Whats wrong with my umbrella tree?

Question

The leaves grow out large and healthy looking then droop and curl, but new leaves continue to grow! What could be the problem?

Answer 1

The soil in the pot looks very dry. The photo is a bit blurry, so I can't tell if the pot is white at the top and red at the bottom or whether you've got a white pot sitting inside a red pot. If its the latter,then the bottom of the white pot looks like it does not reach to the bottom of the red pot. If that's the case, there's your problem - take the white plant pot out of the other pot, find a tray or plate or something else to stand it on, and water thoroughly, allowing excess to drain away freely. If the soil in the pot is dried right out, place the whole white pot, soil and plant into a bucket of water - weight the soil down with pebbles or something so that the whole pot and roots are submerged, leave for a couple of hours, then remove and stand somewhere to allow the plant to drain down thoroughly. The watering routine ongoing is to water when the surface of the soil is dry to the touch, but not so dry its shrunken from the sides of the pot, and water thoroughly, emptying out any outer pot or tray after 30 minutes so the plant is not left sitting in water.

If, when you lift up the white pot and plant, there are roots hanging out of the bottom, then turn the plant out of its pot and check whether its root bound (you'll see solid roots and not much soil). If its like that, you will need the next size up pot, with drainage holes, and some fresh potting soil - move the plant into the larger pot, water thoroughly, and always use a tray or pot that is wide enough for the plant pot to sit inside, right to the bottom.

If its simply a red and white pot, you're not watering sufficiently well - I don't see anything to catch any water running out of the pot after you've watered either, so how do you water it? Or does the pot not have drainage holes anyway... if that's the case, the plant needs to be in a pot with drainage holes.