12 Reasons Why String of Nickels Plant is Dropping Leaves and How to Fix Them
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String of Nickels Plant (Dischidia nummularia) may drop its beautiful coin-like leaves due to overwatering, underwatering, low temperatures, too little light, poor feeding, root-rot, pests infestation among other reasons.
Dischidia nummularia grows best in bright light with 4-6 hours of morning sunshine, average warmth of 18-260C, humidity of 50-55% and moderately moist, fertile, well-drained, succulents soil with two feedings during the growing season. Read more on how to grow and care for String of Nickels Plant.
The String of Nickels can sometimes develop problems if is not given the right growing conditions. One of these problems is leaf drop or leaf fall where the plant begins to shed its leaves.
We have herebelow outlined 12 reasons why String of Nickels Plant may drop its leaves and their remedies. Keep reading to learn more.
12 Reasons why String of Nickels Plant Leaves are Falling
1. Pest Infestations
String of Nickels Plant is prone to spider mites, scale insects, aphids and mealy bugs. These pests attack the new growth from where the suck the plant sap. This causes the plant to become dehydrated and results in wilting and dropping leaves.
Solutions
Regularly inspect your String of Nickels Plant for the pests and take timely control measures. Treat the plant for the pests with neem oil or insecticidal soap as directed by the manufacturer.
2. Too Little Light
Adequate light is needed for making food that is required for energy and growth. Insufficient light implies that the String of Nickels Plant cannot make enough food for energy and growth. In an attempt to save energy, the plant begins to drop leaves. This way, it saves the available energy for the vital functions inorder to keep alive.
Solutions
Cut back the bare stems to rejuvenate growth. Move your String of Nickels Plant to a brighter spot where it will receive bright light with some morning sunshine or instal a grow light if you do not have adequate lighting in your home. Take a look at these full spectrum grow lights on Amazon.
Regularly turn the pot to ensure that the plant absorbs enough light for photosynthesis on all sides to prevent leggy growth. Check out this guide on understanding light for houseplants.
3. Poor Quality Soil
Poor quality soil does not drain easily and easily becomes compacted or soggy. String of Nickels Plant requires loose, free-draining soil that does not get soggy as it can lead to root-rot which is characterized by yellowing and dropping leaves.
Solutions
Pot your String of Nickels Plant in good quality soil that is loose, free-draining and rich in organic matter. Cactus and succulents mix are ideal for this plant.
4. Underfeeding
Underfeeding String of Nickels Plant implies that the plant is not getting enough nutrients need for growth and energy. Inadequate nutrients in the actively growing tips causes nutrients to be withdrawn from the older lower leaves which begin to yellow and drop.
Solutions
Feed String of Nickels Plant twice during the growing season with a slow release fertilizer. Take care not to underfeed and follow the instructions on the label of the plant food.
5. Overwatering
Overwatering String of Nickels Plant results in soggy soil (excess water in the soil). Too much water in the soil reduces the oxygen concentration in the rootzone and this causes the roots to die.
When roots die, they cannot take up water and nutrients needed for the food making process. Therefore, the plant does not make enough food for growth and energy. In a bid to save energy, the String of Nickels Plant begins to drop its leaves.
Solutions
To avoid getting soggy soil, ensure that the pot for your String of Nickels Plant has a drainage hole and the soil is free-draining. In addition, reduce watering during the cold season to maintain the soil slightly moist as growth is minimal at this time.
6. Underwatering
When the String of Nickels Plant is underwatered, there is little moisture in the soil. As such, the plant cannot take up nutrients and water needed for photosynthesis (food making process). Since the plant does not get adequate food for growth and energy, it drops the leaves inorder to save energy.
Solutions
Water the String of Nickels Plant immediately and it should recover. Thereafter, water the plant liberally during the growing season and allow the top 2-3 inches of soil to dry out between waterings. Reduce watering during the cold season but do not allow the soil to dry out completely. Learn more on how to water indoor plants the right way.
7. Extreme Temperatures
String of Nickels Plant requires average temperatures of 18-260C to thrive. Extreme temperatures; either too high or too low (outside the above range) will affect the normal functioning of the plant systems.
Too high temperatures will cause excessive loss of water leading to wilting and leaf drop while at too low temperatures String of Nickels Plant stops growing and begins to die. Leaf drop is one of the signs of a dying plant.
Solutions
Keep your String of Nickels Plant away from cold drafts like drafty winds, air conditioning vents, open doors and others. Ensure that the plant is not near hot surfaces, hot air vents and other hot areas to prevent extremely high temperatures.
Maintain an average temperature of 18-260C. Usually, a room temperature that is comfortable for you is ideal for your plant. Check out this guide on understanding temperature for houseplants.
8. Too Cold Water
String of Nickels Plant is native to the tropical regions where the temperatures remain constantly warm. Therefore, watering this plant with too cold water will shock the plant and it responds with dropping its leaves.
Solutions
Water your String of Nickels Plant with water that is at room temperature to avoid shocking this tropical plant.
9. Overfeeding
Overfeeding your String of Nickels Plant will cause the roots to die due to fertilizer burn. When the roots die, they cannot take up nutrients and water required for photosynthesis. Without, adequate food for growth and energy, the plant begins to drop leaves to save energy.
Solutions
Take care not to overfeed your String of Nickels Plant. Feed it twice during the growing season with a succulents fertilizer. It is not a heavy feeder so be careful when feeding. Follow the instructions on the label of the plant food to avoid overfeeding.
Regularly flush out the salts from the soil by running a stream of water through the soil until it comes out through the drainage holes and repeat the process several times. Learn more on how to feed houseplants.
10. Root-rot Disease
String of Nickels Plant is prone to root-rot. The disease is prevalent in soggy soil. It is characterized by wilted, discolored leaves, corky swellings under the leaves and dropping leaves.
Soggy soil reduces oxygen concentration in the soil which causes the roots to die. Once the roots die, they cannot take up water and nutrients to the leaves. The leaves begin to wilt and eventually drop.
Solutions
Slip the String of Nickels Plant out of its pot and inspect the roots. Brown-black mushy roots indicate root-rot, trim them off and treat the healthy roots with a fungicidal solution.
Disinfect the pot or use a fresh pot to repot the plant in fresh well-drained soil. Do not water the plant and keep it dry for some time before resuming watering. Read more on how to treat root-rot in houseplants.
11. Root Bound Plant
A root bound String of Nickels Plant is one whose roots have filled the pot and there is very little soil to hold water when you water the plant. >Therefore, there is no water for the plant to take up to the leaves. The leaves loss their stiffness and they wilt and drop.
Solutions
Check the bottom of the pot for roots growing through the drainage hole. Repot the String of Nickels Plant into a pot one size larger than the current one. Divide a large plant into several sections and plant the sections in individual pots to propagate new plants. Take a look at these succulents pots on Amazon.
12. Repotting Shock
Repotting String of Nickels Plant may cause it some shock which may lead to some leaves wilting and dropping before it can adjust the new growing conditions.
Solutions
To minimize repotting shock, water your String of Nickels Plant thoroughly one day before repotting as a well hydrated plant experiences less shock after repotting.
Do not make too many changes at once. For instance, after repotting, maintain the plant in the same location until it is well established before moving it to a new location.
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