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#1
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Dying Plant
I have some kind of creeper in my apartment. I don't know what it is; my
ex-girlfriend left it when she moved out. It's been living here for about three years and has been doing fine. Throughout that time it's lost leaves occasionally, I'd say at a rate of 1-2 per month. However, now it's starting to lose leaves quite rapidly, and I'm concerned that it's dying. It's never required much care; I just water it regularly, and it's always been happy. I have a couple of pictures of it; if someone could give me some pointers on what to look for as far as disease or parasites, I'd appreciate it. The first picture shows the pot it's in, and some of the dying leaves. The second gives some idea of the size of it (ignore the messy kitchen in the background please In the second picture, the branches are resting on push-pins in the wall; it's not a climber. http://www.holotech.net/images/02230001.JPG http://www.holotech.net/images/02230003.JPG -- Alan Little "'Be like a duck', my mother used to tell me. 'Remain calm on the surface and paddle like hell underneath.'" -- Michael Caine |
#2
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Alan Little wrote in
: It's never required much care; I just water it regularly, and it's always been happy. I have a couple of pictures of it; if someone could give me some pointers on what to look for as far as disease or parasites, I'd appreciate it. The first picture shows the pot it's in, and some of the dying leaves. The second gives some idea of the size of it (ignore the messy kitchen in the background please In the second picture, the branches are resting on push-pins in the wall; it's not a climber. http://www.holotech.net/images/02230001.JPG http://www.holotech.net/images/02230003.JPG Your plant is a Pothos, or Epipremnum aureum. A few suggestions, if all you have ever done is water it, a light fertilizer might be advisable. If you have been fertilizing, try flushing salts out of the pot. You will need to give it enough water at once that a bunch of it runs out the drainage holes. It would take a dozen people to haul that beast into the bathroom, so you might want to rig some sort of tray underneath it to catch the runout. Sean |
#3
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Sean Houtman wrote in sci.bio.botany:
Alan Little wrote in : It's never required much care; I just water it regularly, and it's always been happy. I have a couple of pictures of it; if someone could give me some pointers on what to look for as far as disease or parasites, I'd appreciate it. Your plant is a Pothos, or Epipremnum aureum. A few suggestions, if all you have ever done is water it, a light fertilizer might be advisable. Thank you. I haven't been fertilizing it. What kind of fertilizer would you recommend? Do you think it might be the same problem with this plant: http://www.holotech.net/images/02250001.JPG Same thing: it's been doing fine for years, just yesterday I noticed several of the stalks sagging. The one on the right there is the most pronounced. -- Alan "I am not sure how clouds get formed. But the clouds know how to do it, and that is the important thing." -- Kelly, age 10 |
#4
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For both of your plants:
Check for salt buildup in the soil. Water should run clear from the pot, not colored. Make sure you are not overwatering and pots are not standing in full saucers. Repot, if you can, with fresh potting soil. Potting soil breaks down over the years--loses texture and nutrients and the ability to hold air. Fertilize occasionally with dilute houseplant fertilizer. M. Reed |
#5
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Carved in mystic runes upon the very living rock, the last words of
Monique Reed of sci.bio.botany make plain: For both of your plants: Check for salt buildup in the soil. Water should run clear from the pot, not colored. Would this apply if I haven't been using any fertilizer? Make sure you are not overwatering and pots are not standing in full saucers. They're OK on that count. They both have been doing fine for several years, and I haven't changed anything. I give the Pothos 1/2 gal every two weeks, and 1 qt to 1/2 gal to the other plant. Repot, if you can, with fresh potting soil. Potting soil breaks down over the years--loses texture and nutrients and the ability to hold air. That sounds like an adventure, especially for the Pothos! Do you think either of them needs a larger pot? Fertilize occasionally with dilute houseplant fertilizer. Thanks so much for your feedback. They're both really nice plants, and I'd hate to lose them. -- Alan "You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." -- Mark Twain |
#6
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Yes, salt build up can happen very easily if the water you use is high
in dissolved salts. You can salt-poison a plant very easily without a whiff of fertilizer. When is it time to repot? If you knock the plant out of the pot and there are live roots circling the pot and the root ball takes up the whole pot, time to go up one pot size (ca. 1" all around.) If the soil is waterlogged and foul and there are dead roots, time to trim up and repot with good soil in the same size pot. (Wash and sterilize the pot first.) M. Reed Alan Little wrote: Carved in mystic runes upon the very living rock, the last words of Monique Reed of sci.bio.botany make plain: For both of your plants: Check for salt buildup in the soil. Water should run clear from the pot, not colored. Would this apply if I haven't been using any fertilizer? |
#7
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Thanks for the replies, everyone. The Pothos seems to have recovered;
it's been a couple of days and no new yellow leaves. I'll definitely give it some fertilizer though, and if the problem re-occurs, consider re- potting it. I have a feeling that I may have missed a watering a few weeks ago, and the plant is just so big that it took this long for the trauma to propagate. As for the other plant (does anyone know what it is?) I'm starting to wonder if its behavior is natural. All of the stalks that sagged have started curving back upward, making an 'S' shape in the stem. In fact I discovered one stalk which I hadn't noticed before, which did the 'S' thing quite some time ago and has been growing upward since; I've highlighted it in the picture below. The plant is showing no other signs of distress, so maybe this is what it's supposed to do. It was just surprising to see it do it after three years of just standing up straight. http://www.holotech.net/images/02270001h.JPG -- Alan "Failure is impossible for those who refuse to abandon their goals." -- Mary C. Zornio |
#8
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Hi Allan
What you have there is a Deffenbachia (sp?). The "behavior" shown in your picture is in no way unusual. "If there is no such thing as a stupid question, then every question deserves an answer." Anon "Alan Little" wrote in message ... Thanks for the replies, everyone. The Pothos seems to have recovered; it's been a couple of days and no new yellow leaves. I'll definitely give it some fertilizer though, and if the problem re-occurs, consider re- potting it. I have a feeling that I may have missed a watering a few weeks ago, and the plant is just so big that it took this long for the trauma to propagate. As for the other plant (does anyone know what it is?) I'm starting to wonder if its behavior is natural. All of the stalks that sagged have started curving back upward, making an 'S' shape in the stem. In fact I discovered one stalk which I hadn't noticed before, which did the 'S' thing quite some time ago and has been growing upward since; I've highlighted it in the picture below. The plant is showing no other signs of distress, so maybe this is what it's supposed to do. It was just surprising to see it do it after three years of just standing up straight. http://www.holotech.net/images/02270001h.JPG -- Alan "Failure is impossible for those who refuse to abandon their goals." -- Mary C. Zornio |
#9
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Carved in mystic runes upon the very living rock, the last words of
Killey Nelson of sci.bio.botany make plain: "Alan Little" wrote in message ... As for the other plant (does anyone know what it is?) I'm starting to wonder if its behavior is natural. http://www.holotech.net/images/02270001h.JPG What you have there is a Deffenbachia (sp?). The "behavior" shown in your picture is in no way unusual. Thanks very much. When I first posted, I hadn't seen the larger stem highlighted above, just the one pictured a few posts back. It had been standing straight up, and one morning suddenly sagged, so I got concerned. Thanks again, everyone. -- Alan "Le coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connait point." ("The heart has its reasons that reason cannot know.") -- Blaise Pascal |
#10
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Also, perhaps it needs more light.
"Killey Nelson" wrote in message ... Hi Allan What you have there is a Deffenbachia (sp?). The "behavior" shown in your picture is in no way unusual. "If there is no such thing as a stupid question, then every question deserves an answer." Anon "Alan Little" wrote in message ... Thanks for the replies, everyone. The Pothos seems to have recovered; it's been a couple of days and no new yellow leaves. I'll definitely give it some fertilizer though, and if the problem re-occurs, consider re- potting it. I have a feeling that I may have missed a watering a few weeks ago, and the plant is just so big that it took this long for the trauma to propagate. As for the other plant (does anyone know what it is?) I'm starting to wonder if its behavior is natural. All of the stalks that sagged have started curving back upward, making an 'S' shape in the stem. In fact I discovered one stalk which I hadn't noticed before, which did the 'S' thing quite some time ago and has been growing upward since; I've highlighted it in the picture below. The plant is showing no other signs of distress, so maybe this is what it's supposed to do. It was just surprising to see it do it after three years of just standing up straight. http://www.holotech.net/images/02270001h.JPG -- Alan "Failure is impossible for those who refuse to abandon their goals." -- Mary C. Zornio |
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