A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum Wilting Fittonia

Hello All:

I'm hoping that someone can give me some guidance on caring for my Fittonia (Bianco Verde) plant. I bought it in late August, and have been enjoying having it on my desk at work since then. Until this week, it had done beautifully! But now there are two small clusters of plants (there are several in the pot) that are wilting dramatically!! I thought that I'd over watered it, so I let it dry out a bit... only to find out that dry soil could be the very problem. The curious thing is that when I tried to water it earlier today, it wouldn't drink!! The water drained right through to the tray and is sitting there, unabsorbed!!!!

Is there anyone out there that can shed some light on this?

Thanks so much!!
ChrissyB

Welcome, ChrissyB. I do not know a lot about fittonias as house plants. But I do know about dry soils that don't want to absorb water. You will need to soak the pot in a tub of water for a little while to soak up water from the bottom. To rehydrate the soil you may have to do this a couple of weeks in a row to complete the rehydration. Let it drain thoroughly before you put it back onto any furniture.