# Plant question- Japanese Aralia

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-question-japanese-aralia/739376>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 4, 2015, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-question-japanese-aralia/739376 "2015-12-04T03:17:36Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ric62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@ric62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ric62)\
**Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-question-japanese-aralia/739376/1 "2015-12-04T03:17:36Z")

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I bought an Aralia this past fall for the breezeway at my apartment. It was doing very well until it got cold. I thought that the temp where the plant was at would stay warm enough for it. It didn’t. It’s leaves were drooping after several days. I brought it inside where it has been for several days. None of the leaves are turning brown or falling off but the leaves are still drooping. Have I saved it or will it die? Is there anything I can do to help it?

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**Author:** ![TheFaerie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@TheFaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFaerie)\
**Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-question-japanese-aralia/739376/2 "2015-12-04T17:04:33Z")

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I’m not a plant person, so I don’t know about your situation, but we have an ancient aralia in our bedroom that will go dormant for a time (sometimes for months), then will eventually straighten up and green back up again. Make sure you are watering it correctly and that it gets the light that it needs.

(I say ancient because my husband doesn’t know how long he’s had it, and I’ve known him for 15 years. We also have an ancient rubber plant that does the same thing.)

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**Author:** ![Fool\_in\_the\_Rain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fool\_in\_the\_Rain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fool_in_the_Rain)\
**Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-question-japanese-aralia/739376/3 "2015-12-04T17:16:34Z")

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[Garden Web](http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1899097/help-with-wilting-aralia)

Maybe not specific to your situation, but it might give you clues…

> [@](#):
>
> “my window sill is right above the heat vents.”  
> This sounds like it’s getting directly blasted with hot, dry air occasionally. Plants don’t like that, intermittently, in a generally cold room.
> 
> “The soil was slightly moist at the base after weeks of not watering.”  
> This sounds like the roots have rotted and are unable to deliver moisture to the plant. So the foliage wilts. Adding more water won’t help that, just exacerbate it. This is what overwatering means but it’s not your fault. It’s the soil holding too much moisture, so the problem is really underdrying.
> 
> If there are no tiny particles in a pot, it will dry soooo much faster. People who lose plants because they forget to water would have a hard time with this, but if you’re the more common ‘overwatering’ type, which it sounds like you are from reading about your Aralia, this can mean the difference between plants that stay alive vs. those that die. I used to kill plants by ‘overwatering’ too until learning how to fix things through the great info here at GW.
> 
> I might recommend an alternative source of water other than tap water, such as rain, melted snow, condensate from dehumidifier or A/C, distilled. It makes a huge difference if tap water is making one visibly ill (which it usually does over time.)