Fukien tea leaves drying

[danipozo]

Hi all! A few days ago I bought a fukien tea, brought it to my home, and now it looks as in the attached photo. Some information that might be relevant:
- I don't have it under direct sunlight, but close to a south-facing window that receives lots of indirect light.
- I am spraying it as I was told by the store owner, since the weather in Granada is very dry (humidity levels these days are around 10-13 % during daytime and 30 % before dawn).
- I have watered it I think properly, the soil is wet.

I hope you can help me, please ask me anything else that may be relevant. Thank you.

PS. I have seen similar posts and also I have taken a quick look in search of a rules post, don't hesitate to tell me anything that I might be doing wrong.

 

[Versal]

Welcome!

Dry leaves suggests that it needs water but I would be surprised if it dried up that quickly since you just had it for a few days.

- I am spraying it as I was told by the store owner, since the weather in Granada is very dry (humidity levels these days are around 10-13 % during daytime and 30 % before dawn).

To help increase humidity, you can place the pot in a tray of standing water.

- I have watered it I think properly, the soil is wet.

Did you also check if the soil is wet all the way down near the bottom of the pot? You can place a wooden stick into the pot and see if the bottom is wet. If not, make sure to always water until the water is freely draining out of the bottom. Sometimes if I am really worried, I double water the plant (water until i see water draining from bottom -> wait a couple minutes -> repeat watering) because soil is hydrophobic if it is really dry.

Alternatively, you can submerge the whole pot in a bucket of water for a minute if the soil is really compact and the bottom of the pot isn't wet enough. I wouldn't recommend doing this all the time because you can easily overwater a plant but it should be fine until the plant recovers and you can repot it in new soil

 

[danipozo]

Hi Versal!

Alternatively, you can submerge the whole pot in a bucket of water for a minute if the soil is really compact and the bottom of the pot isn't wet enough.

This is what I did to water it like four days ago, I should have mentioned. The soil is still quite wet even though the weather is pretty hot and very dry lately, maybe it was too much water?

 

[Versal]

Hi Versal!

This is what I did to water it like four days ago, I should have mentioned. The soil is still quite wet even though the weather is pretty hot and very dry lately, maybe it was too much water?

Oh great! Sounds like you already got some good tips then haha
Overwatering usually takes months to show any effects so I think you should be fine. The soil looks mostly organic so it's normal to remain wet for several days even if it is hot.

I assume you haven't starting fertilizing yet? It may be helpful to skip fertilizing for now until the tree recovers

You sound like you already have the basics down so I would just be patient now and only water once the pot is dry. In my experience, Fukien always act up when changing environments. You may just need to give it some time to adjust