Hi there, This is more of an indoor plant issue than an outdoor garden one but hopefully this is the right place. We have a big umbrella tree growing in a well lit central room that is struggling. It came with the house and we've never been able to identify exactly what kind of tree it is. The older leaves tend to be mottled yellow and green and the newer growth does fine for a while but then either has the same mottling or they start to shrivel and blacken at the tips. There's no webbing on the leaves that would indicate spider mites and the tree has been sprayed for pests a few times. Any help with the plant's issues or with identifying would be greatly appreciated. We're about to chop it down and toss it at this point! Thanks in advance!
It might have Thrips judging by the dried exoskeletons on the leaf closeup. http://mrec.ifas.ufl.edu/foliage/folnotes/scheffle.htm http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/m1183.html
Wow, I didn't notice those at first but they're glaringly obvious now. Thanks very much for the help! We'll try treating for thrips and see how things go.
