Am I killing it already?
#ScindapsusMoonlight I’ve had this guy for about a month. soil was very saturated and dense, so I emptied the Costa Farms self watering pot reservoir and pulled the wick from the nursery pot. Let it hang out under a grow a light at Ppfd 70 for a couple weeks, then switched to an orchid pot (I like to check roots) with a mix of MG cactus and pumice. Watered with spring water (plus low concentration of super thrive at 1/4 tsp / gallon) thoroughly until the water ran freely, let it drain, and placed it back under the grow light. These marks began the next day, so I reflexively moved it away from the light for no other reason than it seemed like the thing to do. The spots spread for a few days but seemed to have stopped. That was a couple weeks ago. The soils is very dry and I believe it needs to be watered but I’m scared. Did I overwater? Wrong substrate? Wrong pot? Too much or little light? There is new growth and several babies coming up so not all is bad news.
20ft to light, indirect
6” pot with drainage
Last watered 7 months ago
5
@JoyfulBonsi54 looks fine to me, leaves will have imperfections but it doesn't necessarily mean something is wrong. While they prefer indirect light, 70 ppfd is extremely low, so I doubt it's burning the leaves. With clear pots, you can clearly see if there's any moisture left in the soil because there'll be condensation. I'm not seeing any condensation, and white roots = healthy roots, so there's no reason to believe you're overwatering. I am curious about the spring water. I use distilled for certain plants, but I've never heard anything about using spring water. I assume it's fine, but am going to do a bit more research on it 😉
@stephonicle Thank you for the reply. I am overwhelmed by all the conflicting information on pffd. My plan was to inch it toward the light to reach 200ppfd. I couldn’t find much on this plant particularly, but two of the most recommended sources list vastly different ranges of 40-600 and 80-150 for Pothos as an example. Some say 250-500 cover the vast majority of tropical houseplants, and other says anything over 150 risks burns. Can you provide an insight on this?
@JoyfulBonsi54 honestly, the best way I've found to settle on the appropriate light strength and how far a plant should be from it is through trial and error. I initially used one of the light meter apps (Photone), but it was all rather confusing and caused me even more anxiety and uncertainty, so I decided to just let my plants tell me how much light they needed. This of course requires regular check-ins and monitoring. Now, in my case, the only plants I have under grow lights are succulents and my Tradescantia and Callisia collection (only because it's such a big collection and I simply don't have enough space near windows for all of them). All my tropical plants are thriving within 3 feet of a north or east-facing window. If you don't have any windows available and grow lights are your only option, just continue monitoring as you inch it closer and closer until you find the sweet spot 😛
Also, I told you I'd do more research on spring water and then forgot to come back and share what I found! 🤦🏻♀️ When using spring water, which unlike distilled already contains minerals and nutrients, there's a greater risk of causing fertilizer burn if you also fertilize your plants. This is especially the case for plants that are more sensitive to over-fertilization, such as Scindapsus. Spring water also tends to be more expensive, so there's a potential cost issue to consider as well. Anyway, just wanted to pass that info along 😉
Also, I told you I'd do more research on spring water and then forgot to come back and share what I found! 🤦🏻♀️ When using spring water, which unlike distilled already contains minerals and nutrients, there's a greater risk of causing fertilizer burn if you also fertilize your plants. This is especially the case for plants that are more sensitive to over-fertilization, such as Scindapsus. Spring water also tends to be more expensive, so there's a potential cost issue to consider as well. Anyway, just wanted to pass that info along 😉
@JoyfulBonsi54 Distilled water or spring ? There’s many options on this and personally I use spring it’s some of the best quality water unless testing has proven different . You need a good chunky soil and let it dry out between watering. If your other plants are doing good on the spring why buy water that has been stripped of everything and you have to add things to use ? It’s very important to let the soil dry out before watering and needs bright indirect light to thrive . With the bright conditions this plant needs no fertilizer. Mine is doing fantastic and I love him the leaves are colored . Good luck
