PLEASE HELP
If you’ve been following my #PolkaDotPlant #Terrarium journey, then you’ll know what’s happening.
I recently cut back all of the dead/dying bits, including all the moldy bits, and two out of three of them are looking great!
Except for this one… I couldn’t cut off this part because it was right at the bottom of the plant and the rest of it looked healthy, so I left it. That may have been a mistake.
As you can see from the picture, it’s gotten SO MUCH WORSE. I’ve been frequently spraying it with dilute vodka (I know the water seems counterintuitive but I didn’t know if straight vodka would damage the plant, and I didn’t have much spare to begin with) sometimes twice a day, the top wide open, and since it’s on my windowsill then I’ve had the window next to it open as well.
I can see some of the roots against the glass and they’re a beautiful white, the other two plants are doing fine (though would appreciate a closed lid), it’s just this one section of plant that’s gone stupidly moldy. Like, this guy is starting to grow a Gandalf level beard. It ain’t good.
Any ideas what’s going wrong? Is it salvageable? Anything I can do instead? Please help me 😭
#PlantsMakePeopleHappy #PlantAddict #PestControl #mold #help #helpneeded
I recently cut back all of the dead/dying bits, including all the moldy bits, and two out of three of them are looking great!
Except for this one… I couldn’t cut off this part because it was right at the bottom of the plant and the rest of it looked healthy, so I left it. That may have been a mistake.
As you can see from the picture, it’s gotten SO MUCH WORSE. I’ve been frequently spraying it with dilute vodka (I know the water seems counterintuitive but I didn’t know if straight vodka would damage the plant, and I didn’t have much spare to begin with) sometimes twice a day, the top wide open, and since it’s on my windowsill then I’ve had the window next to it open as well.
I can see some of the roots against the glass and they’re a beautiful white, the other two plants are doing fine (though would appreciate a closed lid), it’s just this one section of plant that’s gone stupidly moldy. Like, this guy is starting to grow a Gandalf level beard. It ain’t good.
Any ideas what’s going wrong? Is it salvageable? Anything I can do instead? Please help me 😭
#PlantsMakePeopleHappy #PlantAddict #PestControl #mold #help #helpneeded
6” pot with drainage
Last watered 1 month ago
13
Best Answer
Wow! Your plant is drunk!
Just kidding please don't use alcohol on plants I never recommend that. Even Isopropol alcohol, I would never recommend.
Your problem looks to me like the soil. It is extremely heavy and will never have a chance to dry out and that will definitely lead to mold and then rot. I know the roots against the glass appear to be healthy but sometimes the outer ones will appear healthy while the inside ones are not.
I'll give you some suggestions that I would do if it was mine. I have tons of terrariums that are ALL very successful.
1. Add 50% aeration. I know it's a closed terrarium but the roots still need to breath otherwise your plant can't absorb the water and nutrients it needs. I suggest perlite, it's inexpensive and works great.
2. Take a strainer and put the soil in it (the mesh kind with the small holes).
3. Flush the soil very thoroughly with 1 part peroxide + 3 parts water mixed together.
You can even take the soil and soak it on your counter in a bowl for 20 minutes it can't hurt and would kill off any bacteria that could be growing. It's got a lot of mold, so we need to kill off all of the mold spores at this point, so it does not come back. Peroxide is great at this! It has the added benefit of adding oxygen to your soil.
4. Squeeze any excess moisture out of the soil, then add 50% perlite.
5. Now soak your plant in that peroxide mix for 5 minutes, I suggest using a fresh mix. Submerge all affected parts on the plant that has mold to kill it all off.
6. Now you can replant. Be very cautious with watering. That is the difficult part. Always check with your finger if the soil is cool or moist wait. You can also tell by the color of your soil when it starts to get much lighter in color it may be ready for some water. If you pick up the terrarium and it's heavy, that's an indicator that is has plenty of water. Never follow a schedule, between temp changes, growth amounts etc., the watering needs will fluctuate. So, try checking once a week and then ignoring it for a week and then check it again the following week. The moisture within the terrarium for humidity creates an environment that needs a surprisingly limited amount of water.
Don't think of your weekly checks as a watering. It's more a plant check and admiring your creation. Watering ONLY if needed.
Polka dot plants like humidity but they don't like wet soil, rot will happen if the soil is too moist or wet. Remember you can always add a tad more water later but you can't remove the water.
6. For encouragement, I will add polka dot plants are quite resilient in a terrarium.
Even though it's not looking its best it can bounce back with proper care. So don't be hard on yourself I think I helped you out once before with this one. So, remember there is a steep learning curve that takes time to master.
So, don't give up and keep trying you'll get there I promise.💕
Just stay away from the Vodka, we don't want to encourage drunk plants! And alcohol is VERY drying for the leaves and we need humidity on the leaves of our polka dot plants!
Just kidding please don't use alcohol on plants I never recommend that. Even Isopropol alcohol, I would never recommend.
Your problem looks to me like the soil. It is extremely heavy and will never have a chance to dry out and that will definitely lead to mold and then rot. I know the roots against the glass appear to be healthy but sometimes the outer ones will appear healthy while the inside ones are not.
I'll give you some suggestions that I would do if it was mine. I have tons of terrariums that are ALL very successful.
1. Add 50% aeration. I know it's a closed terrarium but the roots still need to breath otherwise your plant can't absorb the water and nutrients it needs. I suggest perlite, it's inexpensive and works great.
2. Take a strainer and put the soil in it (the mesh kind with the small holes).
3. Flush the soil very thoroughly with 1 part peroxide + 3 parts water mixed together.
You can even take the soil and soak it on your counter in a bowl for 20 minutes it can't hurt and would kill off any bacteria that could be growing. It's got a lot of mold, so we need to kill off all of the mold spores at this point, so it does not come back. Peroxide is great at this! It has the added benefit of adding oxygen to your soil.
4. Squeeze any excess moisture out of the soil, then add 50% perlite.
5. Now soak your plant in that peroxide mix for 5 minutes, I suggest using a fresh mix. Submerge all affected parts on the plant that has mold to kill it all off.
6. Now you can replant. Be very cautious with watering. That is the difficult part. Always check with your finger if the soil is cool or moist wait. You can also tell by the color of your soil when it starts to get much lighter in color it may be ready for some water. If you pick up the terrarium and it's heavy, that's an indicator that is has plenty of water. Never follow a schedule, between temp changes, growth amounts etc., the watering needs will fluctuate. So, try checking once a week and then ignoring it for a week and then check it again the following week. The moisture within the terrarium for humidity creates an environment that needs a surprisingly limited amount of water.
Don't think of your weekly checks as a watering. It's more a plant check and admiring your creation. Watering ONLY if needed.
Polka dot plants like humidity but they don't like wet soil, rot will happen if the soil is too moist or wet. Remember you can always add a tad more water later but you can't remove the water.
6. For encouragement, I will add polka dot plants are quite resilient in a terrarium.
Even though it's not looking its best it can bounce back with proper care. So don't be hard on yourself I think I helped you out once before with this one. So, remember there is a steep learning curve that takes time to master.
So, don't give up and keep trying you'll get there I promise.💕
Just stay away from the Vodka, we don't want to encourage drunk plants! And alcohol is VERY drying for the leaves and we need humidity on the leaves of our polka dot plants!
@PiousWaterfern it does look like rot, at least a lot of my propagations have looked like this at some point! I’ve found hydrogen peroxide to work the best. Alcohol dries out the plant and it’s been a little more detrimental than helpful for my plants lately🫣🥹 oh and what proof vodka? Only a certain % is affective, like 80-100% proof. I found out the hard way🥹🙃🫣 best of luck!! We got this! You got this! The plants got this!! :)
@PiousWaterfern let me add some folks that just chatted about this! I want to get some more advisory :) @WelsomeRhodotus @BabeVila were yall talking about alcohol and water for treatment? Any advisory / suggestions here friends?❤️🌱
@PiousWaterfern I think bleach is damaging, it’s the chemical makeup of bleach itself. Verses isopropyl alcohol is something else. Let me hit the books and gather the info🤩🌱✨
@PiousWaterfern okay yes no bleach please I was right. It’s two chemicals and not at all gentle for our green friends :). If possible, could you obtain Isopropyl alcohol?
@Prentyce potentially, but my local hardware/misc store don’t usually have any! I’ll try and dig some out though!
@PiousWaterfern don’t fear hydrogen peroxide, it’s excellent! What we usually use for plants - the 3% solution - is food grade and isn’t super concentrated. It won’t hurt the leaves or the roots particularly as you use it diluted in water anyway. Recipes vary - I use about 1/4 c hydrogen peroxide to 1 c water for dealing with root rot. If you’re worried about spraying the foliage, reduce that down. Alternatively, try an alcohol based recipe - you could try 1/4 c isopropyl alcohol to 1 c water. I just used that today to spray the underside of the leaves of one of my zz plants and sprayed down the leaves of a young ctenanthe yesterday with this too. Your terrarium might need more regular airing to prevent the mould from growing. Best of luck! I feel your frustration! 🌿🌿
@SuperbRaspfern @Prentyce @WelsomeRhodotus bit of an update…. The soil took a few days to dry out and I forgot to put the plants in something else to stop them from dying out… they were dry as a bone when I put them back into the terrarium. I misted until the top inch of soil was wet and I used water with some feed in it to try and give them a bit of a boost… hopefully they bounce back.. 😭😭
@SuperbRaspfern ITS BACK?? HOW IS IT BACK?? I think I’m just gonna leave the cling film on the top peeled back more and open my window a bit to get extra air flow. 😭
I'm going to explain more thoroughly and detailed how I keep mine thriving.
Drainage layer is a must.
Netting to keep soil out of drainage.
Soil. How deep is yours? Mine is about an inch deep. The soil is the most important factor. If there is too much it will hold too much moisture. It needs to be light and fluffy with a lot of aeration. The aeration creates little air pockets in your soil and allows air flow. This is essential for a terrarium as they get little to no airflow your soil will hold on to moisture MUCH longer.
I'm not sure what your base layer is for soil. But stay away from almost all of them that are store bought. Most will contain dirt, dirt is essentially composed of clay and silt. Both really bad in a terrarium they get wet and muddy essentially suffocating your plant. When it gets muddy bacteria will grow and multiply very rapidly creating the root rot we previously talked about.
Never water until the soil is wet either. That will not be good for your plants. You want moist soil if you take some soil in your hand and squeeze it and it clumps together then it does NOT have enough aeration. Your want it to be more crumbly, that is done through aeration like perlite, bark, etc. The ideal aeration will be around 50%
If you accidentally overwater it stick a tampon in the soil to soak up the excess water.
Remember they need very little water in a terrarium. I wouldn't feed them right now either you want them to recover and get healthy. I actually never add fertilizer to any of my terrariums. Since the idea is to keep the plants small.
When you had the plants out were they mushy in the stems and leaves as well as the roots? If so the plants had root rot through the entire plant and will not be salvagable, unfortunately.
In that case you will need to start with a new healthy plant. But if you do that, start with fresh soil if you can make your own that would be ideal. I use around 50% peat moss with 50% perlite and a little horticultural charcoal thrown in.
I'm very sorry it's been such a struggle to get your up and running.
You can try the slightly open like you have in the photo it should be plenty of airflow. You can mist with the
1 part peroxide + 8 parts water to kill off the mold again.
At this point though your plant looks too far gone.
Drainage layer is a must.
Netting to keep soil out of drainage.
Soil. How deep is yours? Mine is about an inch deep. The soil is the most important factor. If there is too much it will hold too much moisture. It needs to be light and fluffy with a lot of aeration. The aeration creates little air pockets in your soil and allows air flow. This is essential for a terrarium as they get little to no airflow your soil will hold on to moisture MUCH longer.
I'm not sure what your base layer is for soil. But stay away from almost all of them that are store bought. Most will contain dirt, dirt is essentially composed of clay and silt. Both really bad in a terrarium they get wet and muddy essentially suffocating your plant. When it gets muddy bacteria will grow and multiply very rapidly creating the root rot we previously talked about.
Never water until the soil is wet either. That will not be good for your plants. You want moist soil if you take some soil in your hand and squeeze it and it clumps together then it does NOT have enough aeration. Your want it to be more crumbly, that is done through aeration like perlite, bark, etc. The ideal aeration will be around 50%
If you accidentally overwater it stick a tampon in the soil to soak up the excess water.
Remember they need very little water in a terrarium. I wouldn't feed them right now either you want them to recover and get healthy. I actually never add fertilizer to any of my terrariums. Since the idea is to keep the plants small.
When you had the plants out were they mushy in the stems and leaves as well as the roots? If so the plants had root rot through the entire plant and will not be salvagable, unfortunately.
In that case you will need to start with a new healthy plant. But if you do that, start with fresh soil if you can make your own that would be ideal. I use around 50% peat moss with 50% perlite and a little horticultural charcoal thrown in.
I'm very sorry it's been such a struggle to get your up and running.
You can try the slightly open like you have in the photo it should be plenty of airflow. You can mist with the
1 part peroxide + 8 parts water to kill off the mold again.
At this point though your plant looks too far gone.