondering if someone could tell me what I should do about its leaves turning orange and falling off. The top of the plant seems unaffected but it is progressively getting worse. Thank you.
Too little info here and you aren't registered so I don't know if you'll even come back for my response. Your Tibouchina will eventually become a very large shrub. Reasons for leaf drop from the bottom could be because it is developing bark at the bottom that won't support leaves and will grow to a tree-like form, it's rootbound and needs repotting, watering too much or watering too little. Here's some info. http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/trees/TIBURVA.pdf Newt
I too have the same problem. I have just transplanted my Tibouchina so I'm following 'Newt's' advice. Thank you Newt - I had flowers when I purchased this plant, will there be any more flowers this season or will I have to wait until next Spring? I live on Vancouver Island (south) in British Columbia. I will be bringing the plant indoors for the Winter months.
Hi Pat, You will need to fertilize after flowering to encourage more flowers, especially if you grow it in a pot. Here's another interesting site. http://www.floridata.com/ref/t/tib.cfm Newt
Sorry, this is not a reply, rather a new post (did this quickly, am a new member) I bought a beautiful princess plant as a standard last year - even though I have a solarium, it did not survive the winter. I am not sure what I did wrong - it is possible that the temp. in the solarium went down too low (though I doubt it - as it is heated as part of the house) - or possibly I overwatered it - I knew overwatering was dangerous so I WAS careful with watering in the winter. In the autumn, when I brought it inside, (it was on my patio), it dropped all its leaves and never grew any new ones in winter. - maybe it was rootbound - the pot itself was filled with roots - I did not repot it because I did not wish to disturb it right away. - I am trying to buy one again and see if I have better luck next time. The flowers were very beautiful and I just loved my standard princess flower. I really can't figure out where I might have gone wrong - any ideas? Should I let it go dormant in the garage and bring it out in the spring? Also, any other flowering houseplants which you might suggest? Just so you know, I have had some luck with my plants - I also purchased a little lantana standard last year - I have managed to winter it in my solarium and it is now blooming outside. As you can see I just love flowering houseplants (tropicals). I have a hibiscus standard - it also blooms all the time - in the solarium in the winter, and outside on my deck in the summer. Any help/ideas would be appreciated.