My persian shield isnt doing well at all. I moved him a few weeks ago or a month ago or so.. to another pot, everything seemed ok. No more mold from dense soil then he starts getting brown very dry patchs all over the leaves but i just dont know why.. the other plants are loving the light I have given them and are even trying to bloom! He is remaining exactly the same much like tge last one . It took awhile but i lost the plant after about 6 weeks of remaining the same. Some small growth not to talk about everything new stayed veey small of course the old leaves slowly deteriorating again small patches slowly appearered. Brown patches are very dry . I think of it as deteriorating arr2hey, dry . once my persian shields were the most beautiful plant I had now this.. see pic.
Please some help me figure this out.
Thanks in advance for any and all help.
[lightboxqee]2016-10-24/PamelaLynn77/92edd5[/lightbox]

My Persian Shield was amazing this year! They grew to almost bushes!
I have never seen it look like this before. SO lush!

Not an Expert--but it looks like you have all kinds of new growth coming on the stems. The plant's leaves do look pale. Did it get good light in the summer?
My guess is that it was affected by the transplanting. That is always an iffy thing to do.
Was the soil appropriate for this plant? Not too dense?
Main Question: Did you put any extra soil on top of the pot when you
transplanted it? A BIG No-No!
Just asking--as this is a common error when transplanting. The soil level MUST be kept the same as it was in the old pot.

I do not know what else to suggest. Here are mine from this summer.
Each pot is just ONE plant! I was blown away.
I also live in MD--but my zone is 7a. Gita

My plants was also outstanding this summer. It was in full sun all year june july, then i started moving them to shade in the evenings and there colors were so beautiful then too and my plants were both veey healthy. I wish i could add a pic but all i have is propagated pics... ill add one and you can atleast see how pretty there colors were. I rooted 11 pieces of the plants then potted kn soil and they took root beautifully then 2 weeks later they died i still have no idea why. There is a few pics i was able to find.one i had propagated some from it already but jys still a nice plant. Thanks for rne.post!!!

That has always happened when I've brought these inside for winter, in both OH and AL. Keep from drying too much, the more sun the better while inside, and warm temps. They're winter bloomers, so you might see a few of those, to break the monotony of plant looking ill during winter.

Next time, try taking cuttings earlier in the season, while plants are at their most vigorous.

@gitagal and @PamelaLynn77 - Great Growing!! You should both consider uploading a couple of your photos to the database if you haven't done so already: Persian Shield (Strobilanthes auriculatus var. dyeriana)

to anyone who can grow Persian Shield so well! I've killed more than I can count; I just can't seem to figure out what they want.

Lin, I'm with you. The only place I grew it successfully was in the Marshall Islands. It was constantly warm (80's) and constantly high humidity (90% to 100%). The ground was coral sand with excellent drainage and we got 100 inches of rain a year on average. Persian Shield grew like a weed everywhere. Florida seems like it might be close to what it likes.

plantmanager said: Florida seems like it might be close to what it likes.

I've only grown it in containers, maybe I should try growing it in the ground to see if it would do any better.

That would be worth experimenting, lin. I never had it in pots.

The 2 persian shields I grew from june 2016 to late August I started propagating mine. It honestly went well better than I read it should have.. believe I got like 9 rooted out of 12.. I potted them they took root grew for uhh bout 7/9 days then slowly started dying from the top of the plant to the bottom. Lost everyone of them.
About photos id like to add photos I think some may like of my persian shields having some type of growing frenzy about early August, i have pics and I cant remember where they are saved. Very very frustrating.
Im goibg to look again today. I do have some pic of petunias Id love to share with you all. I think they are doing well considering the temp here. They were so enjoyable to watch grow all summer in hundreds of just beautiful blooms! Im also a new Gardner so it maybe an everyday thing for you all but there still beautiful pics I took llast night and this morning.
Im gonna see if i can go figure this out. Thanks everyone! !!!

Pamela, I'm not sure what you mean by they root, then they "took root" for about 7/9 days. How much root did they have on them when you potted them? Is it possible they didn't have enough roots to sustain the tops?

Varied on stems some had more than 2 inches of root and dozens of thin strands, some had 2 really long roots litlle thicker than others.
And i mean they took to the soil and was continue to grow. If i tugged it lightly it didnt budge , I call that rooting to the soil.

Without seeing them it's hard to say what happened, but if I understand correctly they had started to root in water and were then planted in pots? What did you do to keep the air humid around them until there were enough roots to supply all the moisture? It can be tricky sometimes to transition plants from rooting in water to growing in potting mix. After planting I would have kept the cuttings and their pot enclosed in a large plastic bag (that didn't touch the leaves) until I was sure they had established. They'd need to be kept out of direct sun for a while too.

Hi Pamela, I think everyone is on the right track for helping you here. Just think about what the conditions outside were when your Persian Shield plants were doing so well - very warm, humid and lots of great light.

That's what they need now, too. See if you can move them to somewhere warmer and more humid - got a bathroom with a window? Lots of tropical plants love to grow in people's bathrooms.

It also looks like they have some slightly burnt (crispy brown) edges on the big leaves. Did the potting mix you put them into have fertilizer in it? That would explain the ratty looking leaves. In any case they're not dying so just be patient, mist them with a spray bottle (all your plants will love this) and as I said, try to maybe keep them warmer.

Thats it! The fertilizer! I know a couple of things you all have mentioned has played a factor to this plants issues, but the fertilizer is what I had not remembered. Bout 2 weeks ago I gave some petunias some left over fertilizer as to not trash it, i was trying to organize my new hobby anyways i made the mistake of giving some to the persian shield i thought better and still did it.. . The reason i feel this is his biggest issue is i really do know the plant pretty well i think we're close lol but seriously he had a light problem i fixed it, he seemed happy with the light now even some color is looking better a little.. and i had some soil issue prior to all of this and i fixed that soil and its great now and drying well.. Now he was still browning im calling it and id never seen any browning like that on him. I never gave him fertilizer but once before that and it was just a few weeks prior. I really feel thats his issues. Hopefully the feterlizer will leave the soil before all his leaves have all turned brown Im going to add a pic and show you all where i have placed the persian shield now.. and you can see he dose look happier i think.
Also I wanted to clear up any confusion i caused, this persian shield we are speaking of now is my mamma plant i propagated some of her and lost all those pieces. I was speaking of those in prior comments . .. what happened it seems is . I rooted in water. They root well i put them in soil they grew and took root in to the soil with in 2 weeks ish with in the following 2 weeks they started to die from the top of the plant to the bottom of the plant. Losing leaves one at a time I found that odd that it died from top down?? but other wise i dont know what happened. They were all doing so very well. Then not!

Thanks everyone for all your help ill keep everyone posted on persian shield. Hopefully we can get him back to health.
Im going to start spaying him too . He is always dry. So i think thats a must do. i got a little scared watering him too much until i got a good set up inside for him. I can give him proper water now without worry of mold or rotting roots.. I got 2 fans for good air because the air is one thing i do know caused me some past issues. Maybe the death of my persian shields too.. long story short those propagated persian shields had a lack of air I think....
Ok i will try to stop rambling. Thanks for all of your help everyone! ! Thanks a million! !