I'm a really big fan of Ficus Houseplants - their magestic large leaves and their slow and stready growth is just very appealling. Not only that but they also come in many different species now which means you as a buyer have a plethora of choice - nice place to be...
But as sellers, we often bear the brunt of customers when their plants go downhill as the finger gets pointed back at us. So I'll give you an example how a plant can go from this:
Scenario
Customer receives plant and is delighted. Looks good for a few days then drops a leaf (normal but worried customer).
Customer may or may not have over watered it (although this is how most houseplants die), they may have even repotted it or placed in direct sun, near radiator or simply stressed it out - so many variables. That said they might have not fussed it at all (preferred option).
Plant drops another leaf and customer messages us to advise plant is dying.
My immediate thoughts - plant is not dying, plant is adjusting.
Now here's the thing. We as a seller would have kept this plant in fantastic condition as we only ever send out plants in A1 condition - it's the only way to build a reputation after all. Customers need reassurace when buying with Leaf Culture and that's exactly what they get.
What happens to a plant after delivery is down to you - bitter pill to swallow for sure but it's true. It's up to the plant parent to look after it and make sure it has what it needs. Is the plant in question tricky to keep? Does it need more TLC then a peace lily for eg? Probably so...Is it above your skill set, who knows but it might be. There's lots of reasons as you can begin to image...
It's also worth noting that plants can and will drop leaves and it's not the end of the world.
Let's just assume in this eg, the plant arrives quickly and was not repotted or particularly stressed out. But it drops a leaf - which is totoally normal. It may even drop another leaf or two - normal.
Now here's what needs to be considered. When a plant moves from one light environment to another, it may have more leaves than it can currently support in its new home. You see in greenhouses plants grow lots of leaves because they have everything they have ever wanted. Loads of light, loads of warmth and plenty of food. Only being watered when they really need it and living in the same place their entire life - sounds good right?!
Then all of a sudden, it then gets shipped acrosss the globe to a shop and then a customer. The lighting will be less - not as bright and it won't be as warm either. The plant therefore cannot maintain it's current mass of leaves - there's simply not enough light (aka energy) in the new environment to support it. Therefore the plant drops a leaf or two so it balances out. It has to do this to survive.
Remember it can only support the amount of leaves it has according to the amount of light it receives. The plant is focusing on self preservation after all and it's a pretty smart way of dealing with it. The less light the plant is receiving compared to what it was receiving, results in a proportionate amount of leaves being dropped.
So the message I am trying to get across here is it's 100% normal for plants to drop leaves and some do this more than others - i.e. Ficus. Many have to acclimatise to their new environment and this means losing / dropping some of what they have - but that's OK - it's normal. You just need to be patient and wait for more to grow - and they will.
