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I just adopted an umbrella plant earlier today and carried it back home on public transport. I’m not sure if the bumpy ride home annoyed it or if something else is wrong but the leaves are starting to fold back. Most of these were fanned out and flat when I picked it up (several hours ago). Any thoughts? I don’t see anything online indicating this plant curls up for the night (the photo was taken at night). enter image description here

Ryan
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  • For the record, the leaves are still strong and flat, not curling or drooping like the symptoms of overwatering. The plant has just aggressively bent back. – Ryan Mar 29 '22 at 23:03

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The only time my one of these does this is if it's short of water. I note you have some sort of hessian around the pot, so am wondering how you manage to water it properly without it leaking all over the furniture? The other possibility is shock - when you took it home, it would have been exposed to colder temperatures than it's used to, and that may have had an effect. It hopefully will just settle down in its new home without any major ill effects.

If the soil in the pot is dry to the touch (it looks like it might be dry in the image), water it thoroughly, allowing the excess to drain away freely from the holes in the bottom of the pot.

Bamboo
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  • Cool yes will check about an inch into the soil and if dry will water. About the jute covering- I just tied this around the plastic out to keep the soil in. It easily slips off for watering. – Ryan Mar 30 '22 at 14:25
  • You don;t need to poke your finger into the soil in the pot, its not great for the roots to do that every time - feel the surface and pick the pot up - if the surface is dry and the pot isn't heavy, water well. If you let the excess drain away and don't allow any water to sit in an outer pot or tray, it'll be fine. – Bamboo Mar 30 '22 at 15:09
  • Sorted. watered it and put a plant light next to it (but without the plant being in direct light). It’s too overcast this week to get it enough natural light while it’s settling in perhaps. – Ryan Mar 30 '22 at 17:50
  • Not sure you need the light, though for all I know, your room only has a small window and is quite dark - I'm in London and yes, there's cloud cover, but also intermittent sun, making it pretty bright, though I do have a large window in here... – Bamboo Mar 31 '22 at 09:54
  • Ah same, located in London. It hasn’t gotten much better over time. The soil dries out about once every week/week and a half and I water it then. Since this is such a hard water city do you filter your water? Maybe that’s contributing to the problem. – Ryan Apr 11 '22 at 10:53
  • No, I just use tap water as it is even though its hard and I've had my plant for years and years, no problems from the hard water. It occurs to me that the size of pot might be an issue - its hard to see what size it is, but perhaps it now needs larger pot? – Bamboo Apr 11 '22 at 11:52