The House Plants Thread
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Since you're posting again
Mr_Bungle
I have a question about another houseplant I "murdered". I bought a Fittonia about a year ago that was doing fine except for a few occasions where it started wilting because I didn't keep the soil wet enough - found out through trial and error that it really requires constantly moist soil. Anyway, one day I noticed it wilted again but the soil was quite moist at the time. It never recovered, just withered away and died. Do you know what might have caused that?
Mr_Bungle
I have a question about another houseplant I "murdered". I bought a Fittonia about a year ago that was doing fine except for a few occasions where it started wilting because I didn't keep the soil wet enough - found out through trial and error that it really requires constantly moist soil. Anyway, one day I noticed it wilted again but the soil was quite moist at the time. It never recovered, just withered away and died. Do you know what might have caused that?
Mr_Bungle
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Since you're posting again
Fittonias need soil that can drain fast but retain water and aeration, they are native to South America and have adapted to warm, humid environments with air flow.
I would chalk that up to over watering. With plants that require consistently moist soil you have to be careful to avoid root rot. Over watering can render root zone unable to make use of any surrounding oxygen or nutrients, once the roots are over critically over saturated they rot. These sets of conditions are not optimal for the plant and it cannot transport any liquid to the foliage above that are using their stoma to breath, increasing the water demand. With the inability to transport water combined with the demand for transpiration the internal pressure within the cell depreciates causing the foliage to wilt.
Another cause could be too much direct sunlight causing the plant to become damaged and unable to use any of the water below.
There is a distinction between moist and waterlogged.This is what I would recommend, allow the top layer of soil to feel dry to the touch before watering again to gauge the rate of dry down. You can use up to the first knuckle on your index finger for a more accurate evaluation. I would let the plant drain any excess water for no less than 30 mins in a sink before placing the plant back to ensure no stagnant water is sitting underneath the pot causing the rotting issues mentioned before.
Edit: Plants from South America like Fittonias and Pepperomias do not like cold water. It makes the soil cold and can further increase the possibility of disease. Cold water can shock the plant causing the foliage to dip down and wilt as well.
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Big Phoenix
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Mr_Bungle
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It was probably overwatering then. I was too zealous to keep it from wilting due to dryness.
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Goonsquad Officer
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I can't smell things
Yea. I have a few pots of it because i just pull half of them out of one pot and put into the other, and it creeps right back to filling the pot. it never gets any taller than this, and in the dead of winter it often turns completely brown then bounces back in the spring (i keep it outdoors unless it's freezing). I'm eventually going to do a raised planter around my mailbox full of it when i have enough.
I always pictured ferns as being taller. this is an (insert name here) fern of some kind i guess? Gramma called it an italian fern, but she said that HER mother got it from some one out of neworleans who called it an italian fern. It's best not to trust salesmen from neworleans though.
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popsicledeath
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Re the fitonia. I have several high humidity plants that benefitted greatly from misting the leaves several times a day. Though probably not a good idea if already some damage. And to be clear it was annoying and I stopped. Ain't nobody got time for that. Most survived, though, and doing better with a humidifier in the house.
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yea. we had this old bell in her yard. like 18 inches wide on a pole with this stuff growing out of a concrete raised planted area grampa made. I dunno why she had the bell, but we got in trouble for ringing it too much. when she first moved there it wasn't "city". i suspect it was to let the youngins know it was time to come home. This italian fern grew at the base and she said she never had to maintain it. she just once a season pulled the dollar weed out and then let it chill.
She also had a strain of this really generic boxwood that i took clippings of and planted at my house. grampa said he bought the stuff in the 50's.
I wish i'd of gotten some of his old Scuppernongs before they took the arbor down. He had this crazy arbor made of six telephone poles and railroad ties and a little hogwire.
She also had a strain of this really generic boxwood that i took clippings of and planted at my house. grampa said he bought the stuff in the 50's.
I wish i'd of gotten some of his old Scuppernongs before they took the arbor down. He had this crazy arbor made of six telephone poles and railroad ties and a little hogwire.
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ShakyJake
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Any Yucca Cane experts here? I bought one of these not quite a year ago. I followed the directions -- didn't water it much, made sure the soil was at most damp. Light-wise was suppose to be about 5' from a window, so I kept it under a skylight which I thought would be ample light.
It was fine for months but then the leaves started to dry up -- even the ones at the top. I thought maybe it wasn't getting enough light so I sat it in front of the deck sliding door which receives light in the morning then tapers off as the sun moves to the other side of the house. I went away for a few days and when i came back the whole thing was severely drooping. All the blades ended up dying on all the stalks save for the one in the picture. And that stalk, while the leaves look somewhat healthy, is kept strapped on by a twist-tie.
From what research I've done is sounds like these plants are extremely hardy and don't mind being whacked on. But Is this thing salvageable at this point? I hate to throw it out.
It was fine for months but then the leaves started to dry up -- even the ones at the top. I thought maybe it wasn't getting enough light so I sat it in front of the deck sliding door which receives light in the morning then tapers off as the sun moves to the other side of the house. I went away for a few days and when i came back the whole thing was severely drooping. All the blades ended up dying on all the stalks save for the one in the picture. And that stalk, while the leaves look somewhat healthy, is kept strapped on by a twist-tie.
From what research I've done is sounds like these plants are extremely hardy and don't mind being whacked on. But Is this thing salvageable at this point? I hate to throw it out.
Mr_Bungle
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I would keep it and make sure your house is not too dry. If its very dry you can try placing a tray of pebbles with water under the pot, evaporating the water around the plant as the day goes by. In my experience I have always killed these poor things due to overwatering/ disease. The foliage looks healthy, a little pale but healthy.
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Big Phoenix
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So I grew some Broccoli. Grew alright but the flower heads it produced where really small so I said it wasnt even worth it to cut them so I let it go to flower. Thing ended up getting 5 feet tall before falling over;
Also grew some lettuce and mustard greens. Problem I had with those was in the insane amount of bugs on them. Each lettuce had 3-4 caterpillars on it. Ended up being a turn off as even with washing them pretty damn good I ended up finding a small bug in a batch of mustard greens my mom made me. So im going to do some more, this time it will be hydroponic indoors.
Also trees are blooming again. Interesting my grapefruit tree is only blooming on one limb;
Also all of my aloe vera is blooming, every single one with the bigger ones having 2-3 blooms on them;
Also grew some lettuce and mustard greens. Problem I had with those was in the insane amount of bugs on them. Each lettuce had 3-4 caterpillars on it. Ended up being a turn off as even with washing them pretty damn good I ended up finding a small bug in a batch of mustard greens my mom made me. So im going to do some more, this time it will be hydroponic indoors.
Also trees are blooming again. Interesting my grapefruit tree is only blooming on one limb;
Also all of my aloe vera is blooming, every single one with the bigger ones having 2-3 blooms on them;
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