A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum Help me save whitey! -- new plant new owner

HELP!! complete newbie here!

around 2 weeks ago i bought a small flowering potted plant (i named WHITEY) from a stall in the mall because i got really bored... now im pretty much attached to it.

The thing is, i dont even know whats called! the lady in the story (unsociable as she was) called it "Malaysian".

Anyway it looks like this plant here...



thats how whitey really looks like on the first day... bad camera... sorry

The plant is pretty small the biggest flower is at around 1.5 inches across. The thing is, I live in a Concrete condo in Manila, Philippines and i placed the plant on top of my desk thats pretty close to the window (no direct sunlight though.)
Basically, what happened to it was it had a lot of buds when i got it... but most of the buds turned brown by the end of the 2nd week... i cut off all of the brown buds figuring they rotted as well as the dead leaves i could find.

i dont know if i should transfer her to a different pot, water her more, fertilize or put her where the sun is... PLEASE HELP SAVE WHITEY! :(

Daisy? the first photo is .

Most blooms need sun.. DOnt over water.......
Where was it when you bought it / ? Sun or lights or what ?

I believe your plant is a chrysanthemum or mum as most people call it. dodge is right, they need lots of light. these are not very good houseplants, and they do eventually die off.

Whitey is a chrysanthemum. I'd bet the farm that Whitey is seriously root-bound. So no matter how much you water him, his roots are drying out.

If you want to try to bring him back-- and you can! he might even bloom again-- repot him in a bigger pot with good potting soil. When you're repotting him, tease apart his roots, and don't worry if you break some. Snip off all of the flowers and flower buds if there are any. Sprinkle some slow release fertilizer on top of the soil. Water very well, and then let the soil dry out a little. Thorough waterings once a week or so are better than shallow watering ever day or two.

If you can plant Whitey outside in the ground, that would be great.

Marcia's advice is great. I agree Whitey is a mum and they are usually grown outdoors or in a greenhouse (before going to a florist or mall). They do need a lot of light, so you might have a hard time getting it to bloom again indoors (without putting under gro-lights of some type). Outdoor plants or those that were in greenhouses, often go into shock when they are moved into your house, because the air in your house is much drier, and maybe also warmer, and probably it's getting less light, too. So it is quite possible that Whitey will lose many leaves while it is adjusting to being in your house. As long as you see some new leaves coming in, there is still hope. :) You can repot him in a larger pot (like Marcia said) in a potting soil and water thoroughly once a week (let it run out the bottom) and give as much light and humidity as possible. After Whitey gets done blooming, he won't have flowers again until the spring. If you keep him alive thru the winter, then start fertilizing him in the spring, with a product that is meant for flowering plants. If Whitey were my plant, I would put him outside either now or in the spring, in a sunny spot. If you don't have a garden you can use a big planter. Mums can survive the winter outside and come back next year, depending on where you live.

I never heard of mums blooming in the spring in zone 5......

me either Barb, but then I am in zone 6

i've never heard of them blooming in the spring, but they will naturally bloom in the summer unless you pinch the buds (usually no later than July 1) here