Hi, I have two troubled plants and I'd like some suggestions for their problems please. The first one is a rubber plant with something eating the leaves. Do I smother the leaves with oil, use something systemic, or another tactic? The second is a prayer plant that I moved to a situation far too hot for it (dumb mistake). I have since moved it back, but it is still suffering. The old leaves have curled and seem drier/crisper, but also have white specks of a dust like substance in the concave sections of the undersides of the leaves. The new leaves seem okay, but it may be too early to tell.

Hi Jan 

There isn’t a lot that troubles a rubber plant. Is it the large leaf rubber plant Ficus Robusta or the small leaf Ficus Benjamina? If you have used a systemic spray then that will have hopefully got rid of whatever was chewing the leaves. Common pests are mites, scale insect, mealy bug and sometimes aphids. These are sucking insects and not chewing insects.

The prayer plant sounds like it has mites if there is a speckled dust on the underside of the leaf. Apply a spraying oil at the correct dilution. This will need to be repeated. I think you will need to be patient with the plants recovery. Give it a weak solution of a liquid feed every two to four weeks and now that it is also in the right position it should come right.

The secret to indoor houseplants is finding the right position in your home with plenty of light but not direct sunlight for some plants, others like the rubber plant are a bit more tolerant of higher light intensities.

Thanks, Tui Team