Hi @WillC. Just ran through the forum and would definitely appreciate your advice on my BOP. Couple of the leaves have started getting tiny black dots and the area in which the spots are forming is starting to turn yellow. This happened to 3 leaves and I've cut off 2 already thinking it may possibly be a fungal infection and I didn't want it to spread to the other leaves.

Any advice on what this could be and what I should do? Could it be that I'm watering too much? I water thoroughly (water goes through the drain holes but i dont let the excess water sit in the pot) once a week and I face north east so the plant gets 2-3 hours of direct sunlight per day.

Thanks in advance!

I don't see anything in the photos other than normal leaf imperfections. The loss of some older, lower leaves is normal as new leaves are added up top. Your watering routine seems about right. Do you have it inside or outside?

@WillC - Appreciate the reply. I have it inside by a window facing northeast.

Wanted to show you a couple more pictures of this leaf which is relatively new by the way but is progressively turning more yellow and the black dots are starting to spread all throughout the leaf.

Would it hurt to apply some fungal spray to the plant provided that it won't do any damage to it or would you recommend to just let it be?

Thanks again for all your help and advice Will.

@michaelcflau - That is not evidence of a fungal disease and I do not recommend using a fungicide unnecessarily. You haven't explained how you determine when to water and how much you give it.

Hi. I had a big BOP that I divided into three parts, two of the parts are doing fine, but the third one is curling now. I have noticed that the stems are feeling softer, so probably it doesnt have adequate roots. What should I do, is it lost?

COuld i put it in water, for it to develop more roots? Or do I put it in regular soil, and it will snap back? It has been sitting in soil now for two weeks, and have gotten this curling of the leaves.











Perhaps it wont make it :/

@Kekelol - Dividing plants is very stressful to the divisions because of the damage done to the roots and subsequent watering issues. The portion you posted about does not appear to have any healthy roots remaining. I think it is a lost cause.

WillC said:@Kekelol - Dividing plants is very stressful to the divisions because of the damage done to the roots and subsequent watering issues. The portion you posted about does not appear to have any healthy roots remaining. I think it is a lost cause.

I see :/
- There is no way to try to incentivise it to grow new roots, for instance to put the whole ting, or parts of it, in water?
- It seems that one of the leaves is doing fine. Is that possible, or will the whole plant either fail/succeed?

Recovery depends on the viability of the remaining roots and their recovery depends solely on your ability to carefully manage the watering. There are no chemical treatments or other easy solutions that will make a difference.

Any ideas why this is happening? Too close to a cold window? Too little light?

It got damaged when it was still rolled up. Not a light or temperature issue. Don't panic.

I'm guessing the orange bird doesn't get as big as the white. I have a pot of orange BOPs, currently residing indoors for winter.

Hi I have a relative new plant, couple of months and just trimmed a leaf as it was curling and nothing was stopping it. The middle of the stem is brown which i wasn't expecting. Is this normal. The rest of the plant looks healthy although the other leaf which was attached to this stem has also started to curl but no where near as bad? I covered the cut over with soil. Thanks. Michael

Are there drainage holes in your container?

to the forum michaelypes!
Is that a part of the leaf stem that has rolled edges? If so, it is normal for stuff that falls in there to decay. It might serve as a minor source of nutrients. In any case, it won't hurt the plant and you don't need to pack it with soil.

@WillC @CPPgardener looking for some help with my BOP as well! I got this plant about a year ago and it has grown a lot since then with multiple new leaves. There was a period where I discovered I had been over-watering it about 5 or 6 months ago because it got really bad fungus gnats. I ended up having to repot and cut back some foliage but it was time to repot anyway. About a month or two ago, I started noticing a couple of the older leaves at the bottom started turning brown/yellow on their underside and it has now progressed to multiple leaves and I'm getting worried. I've been using a moisture meter to make sure I don't water before the soil has been able to dry out a bit so I don't think I'm overwatering but who knows at this point. Usually I water once every week and a half. It lives next to a floor-to-ceiling window facing East and I rotate it once a week to get even exposure. The pot has a drainage hole at the bottom but usually when I water it I don't see any come out (I usually give it about 32-44 oz of water). Any idea what's happening?

to the forums Carterv_511!
When you water you need to make sure that water DOES come out of the bottom. Moisture meters are notoriously inaccurate. Root rot is not your problem. If you haven't fed it recently it might be a good idea if you expect fairly bright conditions for the next month or so.
I'll research the black spots a bit. I've seen them before, but they haven't been a real problem.

@CalPolygardener thanks for the reply! I typically feed it once a month and that hasn't seemed to change anything but I'll continue doing it. Thanks for the watering tip too! I actually just received a reply on another forum where someone said they had this exact issue and it ended up being a fungal problem. They recommended spraying leaves and stalks with a copper fungicide every week or two and that it should solve the problem. Does that sound like it could be the issue to you?

It's either that or a micronutrient like magnesium or manganese. Those are really hard to treat in a houseplant situation, so I'd go ahead and use the copper.

Hi I had a lovely talk BOP.
I had clay balls to help with drainages at the bottom of the pot and throughout the soil.
Watered as guided and there was plenty of light. I misted the plant every two days.

One by one the plant stem become soft and brown at the bottom and collapsed they gradually went round to all three

I really like BOP and want to get another one. How do I prevent this from happening again?

- the floor it's on, does have under floor heating? Can this be an issue.
- I did have a decorative upward plant light in there. Will this affect it?
- what soil should I buy?

Please help! Thank you

Was the upward plant light the only source of light? If so, the big problem was lack of light. BOPs want as much light as you can give them, even direct sun. With insufficient light it is virtually impossible to keep them healthy. They end up using so little water that they rot or suffer from a lack of water. Put it in a window with open blinds/curtains.