The previous owners of my house were very good with plants, and part of what came with the place was this big plant wall. I don't know what all the plants are, just that there's some kinds of ferns, some monstera, and some philodendron of some kind.
It's got a pump connected to a drip system and a reservoir, the lights and water pump are on smart devices so they can be scheduled, I just don't know what I'm doing. I ran the water overnight when I got here, then saw some post somewhere talking about running the water only up to like a minute a day. I tried that for a little bit but someone who came by thought they seemed overly watered. (Someone else thought they seemed dry, so I'm not sure who's right.) So now I've got the pump scheduled to run twice for 15 minutes at midnight and 3am, like every other day except weekends get both days (the app doesn't have every other day as an option, or I didn't see it.) The lights run like 14 hours a day.
I think some stuff still seems green and happy but some stuff seems dry and crumbly (ferns top right) and some stuff seems yellowy (mostly stuff that's kinda covered by all the green stuff.) There was a little plant that was staying wet no matter what that I took out, Seek app says that one's a peperomia, but it's not seeming happier since I put it in its own pot where I could keep an eye on it separately.
I'm not sure what my questions are but I'm interested in advice, especially if anyone's got experience with a wall like this. The water seemed kinda gross (murky, plant matter and bugs floating in it) so I siphoned a bunch of it out and replaced with fresh, and I pulled a bunch of roots out that were sticking out of the bottom where the water drains back into the reservoir. I've fussed with the little drip nozzles some, I think some need to be cleaned or changed out maybe by now, but I keep forgetting to be up and check them when the pump runs.
by EsteemedAsp
4 Comments
I’ll leave the advice up to someone else that has plant wall expertise. But the wall is very nice! And ferns like lots of water. My best advice would be to contact the previous owner if possible and ask what their water and light schedule was
I wonder what medium they are in and what the roots look like? I know nothing of plant walls but the monsteras and philodendrons on the left (yellowing) seem maybe overwatered, and I think the top right fern is crispy because it’s getting cooked by that light. Can you possibly angle it more downwards? I think the monstera leaves would appreciate the light but the ferns mostly want to be in the shade
FWIW, it looks like some of the plants could use a trim. Like the green monstera is hogging the light. You can root the trimming and add them to some of the empty parts as well.
It’s a lot of philodendrons which are easy to grow if you can get a schedule down, ferns which need regular water. Then one peperomia on the left and the big monsteras.
This is magnificent