A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum New girl, with New plants =]

So, here recently I decided my home needed a little sprucing up.
I bought a few plants. Which include Croton Petra, Dracaena Marginata, a Hawaiian Ti, Rubber Plant, Dumbcane, and three Philodendrons.
I'd appreciate any tips for any of these plants, but I have a few main questions.
1.) My croton was a little beaten up, (torn leaves, sitting in a rather small pot and FULL of water) any main things I should do to help it?

2.) My dracaena was shredded by my cat. The cat is fine, but I wanna save my little dragon buddy. =[

3.) My Ti was beautiful when I bought it, but now the tips are browning and three leaves have fallen off.


I'm so happy I found this forum. I poked around it for about three days before I joined. I look forward to sharing cuttings, seeds, etc. with you guys! You seem like a great bunch =]

Welcome Kaymon.
I am far from a house plant pro. But there is a general rule for most of them. Begin here. Then at the top of each page is a specific Google box for a lot of plant info. Try typing the names and see if you can find your plant, problem and fixes.

Welcome Kaymon.

Kaymon, Welcome from Illinois as well.

Is your Croton still in a small pot filled with water?

If it is, you need to repot it into a pot that is about 2 inches bigger than its current one. (If it is in a 4 in pot, pot it up to a 6 in).

Changing the soil as you repot it will be better than trying to dry out the mud or muck you have now. You seriously do not want your croton's roots to rot!




Sometimes, plants get "shocky" when they've been moved. You didn't say how long it has been since you bought them but they will need time to adjust to their new environment.

Brown tips & falling leaves can indicate improper care... usually not enough water. You can carefully snip off the brown tips with a goodly pair of sharp scissors. This will make the leaves have an odd shape but it is better for the plant.


Merme

I've had them for almost two weeks now. And as soon as I bought the croton, I repotted it, in some pretty good MiracleGro brand potting soil. The people at Ace hardware said it was the best? haha I wouldnt know, no where near expert. =]

"Best" in terms of potting soil is a personal matter of preference. Some folks (like me) like the MiracleGro brand; others don't. Lots of people like to buy bland potting soil and amend it themselves.

So do you think your Croton is recovering from having soaked in murk?

Actually I looked at it today. I would say it has grown about two inches since I got it. ^__^

Kaymon

Why do you let your plants fight? Get beaten up?

Welcome to GH

Sounds like a lots of shade lovers there..

Good luck.

dodge

Welcome, Kaman . . . I've only just returned to Garden Helpers. Just follow the advice here, 'specially that link you were given to the indoor plants info here.

I've been gardening seriously since 2k4 and learned most of what I know, right here at GH.