One of the most beautiful leafy plants is undoubtedly the begonia maculata. The problem is when the begonia maculata loses leaves. Has it happened to you?
As a general rule, this plant should not lose any type of leaf unless we are talking about their natural cycle. But if you have noticed that they begin to fall out and you do not know the reason for it, we will talk about some causes that can cause this problem.
My begonia maculata loses leaves, what is wrong with it?
When you come home with a begonia maculata you know that it will adorn your entire house because of its polka dot leaves. In fact, they are prettier than the flowers themselves.
The problem is that, After a while, you may notice that the plant begins to lose its leaves and, if you don’t remedy it soon, in a matter of days you may find that it has died.. And you sure don’t want that.
But why does a begonia maculata lose leaves? We give you some reasons for this.
For the adaptation to the new home
As you know, moving from one place to another puts stress on plants. This is common, and the reason why many stores and nurseries advise you not to transplant it for a couple of weeks. You just have to leave it in a place and it adapts to the new climate.
During that time It is common for the plant to be duller, even to lose a leaf. But if this drop is not excessive, nothing should happen because it is a natural process in plants and it is normal that, after that time, new ones begin to sprout.
Now, if that doesn’t happen, then we do have to intervene to prevent it.
environmental dryness
One of the care that you should provide to your begonia maculata is humidity. And when the right one is not given, the plant is very “dramatic” for you to realize that something is not right. Specifically, throw away the leaves.
When that happens, one of the reasons may be that it is not receiving the humidity it needs. And what is this? Well, between 50 and 60% minimum. It does not need as much as a fern, but it does suffer a lot when the environment is dry and one of the first consequences that is generated is the fall of the leaves.
Therefore, if it happens to you, have a humidity meter on hand to check how much there is in the environment.
And how is it solved? There are several ways. If the humidity variation is not too great, you could fix it by spraying water or putting a plate with pebbles and water next to it. (or even with perlite and water) so that there is more moisture.
If the humidity is much lower than it should be, our advice is to buy a dome and put it there in the hottest months so that there is a more constant humidity and thus you can control it.
bad drainage
If your begonia maculata loses leaves, have you noticed the substrate? As you know, this plant needs to have a moist soil. But when it begins to clump up and not filter the water well, accumulations of water can form inside it which, when in contact with the roots, rots them.
In fact, this is the worst thing that can happen to her because it could kill her.
The solution is easy: take the plant out of the pot and put it in a new substrate mixed with perlite or similar. A good solution is to use a universal substrate with humus or coconut fiber and perlite. Try to apply 50% of the latter, and 40 and 10 of the previous two respectively. This way you will have a more suitable land for the begonia maculata.
Excess light, heat or fertilizer
Another of the reasons why the begonia maculata loses leaves covers two problems: light or fertilizer.
You don’t actually lose them all at once, but the leaves turn brown to the point where they end up falling dry and dead.
But why?
In the case of the light, it is because it is placed in a place where it receives too much sunlight, usually direct sun, which causes the leaves to burn and start with these symbols. If you don’t realize it, in the end the whole sheet ends up staying brown and, with it, losing it.
for his parthigh temperatures will also wreak havoc on the begonia maculata, to the point of slowing down its growth and the leaves turning brown (because they also burn due to poor humidity in the environment).
Finally, the subscriber can be both good and the worst thing you can give him.
And it is that when a dose is used that is too high for the plant, or a fertilizer that is not adequate is used, the plant reacts in this way.
excess watering
We continue with the problems for which a begonia maculata loses leaves. This is perhaps the most serious problem, to the point that you could lose the entire plant if you don’t notice.
To do this, it is enough to touch the earth and see if it is wet or soaked. The difference? Grab a handful of the soil and squeeze. Do you get water out of it when you do it? Then it is that the plant is too waterlogged and the roots rot.
Given this, do what we have told you with the drainage of the substrate: change the pot and the soil (only dry soil, do not water it until you see some response from the plant). And wait.
Lack of light
When the begonia maculata lacks light, its leaves lose their characteristic color and turn yellow. Of course, they fall off over time. Unless you catch them on time.
And the solution is easy: give it more hours of light. Of course, do not confuse more light with putting it in direct sunlight. And less in that situation that will already be weak. You have to give it more hours of indirect light and, over time, and if it reacts, you will gradually put it in direct sunlight for a few hours, but only in the morning (until 9 or so in the south of Spain, until 11 in the north), or in the afternoon (from 8 p.m. in the south, from 7 p.m. in the north). .
Is it clear to you now why a begonia maculata loses leaves?
