Why do the leaves of indoor balsam turn yellow: its features, causes of the disease, what to do if they fall and fade, and what can be treated?

In practice, almost any grower can encounter yellowing of the leaves of balsam. Associated with this problem may have completely different reasons. For example, the cause of yellowing may be improper watering, or various pests.

Many cannot distinguish yellowing of leaves due to improper care from natural discharge of leaves. Therefore, below we will describe how to determine why balsam leaves turn yellow and fall, what to do and how to treat, as well as methods of control and their prevention.

Plant description

To begin with, we will tell you what this plant is. Balsamine is a member of the family of annual or perennial herbaceous plants of the Balsamic family, although some species of this plant may belong to shrubs. Balsam originates from the subtropics and tropics of Africa and Asia, also certain species can be found in Central Asia.

Since being imported to Europe in 1596, it has been the most popular indoor plant. The plant itself has long erect stems reaching a length of up to 50 cm and belongs to a long-flowering plant. The stems are smooth and branched.

Leaves can be lanceolate and oval, and also reach a length of 8-12 centimeters. The color of the petals in nature is red and pink, while hybrids have all colors except yellow and blue.

On a note. The people are nicknamed "Unfinished," because of sensitive seed boxes that, at the slightest touch, shoot seeds up to 2 meters away.

Features

Balsam leaves may have a lanceolate or oval shape. They are also quite fleshy and serrated around the edges. The color of the leaves is either green or purple-bronze. They are large in size and can reach a length of up to 12 centimeters.

Almost all balsamic diseases can be identified by leaves, due to their high sensitivity.

Also the leaves are rather fleshy, this is due to the supply of nutrients in them. But what if they fade, the plant drops them?

What causes this disease?

Causes

There are many reasons associated with yellowing balsam leaves. Further they will be indicated in descending order, that is, from the most common to the less common.

Pests. The most common pest due to which the leaves may turn yellow is the spider mite (for information on how to deal with the spider mite on balsam, read here). The main problem is its "corrosiveness", that is, it is very difficult to remove. This is due to the rapid spread of its larvae, which in the state of the larva itself are very stable with all kinds of means.
When trying to destroy this pest, it is necessary to process the plant at least 3-4 times a week.
Air humidity. The problem is that most gardeners put balsam on the windowsill, and underneath it can be batteries, heaters, and so on. All these heaters dry the air, which is very critical for a moisture-loving plant.
Wrong watering. Here it is worth starting with the fact that the drying out of the leaves can be associated with both insufficient watering and its excess. therefore, the correct amount of water for irrigation for each flower is experimentally supported.
Old soil. With a long stay in one soil, balsam absorbs the earth all mineral substances. This begins to lead to soil depletion and an increase in acid levels.
Important! Balsam must be transplanted at least 2 times a year.
The transplant should be carried out in mid-spring and late summer.
Also, the drying of the leaves can be associated with the poor quality of the earth, so it is worth the grower to mix the earth.
Excessive lighting. Balsam is closer to being in partial shade, but direct exposure to sunlight on the plant should be avoided altogether. With excessive light, balsam will begin to dry out the leaves.
Pot too big. The pot should not exceed the root system in size by more than 1.2 times. Immediately there is a weave with watering, when watering from the edge of the pot, such watering leads to the accumulation of water and, as a result, rotting of the root system.

Prevention - what to do?

Actions to save the plant stem from the causes. Therefore, the treatment will come from the correction of problems. Pests, as described above, it is enough to pickle, and the tool should be strong.

A good option against a tick is a tool that is in ampoules in the form of a powder.

As practice has shown, such a tool is the most effective. Diseases such as "Gray rot" or "Powdery mildew" are treated by changing external conditions. For instance To combat dew, the grower needs to “dry” the air.

Humidity can be changed by moving balsam away from heaters or you can use a dehumidifier, as they work in both directions, that is, how to drain and moisturize the air.

How to fix watering was described above, the correct amount of watering is determined empirically. The problem with lighting, as well as with air humidity, can be corrected by moving the plant to the northern or western part of the windows.

Reference. Things are more complicated when the roots rot and when the soil is depleted. In these situations, balsam will have to be transplanted.

Experienced flower growers before transplanting an already diseased plant, I advise you to cut off all the inflorescences. They’re not worth it, after the transplant, the balsam itself will start to bloom, and the healing process will go much faster, because all the substances will go to restore the leaves.

Prevention can include early improvement of the condition of balsam.

The flower grower must maintain optimal humidity, and the temperature in summer should not exceed 25 degrees Celsius, in winter the temperature should be about 10 degrees Celsius.
In this case, it is necessary to feed the plant in spring and summer, and due to the fact that balsam has a poorly expressed calm period in the winter, that is, it can bloom in winter, it is worthwhile to slightly feed.
Transplantation should be carried out in the spring and summer, while preferably in the land mixed by the grower himself.
Watering should not be excessive, but do not forget about it at all.
Lighting should be poor.

If these conditions are correctly observed, the leaves of balsam will stop falling off, and the plant itself will be very bright and delight the owner’s eye.

If all else fails

Unfortunately, if the florist very strongly launched his plant, then all of the above tips may not work. In an extreme way, it will remove the damaged foliage, and also, when transplanting, remove the rotted parts of the root. Then one can only hope for a miracle. In any case, to bring a plant to this state is very difficult, so you should never forget about the plant.

In conclusion, I would like to say that balsam is quite whimsical, therefore, we do not recommend to keep all the problems to the last, because in this way the florist can easily kill his plant, and this obviously will not amuse him.

Although balsam has a very pleasant bonus for those who will follow it with special sensitivity, namely, a flower will give a caring owner wonderful beauty, it is not for nothing that balsam has the status of the most common home plant since the 16th century.