Hello! I got a Medinilla magnifica a month ago. It was already with blooms. There were some spots on some of the leaves already from the nursery, but I noticed that they are getting bigger and spreading inside the leaves. Giving you some info that may help.

The plant was seriously dehydrated in the nursery, I suspect because if they watered it would have died on them, it was so cold in the nursery! So, when I got it home I watered it and all its droopy dehydrated leaves bounced back. It seems to enjoy it here, but what about the leaves with the spots, is she gonna lose them altogether? I keep cutting the dead spots but they are getting more and more of the leaves and I'm afraid of what this could be. No sign of insects, I checked. So far three or four leaves show the same symptom.

It's still in the same pot I got it, no thinking about repotting when in bloom. I have it on some pebbles that I keep watered to increase the humidity, no water touching the bottom. It's standing in front of a north facing window, so she has winter sun which I've read needs. I am showing you both the up side of the leaves and the down side for better evaluation.
Soil is of course the same still. I spray it early in the morning to help with humidity, but never when sun is shining on the leaves.

What is it I am dealing with?

















Down side of the leaves, the spots are not watery or mouldy, just dry and kind of "sunken". Soft at first, and as days pass they get dry and cringly.

I did a quick search and found this, maybe this will help you a little, other members will have more advice for you

The thread "Medinilla Magnifica" in Houseplants forum

Thank you for the help Christine, I understand that it's not a common house plant, and the information there is online from people growing it (not sellers), is little.

Medinilla is an uncommon indoor plant because its requirements are difficult. Primarily it needs lots of high humidity at all times. The pebble tray will help some, but may not be sufficient, depending on how dry the air is where you are. A humidifier may be necessary. Daily misting does little to increases humidity.

Its other primary requirements are warm temps and lots of very bright but mostly indirect sunlight. Imagine a greenhouse environment and try to duplicate that as best you can.

Normally, it would be in a semi-dormant period with a bit drier soil and lower temps at this time of year, but I see yours is now in bloom so it is out of its normal cycle. It may be that the neglect at the nursery actually helped bring about the flowers.

The damaged leaves are no doubt due to cold, the irregular watering, and even some physical mishandling. The leaf spots that you see may be nothing more than the initial symptoms of that particular leaf dying back gradually and you may not be able to prevent that. It is not a disease that can be arrested by cutting out the brown spots. As long as new growth leaves come in and remain healthy, then you are on the right track.

I often preach about not repotting unnecessarily, but this is a plant that especially needs to stay quite potbound if you want it to do well and bloom regularly. There is no reason to repot it now or in the foreseeable future. It does best in a very porous epiphytic or Orchid potting mix. Keep the potting mix well hydrated, especially when the air is dry.

Overall, your plant looks quite healthy given its prior mishandling.

I am grateful for your help and advice, as always WillC! Thank you so much! :)
It's good to know it's not a virus or a fungus! I will try my best with this tropical lady! I may need a humidifier as you mentioned.

Did you have any luck with yours? I bought one a couple of months ago and I am having the same problem and now the leaves have started dropping and one stem is turning black

Hello, I'm new at the Forum. I have the same problem with Blackorchid1. I have bought my plant a month ago, I watered it a week after and sprayed the leaves with water. In the following days the leaves started getting these grey spots and then getting black at the point where it meets the stem, then falling down. Today the plant has lost almost all its leaves, but two.
Its position is next to a northwestern window, with no direct sunlight on it.
Do I have any chance of rescuing it?

I have the same problem with leaves Medinilla Magnifica
One plant already dead from this sickness
What should i do ?
thank you.

This is a really old thread that originated in 2017.

It would be nice to see a photo of your plant including the pot and potting substrate. But I can tell you up front. If your Medinilla is potted in a potting mix that looks like the one @ConstantineV has their in, the reason is that.

Medinillas are EPIPHYTES. They are not meant to really live in soil. They usually grow on trees.

You can keep them in containers, but your substrate has to be one that is very very light, porous and perfectly draining. Keeping them wet rots the roots, which leads to leaf blights and eventual loss of the plant

Blackorchid1 said:Did you have any luck with yours? I bought one a couple of months ago and I am having the same problem and now the leaves have started dropping and one stem is turning black

I have this plant. I thought I'd be set here in balmy Florida. Alas, I had a big die-back. I finally figured out what was causing it before I lost the plant entirely and it is now growing back and it was blooming before winter came. It was getting too much sun. It had been sitting in a spot where it was getting dappled sun and about 2 hours of direct sun mid-morning and it was getting sunburned. I have moved it to a spot where it never gets any direct sun and very little dappled sun. It seems happy now.

CORRECTION: I have Medinilla myriantha.

I have 2 different species and one cultivar. All are growing as epiphytes. I killed my share in the 1990's-early 2000's before a kind friend said...you know you are drowning it to death, right?

My miniature one I grow in an orchid basket with nothing but moss. The other 2 larger growing ones I have in open wire baskets lined with coir mat potted in a VERY EPIPHYTE FRIENDLY (read: very scant actual POTTING MIX) substrate that includes lots of coarse perlite, fir bark chips, aliflor and chopped coconut husk.

I have seen gorgeous specimens of the various Medinilla species in So FL beach communities mounted into the crotches of trees. They have no problem latching on and establishing as true epiphytes.

In the past, they used to sell Medinillas at Home Depot and Lowes here for cheap. Hopefully those days will return LOL