Burle Marx philo is droopy and yellowing since cold snap ...
Hello, I’m trying to get a better idea of what is going on with Burle Ives. Up until the extreme cold snap that happened over Christmas, he was thriving. The leaves were darker and shiny. I tagged him so you can see what he used to look like 😢 He hasn’t moved from his home spot. He wasn’t close to a window when it was cold. I’m guessing that since we ran our heat higher than normal, maybe there wasn’t as much humidity as there should’ve been? I’m really grasping at straw here though… Does this look like lack of humidity could be the reason? I used some Nature ID app that said it’s probably “Abiotic”, but it listed sooooooo many potential issues and things to check for… none seem to be the case here. I do have it about 3 feet from my grow light, but this doesn’t look like “sun scald” to me and like I said, it’s been in the same spot since the beginning, so I just don’t know. Maybe I could change the soil, could there be some plant disease in there that I can’t see? Please help if possible, I got this one from the first plant swap I ever went to and he had just ONE leaf and was doing so well 😭 Also if I may rant for a second: it is SO frustrating and disheartening that I take care of these plants better than I do myself and then they go and do nonsense like this. WHY CAN’T YOU JUST THRIVE I’VE DONE EVERYTHING FOR YOU, BURLE 😂😂😂😂 #PhilodendronBurleMarx #Philodendron #help #PleaseDontDie
4” pot
Last watered 1 year ago
5
It could be from lack of light. During Winter, plants are often deprived of the light they need even if we try to provide it. Alternate sources of lighting are required with sone plants.
Your plant card says it doesn’t have drainage. But I see the water tray beneath the pot. Does it have drainage or no?
Backing off of watering a bit in Winter also helps. There’s less light so plants will naturally take up less nutrients through their roots which includes water.
As for why they can’t just thrive after all we do for them, I get it. It’s a process and we always learn from them. That and they often tend to be fussy about any change in weather even though they aren’t outdoors and meanwhile, their outdoor counterparts survive heavy winds and flash floods. Indoors, you give them a bit of tap water and they 💀. 😅
Check your soil. If it’s soggy and doesn’t dry fast, it may be a root problem due to overwatering, no drainage, and too little light.
Your plant card says it doesn’t have drainage. But I see the water tray beneath the pot. Does it have drainage or no?
Backing off of watering a bit in Winter also helps. There’s less light so plants will naturally take up less nutrients through their roots which includes water.
As for why they can’t just thrive after all we do for them, I get it. It’s a process and we always learn from them. That and they often tend to be fussy about any change in weather even though they aren’t outdoors and meanwhile, their outdoor counterparts survive heavy winds and flash floods. Indoors, you give them a bit of tap water and they 💀. 😅
Check your soil. If it’s soggy and doesn’t dry fast, it may be a root problem due to overwatering, no drainage, and too little light.
@Kimtownsend686 , I concur with everything @FitSedum says; however, I have had this dynamic on my mind a lot recently with my own burle Marx philodendron and have an additional comment to make. At times, my burle Marx has been the most vigorous grower I have, with over fifteen leaves budding simultaneously. Yet other times, it languishes. I have been tending to houseplants—many houseplants— for close to three years now. I think it is easier to make sense of this like dynamic by conceptualizing plants as individuals with theirs own prerogatives. Some are slow and steady—even within the same species. Others seem more opportunistic, lying in wait until the boom, until they bust. I actually propagated my BM from a chunk of its main stem and it’s take over a year for new leaves to emerge, but they finally are now, in late December no doubt—Bucking the trend of spring blooming and winter dormancy. Some of my plants, after the “bust” seem to take their time recuperating only to boom again. Young plants like yours have especially limited amounts of energy in reserve in which to create new growth. And while we may not see new leaves emerging that may be because the plant is focusing on new root development. Your plant is still quite young. It doesn’t have the benefit of many leaves to create energy to store. It’s probably taking a breather. It is true that the leaf is droopy and there might be a good explanation for that, as frustrating as it can be, but I don’t see any signs of disease or pest infestation that would warrant a course of action other than patience. If would advise against disturbing the roots. This can be like open heart surgery for a plant and an otherwise healthy plant can become stressed and vulnerable in its weakened state to disease and materially decline. I have some of self heading philodendrons that I bought as 2” plants and they are only 3” after two years. I tried repotting a couple of them and they eventually declined, while the ones I left alone are growing at a frustrating slow pace. Meanwhile another individual of the same species —rojo congo—I purchased as a six inch plant is flourishing. One thing that has helped me connect to my plants is recognizing their nature as individuals and appreciating the stubborn ones, for if every plant were compliant and responded to my whim, that would be boring—and less meaningful when I feel such pride in coaxing those fussy plants into eventually thriving. Hope that helps
@FitSedum Thank you for the information! The pot has drainage, I must have selected no by accident 🤦🏼♀️ I won’t use anything without proper drainage- I have several of those ceramic pots that come on Lowe’s plants that I need to take to my mom’s so I can use her drill to add holes 😂 I think I’m going to keep an eye on it for a bit longer and see what it does. I’m hoping it just got a little stressed from the colder weather 💚
@TexanExpat I really like that perspective, thank you! If there’s one thing I’ve learned about my plants these past few months, it’s that they do what they want, and when they want 😂 I prepared myself for everything to stop growing and go “dormant”, so to speak, in the winter. But here we are in January and probably half of my plants are outgrowing their pots and sprouting new growth 😆 I really like the BM Philodendron (I actually haven’t found a philo I don’t like yet), so I’m going to be keeping a close eye on it. After reading yours and Caroline’s comments, I feel better about it. I hadn’t considered it could be taking a rest, but that makes a lot of sense- it pushed out the second leaf (the one on the left) pretty quickly then started on the others before it just paused 😆
