I am a chronic plant killer. I don’t know why I thought “you know what I need, a finicky plant. That’s what I should buy.” But that’s exactly what my dumbass did.
I should just stick to pothos (RIP my monstera). I know better.
But for better or worse, here we are. I’ve had it over a month now. It hasn’t dropped a single leaf and it’s produced two new leaves. I haven’t repotted it. I’ve thoroughly watered it once. I think it’s due again because soil feels really dry in the top 3 inches, but still barely damp farther down in the pot so not sure if I should wait a while longer?
My main question is light. We have zero good light sources in the house. I put a cheap grow light from Amazon above it to help it out and it is in a south facing window. We live in a forest, so even the brightest window doesn’t get a lot of light and all the windows are small in our home.
I used a light meter and it’s only getting like 150-200 foot candles in that spot from the grow light, and Google says like 10x that would be better. 😅
The sun shines on the top part of it for a couple hours a day and I rotate it every day to try to help it evenly get light.
Should I try to get more grow lights? Should I just leave it alone since it is producing new leaves? If it hasn’t dropped leaves after a month am I past the “moving shock” phase? And how dry do you let the soil get? Dry all the way through, dry for the top couple of inches? And why did I do this to myself?
by Pale-Suggestion-5701
3 Comments
Congrats! It’s beautiful!
Great idea to use a grow light. If you ever feel like it needs more light, [this one](https://a.co/d/iQWEWQo) is always recommended on plant subreddits. When we started using these, every single one of our plants began sprouting new leaves.
Another product I highly recommend is this [liquid fertilizer](https://a.co/d/8Z2Hr40). It has been a miracle product for us. You just mix a tiny bit into your watering can before watering. I usually use it like once every couple of waterings or so.
Lastly, if you want to put it on a proper pot, I recommend [this one](https://a.co/d/ctK2BSx). It would look great with your vibe 😍. I usually put [a layer of these](https://a.co/d/dL0D7HI) at the bottom to help prevent root rot.
Congratulations or I’m sorry for your loss 🙃. J/K. You’ll do great 😊
My FLF is super chill! It wasn’t getting enough light (for several months, oops) and it didn’t complain much. But it’s growing and it’s happier than ever now that it’s by the window. I water every other week, or when the top 2-3 inches are dry. I also wipe the leaves with a damp cloth and tell her she’s pretty. You got this!