Failure to Thrive
#Philodendron Looking for some guidance from more experienced plant parents. I’ve managed to keep my girl alive, but her leaves are yellowing and dull. She’s lost the luster in her leaves and just generally isn’t looking so good recently. I use the watering reminders, but check the soil first to avoid overwatering. Does she need plant food or something? Any and all tips welcome!
7” pot without drainage
Last watered 2 months ago
6
Best Answer
My advice is to repot with new soil. When you buy from stores, the nurseries plants come from use cheapest soil. Having it for 18 months, I’m betting it’s not getting any nutrients from that soil. If you can, use a pot that has drainage, that’s super important for plant life. Even watering and letting it drain, it almost always has excess water the roots are sitting in, I know firsthand about that! I killed a bunch of plants when I first started out in my plant journey. Now when I get plants from store, I repot immediately with good soil (I use cactus/succulent soil 99% of the time, and add perlite). If you can get a better pot, I would just take the plant out of the nursery, repot with better soil, but don’t put back in ceramic. You can put it on a plant saucer just to see how much water comes out after you let it drain. I hope this helps
Hi Mario! If your plant info is correctt and this plant is in a pot without drainage, that a big issue. Pots without drainage are a sure fire way to overwater (without meaning to). I can’t see 100%, but it looks like it might be in a nursery pot inside the white pot? If so, is it in the pot and soil it originally came in?
@SillyPlantGirl Hi Catherine! It is the nursery pot with drainage inside of a ceramic pot that doesn’t have drainage. I’ve been bottom watering and then putting back in to make sure water isn’t trapped in there. It is the original soil, I got it about 18 months ago.
They turn yellow and get dull with low humidity.
She wants 60-80% and she'll start improving for you.
They simply lose more humidity than they can replace otherwise. Eventually it leads to cell damage and leaf loss. 🩷
Humidity tips
Ways to add humidity
1. Add a humidifier, but only use distilled water in it.
2. Add a pebble tray filled with water below your plant. But make sure the pot is never in the water. As water evaporates it increases humidity.
3. Cluster plants together. It will make water evaporate from your leaves in a process called transpiration. It effectively creates a mini microclimate with extra humidity.
Never mist, it does not increase humidity but will cause fungal and bacterial infections.
She wants 60-80% and she'll start improving for you.
They simply lose more humidity than they can replace otherwise. Eventually it leads to cell damage and leaf loss. 🩷
Humidity tips
Ways to add humidity
1. Add a humidifier, but only use distilled water in it.
2. Add a pebble tray filled with water below your plant. But make sure the pot is never in the water. As water evaporates it increases humidity.
3. Cluster plants together. It will make water evaporate from your leaves in a process called transpiration. It effectively creates a mini microclimate with extra humidity.
Never mist, it does not increase humidity but will cause fungal and bacterial infections.