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Posted 1M ago by @DidacticPetunia

I think Iโ€™m out of my leagueโ€ฆ Did I mess up bad?

Oh help! Young Huck is sick!! These brown tips have taken over and I think I saved him from root rot with a repot but now Iโ€™m starting to see the damage that was done. Does think look fungal? This is my first philodendron and Iโ€™m completely lost. Please help me and Young Huck! #Philodendron #PhilodendronBirkin
Last watered 4 weeks ago
Best Answer
When you repotted for root rot did you treat the leftover healthy roots to stop the bacteria that causes rot?

New fresh soil, or sterilized your old soil?

Did you sterilize the pot?

If you did not then rot will come back. The reason is rot is not actually caused by the plant. It is caused by the soil. Iโ€™ll explain:

When soil remain wet for too long or is to heavy it holds excess moisture within the soil. The wet soil will not be able to get air/ oxygen through it. Without oxygen the soil produces bacteria, this bacteria then spreads to the roots of your innocent plant where it affects the roots and the may then rot away from the rot caused by the bacteria within the soil.

Then if you just cut off your bad roots and stick it back into the pot or soil without sterilizing both of them the rot will come right back because the bacteria that caused it in the first place is still there.

I donโ€™t think the problem is fungal because fungal infections will generally cause circular brown spots on the leaves. Sometime with rings sometimes just circular in shape.

Thatโ€™s one of the ways you can tell the difference between root rot and fungal infections.

Birkins in my opinion are one of the hardest philodendrons to keep looking good in general. They tend to be a little pickier than your standard heart leaf or brasil philos. So donโ€™t be too hard on yourself you started with the picky one.

What I would do it this:

Remove it from the pot and fully treat the rot if you did not already.

Cut all ALL of the brown, black or mushy roots.

Then soak the remaining root in 1 part peroxide+3 parts water for 5 minutes.

Use fresh soil preferably or bake at 200 degrees for 1 hour (warning- this stinks REALLY BAD) or the risky way is to flush soil with the peroxide mixture. But itโ€™s risky because if you miss any bacteria, it will come back.

Sterilize the pot, scrub with soapy water and then scrub with peroxide mixture.

Then you can repot, cut off those brown leaves so you only have healthy ones left, this will help your plant by allowing it to devote its energy into new healthy growth. Plus you will be able to judge the health of your plant easier because you will be starting with only the healthy growth.

Progress will be slow, birkins are great but they grow slowly. I have 2 of them and Iโ€™ve had them a while and they are still quite small compared to my other philos.
I love Birkins! They are very hearty. Iโ€™m thinking you def have some overwatering damage, so might lose a couple leaves. Iโ€™d lay off watering for a bit.
Hey Jessica ๐Ÿ‘‹ oh poor Young Huck!!

How do the brown bits feel? Are they dry and papery? If so I'd say humidity is what you're needing to revive him ๐Ÿค”๐Ÿ’š Birkins are tropical so ideally like humidity up in the 60-70% range (which would be high for Texas!! ๐Ÿ˜‚ My dad lived there a couple of years, just outside Houston in fact! ๐Ÿคฉ).

You can raise the humidity in a variety of ways...

The most effective, barr none really, is to put him under glass... But I like my babies to be free tbh, and it's a lot of faff to set up (though very efficient once it's up and running!)

A humidifier is a good option for you I think, they're not terribly expensive and if you run them at night especially can be really effective!

After that you've got the more short term or ineffective solutions...

Pebble trays are very popular with some people. I've never seen any convincing evidence that they do much to raise ambient humidity though, and if you live somewhere very dry (like Texas!) I don't think they would do enough for you in making Huck happy again. Same goes for misting actually, though I much prefer it and still do it myself on some of my plants (some hate wet leaves, but your be fine with a Birkin!). I live in Scotland though, and the ambient humidity in my house is a constant 60-80%! ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿคฃ So I don't need to do much of anything in this respect! ๐Ÿ˜‚

If the brown bits don't feel papery or you're seeing brown around the leaf veining OR when brown appears it has a kind of yellow halo... Then it's more likely fungal or bacterial. Your plant can still suffer the effects of root rot for a couple of weeks after you've dealt with the rot itself because it's a systemic infection. It will leave his system eventually as long as the cause has been dealt with โ˜บ๏ธ but I would trim off the brown leaves, and any that are mostly brown, at this point! They aren't going to heal I'm afraid, and removing the brown bits of leaves or leaves themselves will help you see if the problem is slowing or stopping... Or if there's something still not quite right (as new brown patches will appear in that case).

Do let me know how you get on honey!! He's a really glorious looking boy! Neither of mine (I have a white and a pink one) are any where near as mature as your boy! His leaves look HUGE! ๐Ÿ‘€๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’š Best of luck! Xx
Hey! I agree with @PolarPlantLady about overwatering. Iโ€™d also recommend not leaving the plant sitting in any depth of water for greater than 30-minutes after watering.

Iโ€™d recommend taking the plant out of the pot and checking the roots for rot. Remove any / all grey, mushy roots & spray the remaining roots with 3% hydrogen peroxide solution to help dry out the good roots and prevent further damage.

Youโ€™ll wanna repot into some fresh, chunky soil & only water when the top 2โ€ of soil is dry. These guys need a lot of bright, bright indirect light as well!

I hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions ๐Ÿ™‚
He probably just got a bit too much to drink, it happens to the best of us sometimes ๐Ÿ˜… I have mine in the bathroom under a skylight and I am not watering too often since itโ€™s not hot weather anymore. Iโ€™d cut away all the dead stuff and see what you have left, scale back on watering so he sets up a bit and make sure has good light, indirect. Then get back on a good schedule โ˜บ๏ธ good luck! ๐Ÿ€
Donโ€™t worry about the overwatering - Iโ€™ve done it too! Itโ€™ll take some time for his foliage to recover, but it doesnโ€™t look like a fungus. Just a little too much love ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿค—
@BuddingPitayita also, youโ€™re not out of your league. Youโ€™re a good plant mama, and your Philo has beautiful variegation!