Question
QUESTION: I was on vacation for 3 weeks and when i came back noticed these brown spots on the leaves of my plant which otherwise was very healthy. I gave it plant food after returning back but nothing has improved. One of its stems got wilted so I think I need to cut it off. Please advice. I love the look of this plant ... Please help

ANSWER: Praneeta,  

Was someone taking care of your plants while you were gone? If one of the stems is wilted it was probably overwatered and you need to be very careful about not watering it too much now so it can recuperate or the roots will rot quickly and you will loose the plant. Let me know if you need my instructions on how to handle overwatered plants.

Now these spots on the leaves, are they indentations in the leaves or spots on the surface that you can take a Q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol and remove? If it is the second it is an insect called scale. If there aren't too many continue with the Q-tips and remove them all. If there are a lot of small ones you can fill a spray bottle with rubbing alcohol and spray the entire plant making sure you get the fronts and backs of all leaves. Spray it twice a week for 2 weeks then weekly for 4 more weeks to make sure you kill any babies that hatch from eggs.

If the brown spots are not scale send me a picture of them to my private email and I will suggest what you can do. Good luck.

Darlene  [email protected]

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your response.
The plant was surely not over watered. Infact, it was not watered at all for three weeks. And after returning back I fed it with plant food (granules mixed with water .. Miracle Grow). These brown spots are not small, they are more like browning of the leaves now. One of the stems has already died but still on the plant. The other leaves are browning from bottom to the top. I will try to send you a picture of the plant. Thanks for your help.

Answer
Praneeta,

When you are going to be gone for 3 weeks you need to have someone water your plants for you. That is too long for them to go without any water. When plants have gone for that long with out water you should water them first and wait a wee before applying fertilizer. Fertilizer applied to a plant that has been dry for so long will burn the roots and make it immpossible for them to absorb water which I beleive may be what happened to your plant. You might try setting it in the tub and slowly running water through it to wash the fertilizer out of the soil. That may help the plant be able to absorb moisture through some of the fine roots eventually. Good luck.

Darlene