I wanted my beloved tree leaf philodendron to have some sun baths during a couple weeks of exceptionally mild weather. The spot was generally shady but gets a couple hours of midday sun. Yes I know they can't handle direct sunlight đ but with it being sun being weaker and overcast she was soaking it up like a palm and thriving.
But then we had a return of heat and fully sunny days. I went against my better judgment and left her out. A week or so of this and I noticed the start of sunburn on one of the leaves, but couldn't deal with moving her back in at that moment. A couple more days out and I start to develop negative, guilty emotions around it being 'too late.' Instead of just moving her back inside like a person with healthy executive function, I went into an avoidant out of sight/out of mind mode đ€Šââïž
Fast forward a couple weeks later and I finally got the will to get past the emotional resistance, make myself acknowledge what I've done and begin the slow process of building her back up to glory đ
Tips on getting her back to health? Relatable failures?
If nothing else, hopefully this post will give someone else reassurance that not everyone can be a perfect plant parent!
by def_daff0dil
3 Comments
I did the same with my tree philo by mistake. I cut off all the affected leaves and left it in semi shade, watering it with seaweed extract as usual (3 days alternative), it began to grow new leaves very fastđwithin a month it threw out three big leaves.
Well, your self awareness is fantastic. I know thatâs a thing separate from what you feel and what you choose to do in the momentâ but it did help you make this post and ask for help after you came back down from the coping mechanisms you described! And I can deeply empathize with what youâre telling us, Iâve done versions of this process tons of times.
Otherwise, Iâd say that philos are very resilient. Given some tlc and patience, Iâm sure sheâll come all the way back.
These guys are super resilient. I know you feel bad about this but I did something super silly to mine and it has bounced back. I repotted and shocked the crap out of mine when repotting that I immediately lost 3 leaves weeks later. Itâs been about 6 months now (give or take) and I have grown those leaves back with another one coming in any week now.