A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 What do I do?

Just rescued a few houseplants from my SIL. One is a spider plant, which had dead tips that I cut off -- was that the right thing to do? It has one baby coming off a loooooong shoot...how do I plant that baby now?

The other one I got, I've seen a zillion times, but don't know what it's called. It's also a mess, and I'd like to fix it up, but don't know where to start...is it supposed to be this leggy? If not, what do I do to fix it up now? It's also got some Wandering Jew (?) in it. You can see a little of it on the right side of pic #2 and in front of the drawers in pic #3. Don't mind the can opener



Thanks for your help!

well, those are nice plants to rescue, and easy to get back to health, although the one i can't remember the name of either (arrow head vine?) doesn't look as bad as i feared. that one is easy to propogate. i just cut the top off of it, plop it in water till you get roots, then put it in the pot with the original. same for the wandering jew. they do very well as companion plants as the wandering jew tends to go down then up, and the other goes up then down!

as for the spider, you can either cut the baby off, put it in a cup of water for a few days then plant it, plant it with it still attached to "mom" then after it gets a new set of leaves or two, seperate it, or just cut it off and plant it outright. i haven't had too much luck with the last one, but the other two work very well for me!

the question i have is this. is the spider solid green, white in the middle, or green in the middle. i have solid green and white in the middle. i'm looking for green in the middle next.

Hey Mary,

When you find out the name of your mystery plant let me know. The leaves look the same as the white caladium but I wouldn't have to do the 4 months of being dormant or have to deal with the dead leaves constantly. Nix that idea. I need to not get anymore house plants. I would have to move into a tent outside if I did. lol.

Hi Mary,

Your plant is a Syngonium podophyllum (arrowhead vine or goosefoot).

They do tend to get leggy, especially in reduced light. You have to prune them back regularly. The cuttings root readily in water. New growth will emerge just below where you make the cuts on the stems. Be bold and cut and cut away!

Thanks Jiffy & Will! T you heard'im, I can send you some cuttings if ya like LOL!

Jiffy, the spider is solid green...but if I can rescue any more plants from her, I'll see if there's not one you're looking for in the mix!

I'm gonna clean that bad boy up today - can't wait to dig in! Thanks so much!

Uh oh...I think I've found a winter addiction!

Well as soon as I discover some room you have a deal lol. Enjoy your new addiction.

I happen to have the mini version(syngonium mini, searched the net, but can't find any mini in syngonium)

does it behave as the bigger more macro version?

noticed mine is like turning yellowish and could be easily dislodged from the base, the stem and the leaves!

getting worried here.

actually stupe, when the plant is young, the leaves are much smaller. and if you see my earlier post to you, you will discover what i said about rooting it. i have 2 of these cuttings, both have very small leaves by comparison to mary's plant. but, they are getting bigger all the time!