This is my first plant ever and I had to replace the soil and put it in a new pot but it keeps whilting and dying slowly. What can I do to this? Is it too late?
Watered twice a week because the issue before was that I was overwatering. It does not get much sunlight but once a week I’ll take it to the window to get some sunlight or when it’s nice out.
My baby is suffering 😔
by RenValdivia
16 Comments
What kind of soil is that and how much sunlight does the plant get? In the picture it looks like it sits in a dark corner 😅
Looks like pothos which is a pretty forgiving plant. I’d take the one healthy stem there as low as you can below at least one node and chop it and propagate new roots in water. When the roots are about as long as your fingers put it in soil again.
Moving forward just water when the leaves start to droop a bit, water heavily but make sure it has good drainage and let it completely dry out again. Twice a week is still too much.
It needs to be by that window constantly, a few hours of sunlight a week is nowhere near enough, especially for a variegated variety. If keeping it by the window is not an option for whatever reason, get it a nice bright grow light for now. As for your watering schedule, 2 times a week is still a lot, like way too much lol. Water it when the soil is completely dry, these things are more drought resistant than you would think. Also when you repotted did you notice the roots? Were they brown and mushy or dead looking? If they were then they are rotted and you need to pull those ones off, it wouldn’t hurt to repot again to double check the roots just based of the frequency you’re watering. If you find the plant has very few or no healthy roots, let them air dry for a day or so then propagate the pieces in water to restart your root system.
Remove dead, then give it a drink and some sunlight
😐
Your baby IS suffering and you’re going to have to change care up quite a bit to help her out.
Plants need sunlight. Varying types and amounts, but ultimately sunlight is what helps them produce energy… that ol photosynthesis cycle you learned about way back in grade school.
Taking your plant to a window for a bit of sun once a week isn’t enough. You need to find a place for this plant where she can get daily access to light. Pothos don’t need to sit in direct sun (and in fact too much direct sun can be bad for them), but a spot where she gets the full day in indirect light near a window will make a world of difference.
You are also still overwatering! Twice a week is going to drown her.
Think about plants as living things, not robots. It would be a lot easier if we could just schedule waterings and they’d be good to go, but like every living thing there’s a ton of variation and if you stick to a strict watering schedule instead of giving the plant what it needs when, it will struggle.
For a pothos, they do fine drying out almost completely before getting a drink. So check your plant and wait until you can stick a finger in the soil and it is dry even a few inches below the surface. At that point, you can take her out of the decorative pot and give her a deep and thorough watering. Water her until the water is running out of the nursery pot (the black plastic pot she’s in that has holes in the bottom). Keep watering – oftentimes water comes out the bottom but the soil hasn’t actually soaked through. You want to basically make sure she’s saturated through and through. Let any excess water run out the bottom of the pot. Then put her back in the decorative pot. You want to avoid her leaking too much extra water into the second pot so that she’s not sitting in water, which is why letting her drain very well before putting her back in the second pot matters.
Water deeply, drain well! Only water when dry, not on a set schedule. In the summers plants may need watering more frequently as they are actively growing. Winter often slows growth and so you may find you are going longer between waterings. That’s okay! I have gone two weeks or more without watering some of my pothos in the winter because their soil does not need it!
Remember, it’s easier to save an underwatered plant than an overwatered one.
For your plant, start with getting her to a spot with better access to daily sunlight and start checking her soil before watering rather than trying to keep a strict water schedule.
Twice a week is still very often. I water my pothos maybe every other week
Get it out of that dried soil, replant , clean up roots, keep it watered properly, show it the sun
The soil looks hydrophobic. You will need to repot it. Mix some perlite and also some orchid bark into the soil. It needs a free draining soil, this way you can water it without getting root rot. I would probably also transfer it to a slightly smaller pot since there’s not much left of it. There are grow lights you can get on amazon that can go right over that pot. They’re small circles and they are fairly inexpensive. Water it and then repot it. And hook it up with a light. If you get to the point where it keeps dying. Take it out of the pot and take the soil from the roots and pop it into a cup of water and let it heal that way until it’s strong enough to go back into dirt. Either way though it needs more light. Good luck 🍀
“Taking it to the window” once a week is definitely not enough light. Daily access to light is pretty important lol
Plants don’t grow in the dark. Put it in a window.
I think you killed it… It’s been over watered to death
Let me pass this onto you as it’s the best plant advice I was ever given: Don’t water plants on a schedule, water them when they need it.
Thank you everyone for the replies!! I’ve noted all of the advice. I will try to see if I can salvage it but will use all of this knowledge and try with another plant as well.
Hopefully I’m successful this time 🥲
Water it
I am no expert but I will share what i know from having this plant for the past 5 years. This plant is a hardy plant, can take pretty good amount of neglect and is easy to care for. This plant get pale without light. In direct sun, the direct light seems to burn it, then the leaves loose there nice green and turn an icky weird color. Should have a nice dark green color to the new leaves. As the leaves get larger they lighten. It likes “alot” of indirect light and really doesn’t need any rest from it. Keep a like a foot from a window out of direct light.If you have a room that has a good overhead light on all the time during the winter season it helps. That soil looks awefully dry on top and is coming away from the edges of the pot which also indictate the soil is dry and compacted. Loosen the soil up
I had several plants get a squirrel attack last summer. Which this plant is one of them. It was like 30 leaves before the squirrel got it.. i had it outside under the awning at the edge in the shadow and the dang squirrel uprooted the whole thing and left it in the sun. All i had left was 1 salvageable clipping of this particular plant. I’ll attach a picture of mine since i have to water anyways. When I brought it in 4 months ago it only had 3 leaves, now it has 6. I water like every 4-5 days. I decide when to water my checking the soil for moisture and feeling the weight of the pot. After I water I check the weight. I keep mine in a room with a light on 24/7. Which the room has 4 led corn row light bulbs on 10 foot ceiling.
https://preview.redd.it/8ovl00tgtzfe1.jpeg?width=1307&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=56e6454c67e604f5e4e4f76ed971a1a3d7b9ace9