A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum Caring for Flower and Foliage House Plants (TGH)

House Plant care and cultivation guides. Page also provides help and links for creating terrariums, dish gardens and indoor topiaries as well as a helpful guide to troubleshooting various plant problems. (from that guy they call The Garden Helper)

For a flowering houseplant...Is there a reason why it puts out buds, they get fat, and colorful, start to open and then just stay that way for over a week, without going ahead and opening?
This is my Impateins plant.I pay attention to it's watering, (I even gave it a little bit of plant food in one watering) and it's buds are in the sunny window, with the rest of the plant in partial shade or it gets wiltie.

hello shirley i am going to take pic of lil shirley today to post for u to see how she is doing

i read on the page provided that one of the more common problems is overwatering of house plants and that the signs of is gradual defoliation (root damage) but lack of water can also have the same symptom, so how do we differentiate the 2? If root rot does happen, how do we rectify it?

stick your finger in the pot. if it is wet, you can almost bet it is over watering. if it is dry, then it needs water.

also, you can pull a plant out of the pot (carefully and gently) and if the soil is powdery, it needs more water, but if the soil is soggy, and the roots are mushy (they should be the consistancy of a raw potato) then you need to not water so often. if the soil is soggy, you can put fresh, dry soil and that will speed the recovery process.

oh no! i think i might overwatered my orchid because the pot does not have a drainage hole. I have since changed the moss to drier one and also cut off some of the long soggy roots! will that kill my plant? I have 2 blooms that seem to 'close up' and have limp petals but the colors of the closed up flowers are still fresh white, no signs of yellowing. the rest of the flowers seem normal.

if the flowers and main stem are in good shape, the plant is in good shape. you probably caught it in time.

Ok I am a new plant person...i have always killed everything i have owned...but know i need to be concerned because two plants were given to me that are very old that i need to make sure i don't kill.....one of them is a jade plant...i have never seen one this big..it has about 7 trunks about 2" in diamater coming from the base(which is covered in potting soil) i have had this plant for over a year..and of course barely watered it and it lived miraculously..now i moved and i put it above my cabinets which it seemed to love it sprouted a million little starts on these trunks...but when i went to water it once i noticed that a million leaves had died and little branches were all shriveled up and fallen off the plant...alot are very weak and just fall off...i have been trying to water more and after reading your postings realized i shouldn't have..i can't tell if its rot or not...because i don't know what it should feel like healthy. i don't want to lose this plant..total plant radius is the span of my arms...its huge.....somebody help i am not sure what to do....

Is it in a very dry room? Could be with the summer heat its too dry of a spot. Humidity dry,not watering. Or is there A/C blowing on it? They dont really like to be moved around alot but since it sent out new growth.... I'm a bit stumped.

I don't know if its dry? I get pretty plugged up at night...no A/C...we live in Washington State. ?????
How do I tell if its rot?

Gently squeeze the main stem. If its firm its not rot.

Is it getting as much light up on the cabinet as it was before you moved it up there?

there is alot of main stems...but how firm are we talking to...can you compare it to something...
i just over watered it too...the soil was wet and i watered it again...

no, it used to be right in front of a window....but the room is full of light...its been there for 6months and that is where it got its new growth????

very firm. Like sqeeze a baseball bat, no give to it at all. If it feels like a ripe melon, thats too mushy.
That new growth has me stumped. Let it get a bit dry before you water it again.

ok they seem to be pretty firm...its just the little branches that aren't really established yet...they are still green, they are weak and just falling off of the plant..only some...some are really strong...the same goes ffor some of the leaves.

some of them are squishy. can i send you a picture of it? its weird how some branches are just shriveled up at the end...and some have a darkened discolored look...if there is rot..would it have new growth

yes, my 'younger' branches have some flexibility and give to them. thats ok.
If theres any water its standing in, in the tray or dih under it dump that. It could be reacting to too little water and now too much. They really like to get dry before a new watering. If you can pot a picture that helps too. Close up of leaves. Have you looked really close for any sign of bugs? I dont know what type would attack a jade.

Well, I have to go. (time to leave work & go home) I think Jiffymouse helped me with alot of jade questions if you see her.

i'm here for a minute if you have a pic ready to post

I have a Jade. Right beside a hanging moss. The Jade was getting rained on while I watered it once a week. Still looked ok, but when I was told a recipe for homemade bug spray, evrything went sour. Almost all of the Jade's leaves fell off. ALL of the petal-like leaves fell off the hanging moss. My spider plant had alot of leaves burned and the new cuttings for my Basil gave up the ghost. I now know that the home made bug spray had a negative effect on all my plants.
The Jade's soil is back to bone dry and the hanging moss"s soil is almost dry again. Can someone give me some advice on healing my plants back to life ?

"it used to be right in front of a window....but the room is full of light...its been there for 6months and that is where it got its new growth???? "

Jade plants require bright direct sunlight - as much as you can provide! Place the plant directly in front of a south facing window if at all possible.

Symptoms of light or water deficiencies often do not appear until several months after a change in environment so it is quite possible that you were misled by the plant's new growth into thinking its new location was appropriate. Our eye's ability to adjust rapidly to light changes deceives us into thinking a room is better lit than it really is. Try moving the jade to a brighter location and remember to give it time to respond.

Good luck!
Star Dancer

Hi, I am new here. I don't have much experience with house plants, as I live in the country, Ireland, and have a garden and love watching the wild flowers and roses grow. Still, I had to rescue a withering ficus benjamin that was standing next to the door of a shop and looks a mess. It is fairly big and grown crooked, the few leaves are brownish and some are split, there are also eggs of a parasite imbedded in a leaf that is nice and green. I repotted it into a big pot with a mix of sandy garden soil, a tiny bit of clay soil and natural fertilizer like cut grass and dead leaves and tea,of course. It had roots coming out everywhere out of panik, I guess, I cut these as it has enough space now to spread out its ground roots. I have it in my kitchen on a high counter where it is light but not sunny and warm. The kitchen itself is big and light and has two big windows plus a small one, all at the east, the little garden is adjecent to the kitchen and at present it is sunny and warm and this is the brightest part of the house and the garden has little shade, only from the house wall and from one big blood beech tree.
Sorry for going on but I would like to ask advice on how to get this little rescue thriving again.
Any expert tip is welcome,
Thanks a million,
greenbeen

Sorry, replied to wrong post.

I've been feeling a bit like Johnny Appleseed lately & have planted everything from apple seeds (non stratified) to pear, lemon & Kiwi....I'm not sure how the apple seeds will do since all the info I've read says they need stratification & I'm likely to forget the poor things in the fridge...But I did bump into this pdf file online on some experiment with apple seeds & some chemical....The end result was that apple seeds with the seed coatings manually removed then sown into potting medium had the highest germination rate. I have 2 that I *carefully* manually removed the seed coatings from and planted straight away...It's only been a few days and I haven't gotten any pics posted yet, but give me time...

I have slightly higher hopes for the lemons & kiwi....Can't wait to see what springs up...

I also have several cuttings from a juniper tree *bush* from around our building rooting (hopefully) in some MG potting soil. Despite all that I've read that junipers can't be grown indoors, the way I see it if Jerry - Bonzaihunk can do it, I'll give it a go.....I've got everything under 2 small 17" flourescent (now soft white) lights. My first two orginal plants (Philodendron & Golden Pathos *I think*)are doing well under them so I thought I'd try to expand my collection.

I have had a Warneckii Dracaena for a few months now. It gets a decent amount of light but the room is very dry. It started to get brown tips so i went searching online for answer. I read somewhere that it should be put in a tray with rocks and to fill the tray with water and the evaporation would help with the dryness of the room. It seems to be doing better in terms of the tips but im concerned with the overall health of the plant.

I cant find the source i read before and everything i read now seems to contradict what i read. the soil stays damp all the time. so i worry about what the long term effects will be. im new to caring for plants. any help would be great.

thanks

another source of brown tips is chemicals in the water you use to water your plant. i only use well, distilled, or rain water.

I have read this as well and i certainly appreciate the helpful tip. I would like some others input on the situation i have described. switching water is an easy fix and like i mentioned the tips seem to be improving already.

I just received a Gardenia plant last Thursday, never had one before, left it outside and it rained(alot). Think it got too much rain b/c the foilage started to turn yellow. Brought it inside (Sunday) didn't water any more until yesterday (Tuesday). The soil was very dry and the foilage was starting to droop. I think I over watered it, so I put it outside on the front porch to let it dry out a bit. Ment to bring it in last night, but I didn't and left it outside all day. I'm still at work and havn't seen it yet. Afraid that being outside all day would have hurt it. Please someone help this poor beginner.

This helped me so much. (this entire thread). I have lost every plant I've ever had...and now I know how to check for overwatering...I'm sure that's me...so thank you!!

over watering and under watering house plants can take their toll on a house plant. I rescued a plant that I found in wal mart. They hadn't watered it in days, I bought it, the leaves were about gone the plant looked dead. My husband and kids laughed at me saying I had wasted my money. I transplated it, loved it talked to it every day, and it is now a beautiful plant. It is called a MoonValley Pelia.
I have several other houseplants but this one is my pride and joy.

IHAVE A GARDENIA .I find it likes to be watered regularly but allowed to dry out in between here in scotland it has to be kept in the conservatory and is thriving in good daylight but not exposed to full sun. so far its been repeat flowering for 3 months so I guess I must be doing something right.Remember to dead head.
BIZZYLIZZY

I have been growing Orchids and I give more attention to it. I have read like any other house plant orchids requires proper water, fertilizer, light, temperatures, and humidity. So I kept it near the sunny window and paid attention to its watering and now my plant is growing good any suggestion what i can do more to my orchids?

Floral Arrangement
Add water daily to bouquets arranged in floral foam.
Place arrangements in cool place away from heat, drafts, and direct sunlight.

Hi!
Cyclamen is a small but diverse genus of plants. Many species are hardy, generally in USDA zones 7 and above. But Cyclamen persicum is often seen for sale throughout the fall and winter, in less hardy zones, as a houseplant. C. persicum, aptly referred to as the Florist’s Cyclamen, has sweet scented small (½ to 3/4 inch) flowers that are produced on long stems, held upright above the foliage. It is a tuberous perennial with heart shaped leaves common to cyclamen...You can find Florist cyclamen in shades of pink, red or white.

I just received a cyclamen plant as a gift, and it of course is just the grocery store kind, I've read all the pages on caring for it and they say that re-potting is suggested when it goes dormant. Seeing as (if I manage to keep it alive) that won't be for another several months, I'm worried that the little nursery pot it came in won't be big enough for it, as it already seems to have filled it.
I've got it in a room that has Northeast facing windows, but not right next to the windows, and as far from the vents in the room as I can, so hopefully it won't get too warm. The soil was still damp when I got it, so I've got it raised above a tray of water sitting on a plastic shelf about 1/2 inch over the water. Not even sure this will help with the humidity it's supposed to need, but it's all I had on hand and as I'm in Alberta, Canada, it gets very very dry here. Might try misting instead of the tray thing.
Any advice? Can I try re-potting it, or will it be fine if I leave it until spring? If I do go with misting, and watering from the bottom, how often should I mist it? It's got about 6 flowers and tons of buds, looks healthy and pretty to me. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Imps grow best in partial shade or shade..

How NOT to over care and worry about plants? I need help on how to ignore the plants and stop moving them around. Some of you may know I have several tropicals...and even though I live in a bright apartment (no big windows, as it's a semi-basement...but there are 2 south facing half windows that bring in sunshine all day until sunset), I worry about them not getting light and enough humidity (although I mist). I also worry about water spots (they're showing up on leaves and some leaves are thinning/discolouring, some tips are browning and some have small tears) since I have hard water. Help :(

pLEASE DONT panic yet....
I have hard water too. I know africian violets you don't mist.
Don't think the water makes the spots.green houses have water mist and dripping at all times.
Right now there is something effecting flowers a lot. My lilys get a rust like on them soon as they bloom an seem to die. <ay be a blight.
Don't mist if your in doubt.
I would think tropical like shade , don't know.

Hi PRIYANKA -
When you say tropicals, I don't know which plants you mean, since virtually all indoor houseplants are tropicals. If you're referring to the common foliage plants, however, you can relax. Your description of the light in your place sounds like high, medium-high, and medium light - plenty for plants that often grow in medium-low and low light. Your plants would probably prefer to be left in place, so they can adapt to a consistent environment.
Humidity and hard water are less of a concern than you think also. Most of these plants are commonly used in interior landscaping, where they must live with the water from the taps, and the humidity as it exists in the offices. The plants do just fine. Misting, unless it's the kind done in greenhouses, is pretty much a myth. The humidity is raised only for a few minutes after the misting, then returns to normal. If it makes you feel better, set your plants on pebbles in trays of water.

The leaf damage you're describing is more likely related to soil/root problems. Do you fertilize a lot? Over-fertilizing can lead to toxicity, seen in burnt and discolored leaves. My opinion is that with potted plants indoors, less is best when it comes to fertilizing.
Check into salt level in the soil, and leach the soil if the salt is high.
Have the plants been in the same pots for several years? Try repotting.
What about soil moisture - do you check the moisture level in the bottom of the pot before watering? Often, even though you feel the top couple of inches, the soil in the bottom of the pot where the roots are is too wet.

Or perhaps when you water you don't water enough to let the bottom of the soil mass get moisture, so the roots are too dry. You might want to check out the Ficus Wrangler Channel to learn some more about watering, especially



and



I've been an interior horticulturist for 30 years - let me know if you have questions.