I have a birds nest fern & dieffenbachia that were doing relatively well a month ago and wanted to repot with some organic soil. since repotting, both have struggled.
The birds nest fern, the top leaves have been wilting and underneath is yellowing. She does have a grow light attached to the pot.
The Dieffenbachia seems to be crisping corners of the large leaves but the bottom leaves are wilting.
This is a south facing window. I water them according to the Planta app but both soil seems to be still damp from when I watered them 2 weeks ago. I have a water globe for the Birds Eye but maybe I should swap/remove?
I cannot tell what they need to be revived, so any help or advice is appreciated! Thanks in advance ☺️
by Appropriate-Aioli-18
7 Comments
If they were doing well you probably shouldn’t have repotted them.
It sounds like the soil is too organic, and/or the plant is not getting enough light. 2 weeks for the soil to still be wet is too long and will cause problems because the roots can’t access oxygen. How much larger is the pot than the root mass?
I think it’s because the soil won’t dry. Have you tried mixing some perlite in the soil?
Do not water them based on an app! You can easily overwater them because an app can never know how your plant is doing. Just stick your finger in the soil as deep as you can and feel 🙂
Possible reasons:
– damaged some roots during repotting so it’s a little struggling
– new pot is too big and keeps too much water so it started rooting
– check for new housemates (bugs)
– other way around -> too much sun and no humidity
You can try to fix it by first feeling if you overwatered the plant (feel deep) and let it dry out almost completely. Also take off all the dead leaves! 🍃
Just jumping in to say a few things I noticed immediately. I don’t have a direct answer but just wanted to mention some stuff.
What type of soil did you use? do you use tap water, if so how hard is it?
apps are great for reminders and whatnot but I would be weary of using it as a water schedule. every plant will perform differently depending on where it is in your house. I moved my dieffenbachia to darker part of my house recently and now I water it once every few weeks as opposed to weekly. Apps do not know every microclimate in your home. Like you said, you felt the soil was damp so it probably didn’t need more water.
another thing to remember, every species is different. some prefer to be bottom watered, others rot if they get that. some like a lot of air flow, some are sensitive to it. Just take time, be patient, and see how plants perform in certain areas of your home. not only is every species different, but every plant of the same species is different. sometimes a plant just doesn’t have strong genetics, and you could be doing everything right and it still dies. I see it daily in a commercial greenhouse. Plants are living and have more genetic variance between them than people typically acknowledge.
Someone on this sub once said “If someone ripped your pants off and put you in another pair you’d be upset for a bit too!” 😂
I’ve had a few babies that threw absolute shit fits for days or even a whole week when repotted. Give it some time, it will probably straighten up with some normal care.
https://preview.redd.it/9kvmhbin6x7f1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=324e0ee15d6c2929faf0c51245df384c1af65910
The Birds Eye used to be in a 3 in pot and was root bound which is why I repotted. This is what it looked like then.
Wrong soil type. If you just used pure potting soil it’s too dense and holds onto water too long. If soil is too dense (like chocolate cake) then it will take a long time to dry out which leads to root rot—signs include yellowing and droopy leaves.
You need to amend the soil with other ingredients —mainly things that help with aeration—such as perlite and orchid bark. I do a mix of 1:1:1 organic potting soil : perlite : bark. You will see a big difference in drying times. Texture should feel loose and light. A good rate of drying would be 20-30% dry in 2-3 days, 80-90% dry in 7-10 days.
Planta is a terrible app. It has no real idea what’s happening to your plants and when I used it I always ended overwatering and killing all my plants. It was more useful to just actually learn what different types of plants needed and to be able to use that knowledge to help them thrive. I realized once I learned about plant care it was really easy (for the most part) and I didn’t have to over complicate it with apps and watering schedules. I can tell by my own eyes, touch, and even lifting the pot to feel the weight of the plant that it needs or doesn’t need water.
Good luck! 🍀