I purchased a Miracle Fruit plant from Thailand about two weeks ago. The plant arrived looking healthy, although a few of the leaves were damaged from the shipping.
I planted the plant in a peat/perlite mix, and left it inside next to a window, where some other plants are happy. These plants like very high humidity, like 70-80%, so I set up a humidity tray.
After three or four days, all the leaves on the plant started to dry up. The leaves never wilted, they just got crunchy. They are still green.
I don't know very much about plants, so I don't know what is wrong with this one. Can anybody help me out? I really want this plant to live.
Thanks,
Rusty
I have not grown this plant, but based on what I've read, it sounds like you were doing everything right. You had an acidic, rapidly draining growing medium; bright, indirect light; and tried to raise the humidity by using a humidity tray. My guess is that the humidity tray didn't raise the humidity enough to satisfy the plant's needs. To be effective, a humidity tray must be larger in diameter than the top growth of the plant, so that as the water evaporates, the vapor surrounds the entire plant.
Sometimes, new gardeners tend to overwater a plant, in an effort to keep it humidified. That doesn't work, and will quickly lead to root rot. Miracle berry plants like their soil just moist, not wet. You don't want the soil to dry, but you don't want it to be soggy, either. Also, keeping the soil overly wet when the plant is covered prevents the plant from breathing properly.
Placing the plant inside a cover to raise the humidity sounds like the right thing to do, and apparently helped temporarily. However, plants need air circulation to avoid contracting fungal diseases. Was the cover large enough to allow for some air circulation inside? If not, it can help to remove the cover for an hour or two once or twice a day, to give the plant a little fresh air. Misting the plant's leaves with a sprayer during the time it's uncovered can help maintain the high humidity.
I've read that they like to be a bit root bound, so if you transplanted your new plant into a larger pot when it arrived, that may have made it uncomfortable. It could also be that it was just reacting to the shock of being transplanted, and it might have bounced back after another week or two.
I sincerely hope that your plant is okay. However, a healthy plant should not have a bad smell about it, so I have some misgivings that yours may have root rot or a fungal disease of some type. You definitely are not alone in having difficulty growing one of these plants. Keeping the humidity high enough seems to be a big problem.
Did you examine your plant for pests? Mealy bugs and spider mites seem to really like the Miracle Berry plants.
Sometimes, new gardeners tend to overwater a plant, in an effort to keep it humidified. That doesn't work, and will quickly lead to root rot. Miracle berry plants like their soil just moist, not wet. You don't want the soil to dry, but you don't want it to be soggy, either. Also, keeping the soil overly wet when the plant is covered prevents the plant from breathing properly.
Placing the plant inside a cover to raise the humidity sounds like the right thing to do, and apparently helped temporarily. However, plants need air circulation to avoid contracting fungal diseases. Was the cover large enough to allow for some air circulation inside? If not, it can help to remove the cover for an hour or two once or twice a day, to give the plant a little fresh air. Misting the plant's leaves with a sprayer during the time it's uncovered can help maintain the high humidity.
I've read that they like to be a bit root bound, so if you transplanted your new plant into a larger pot when it arrived, that may have made it uncomfortable. It could also be that it was just reacting to the shock of being transplanted, and it might have bounced back after another week or two.
I sincerely hope that your plant is okay. However, a healthy plant should not have a bad smell about it, so I have some misgivings that yours may have root rot or a fungal disease of some type. You definitely are not alone in having difficulty growing one of these plants. Keeping the humidity high enough seems to be a big problem.
Did you examine your plant for pests? Mealy bugs and spider mites seem to really like the Miracle Berry plants.