Too much sun?
What’s happening here? He was happy and now his older leaves keep turning yellow and coming off. We have new growth at the same time. Too much sun?
0ft to light, indirect
12” pot with drainage
Last watered 3 days ago
4
Best Answer
@HandyBonsi45 moisture meters are notoriously inaccurate unfortunately. The best way is to touch the soil, just stick your finger in a few inches down. I've noticed a lot of plant care guides out there say Aglaonema like their soil to stay consistently moist, but I have not found this to be the case at all. In my experience they actually prefer to almost completely dry out all the way to the bottom of the pot. They're tropical plants, so they can withstand a fair amount of heat, especially humid heat, no problem. But direct sun hitting the leaves is what can cause them to burn. In their native habitats they grow on forest floors where they only get dappled sun through the tree canopy. I think where you have it now is perfect. Just aim for within 3 feet of the window, any further and you run the risk of it not getting enough light. If direct sun still hits it from 3 feet away, I'd recommend moving it to either a north or east-facing window instead 🤓
@MJundersun @HandyBonsi45 this is definitely not sunburn from too much light. The most likely culprit is that the soil is staying too damp and not properly drying out between waterings, which leads to root rot. The signs will show themselves first on the leaves closest to the soil. Are you checking the soil to see how dry/damp it is before watering?
@stephonicle I’ve got a water meter in there, but I don’t know how accurate it is. Root rot was my first thought, but the meter made me second guess and consider the sun since we are getting into warmer seasons. I’ll take a peek and the soil. Thanks!