So I got a Dumb Cane (Dieffenbachia) and a spider plant. I have placed them in a North facing balcony at my 6 th floor apartment which gets a lot of bright indirect sunlight. Now my question, are these two plants healthy?
Because there are holes in the leaves of my dumb cane, even the new one.Am I doing something wrong? Watering? Light? Anything. I am watering them daily since the the top 1 to 2 inch soil gets dry, but I don't make it soggy, just little amount of water to make it moist, like half a cup at most. The holes were there when I got them it and the caretaker said you need to spray medicine on it. Is that true?
I have them since 2 days.
by Dinosaur_fan_boy
2 Comments
Forgot to add, is the spider plant looking okay,? Here’s a pic
Everyday watering is too much, you’re going to give them root rot. The Dumb Cane looks like it might be on its way to root fungal infection (commonly known as root rot.)
The soil you have the dumb cane in (can’t see spider plant soil) needs to be aerated for the roots to breathe, or again you’re going to get root rot.
Since you’re new to plants I’ll give you a DIY recipe, you can also buy aroid mix premade but it’s expensive, maybe worth it since you only have 2 plants. I know these aren’t aroids, but it’ll serve the same purpose.
Remove *all soil* you can do this by a hose and spraying the rootball.
Once all the soil is removed, inspect the roots. If you see mushy roots, cut them off using sterile scissors. Soak the rootball for about 15-20 minutes in water and hydrogen peroxide, 2:1 ratio.
Using a utility bucket and a garden scooper or an ice scoop…
– 1/2 scoop of cactus soil
– 1/2 scoop worm castings (optional, but good for nutrients)
– 1/2 scoop of compost (optional, but good for nutrients)
– 2 scoops perlite
– 2 scoops horticultural charcoal
– 2 scoops orchid bark
Mix it all up, and you want to get the impression of, “that’s chunky” If you don’t get that impression, add another scoop of charcoal and perlite.