Hey! I have had my FLF for a few months now. I thought I was doing a good job. I recently had new growth, two massive leaves.
I keep my FLF in my bathroom in front of a south facing window with diffused light. I bought it from a good nursery in my area (implying that I think the soil should be good, seems chunky) and it usually sits in a larger plastic pot with ample enough (I think) space around the drainage holes.
So far, I have been top watering/soaking and then allowing it to drain in my bath tub for 30 minutes/shaking dry at the end and keeping it in the same space. I use a moisture meter and usually water every 2 weeks or so depending on the soil moisture.
In the past week or so I have noticed the few small dry spots that I attributed to old leaves grow larger and spread to other of my bottom leaves. I have also noticed some very small black spots of 1 or 2 of the leaves directly above it. Beyond that, all of my other leaves look great. I don't notice wilting.
It's been a week since I watered last and the top of the soil seems VERY dry but once I pierce the surface it seems pretty moist underneath. I took the plant out of the pot to inspect (pictures included) and roots appear white/brown and are firm. No softness/mushiness or foul smell. It wasn't wet per say but definitely damp. I patted dry with a towel. For now I just have it in its nursery pot, not the larger pot I put around.
I also noticed some bugs in the soil, pictures attached. They look like centipedes but I'm not sure – Google seems to think they probably are not harmful but I removed the ones that I could see.
Also, noticed recently that roots are exposed along the top. Don't know if I should cover them with more soil.
I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing wrong. Any insight would be appreciated. I really want to get ahead of this before it gets bad. I'm definitely not going to water it again until it's pretty dry but I thought I was watering properly the whole time.
Chat GPT suggested that it could be hydrophobic soil causing this. Is this possible? Should I be letting the soil drain longer before putting it back in its spot? Should I be bottom watering instead? Not sure how to avoid this.
by smiles4sale