I had a philodendron birkin that got very leggy and sad. So I chopped it up. That was in December. The roots put up new little leaves and stopped growing. Half the crowns actually rooted (in potting mix) and are doing okay. The others didn’t root, but were putting up leafs. Every new leaf turned brown and falls off. Tonight I noticed those stems were squishy. The stem pieces (wet sticks?) aren’t doing right either. The ones I put into soil rotted. The ones I nestled into damp perlite put up tiny leaves, but zero roots. I’m obviously doing something wrong but I don’t know what. I left one Birkin stem intact in case the props failed, now I’m glad I did.
by jennieEss
1 Comment
So the old leggy philo needed more light. The props will suffer from the same issue. If its already a bright spot, blame the windows and get a grow light.
Brown leaves, mushy stems and failure to grow are all signs of too much water. I think it will help to decide if you’re propagating in water or in soil/perlite. In soil, the roots need access to air as well as moisture, so we think damp, not wet. Let things dry out more, dont let old water hang around. When the roots can breathe, they’ll grow.