What in the Holy-Root-Brownie is THIS??!
As some may recall, Iβve been concerned about my Monstera Standleyana Albo. Her leaves keep curling under and she just isnβt thriving. Well, well well.. I found the reason. Yup. A pod. A squishy, dry af, spongy, devilβs food looking root cake of a pod.πΏ
βBut, surely you must have checked the roots when you potted??β
I have no excuse. Nothing to say. No defense. Lock me up in the State Plantitentiary. 10 lashes with a strappy Anthurium. Cut my XPs in half, @RJG. Take back the mug. ππ³
10min soaking in rainwater, and she looks so much better π
Always.. Always donβt not check the roots π
#badplantparent #soashamed #checktheroots #checktheroots #checktheroots #alwayscheckthedamnroots #standleyana #monstera #PhiloFlock #HappyPlants
βBut, surely you must have checked the roots when you potted??β
I have no excuse. Nothing to say. No defense. Lock me up in the State Plantitentiary. 10 lashes with a strappy Anthurium. Cut my XPs in half, @RJG. Take back the mug. ππ³
10min soaking in rainwater, and she looks so much better π
Always.. Always donβt not check the roots π
#badplantparent #soashamed #checktheroots #checktheroots #checktheroots #alwayscheckthedamnroots #standleyana #monstera #PhiloFlock #HappyPlants
8ft to light, indirect
4β pot with drainage
Last watered 2 years ago
17
Best Answer
@Keysgirl0179 @SaltySΔmoan @Newplantguy It was surrounding & encompassing the roots. Some growers use soil pods and ship with the pod wrapped in plastic wrap, without a pot. Sometimes you will even see this when the pot ships in a planter. Iβve found mesh type material around pods before, but this was weirder. And it was preventing the roots from getting what they needed.
@UltraKoreanfir oh joy. Reallly?? That hard to see? Geez! What am I looking for well I suppose I need to start googling soil pods or something so I have an idea what to be looking for π
@Keysgirl0179 yes, sometimes you think you've looked closely and didn't see a pod because roots WILL grow outside of it, and you think all is fine. But eventually if that pod doesn't break up or dissolve, it will RESTRICT the roots at some point and cause problems. Some plants (common in Aglaonema & Calathea) will come with PLASTIC cages around their roots. We call these "Death Cages" or "Death Traps" and they will almost certainly cause the death of the plant EVENTUALLY. It can take a long time....plant is growing fine, and then slowly you notice decline...you run through everything under the sun trying to treat for pests, disease, etc, only to finally make a last ditch effort by repotting the plant, and that's when you'll see it ...just like @Hypsie did. They are the bane of plant lovers everywhere.
@Keysgirl0179 Itβs the evil thing in the first pic that looks like dirt but is more like a synthetic sponge, but dry. The second pic is the healthy plant after I removed it. It was blocking water from getting to the roots. Some are too absorbent and never dry out, which causes the roots it surrounds to rot, eventually.
I AM NOT IN DEFENSE OF THE EVIL POD but I will say that Iβd you think itβs been there a while you may need to do the soak like OP says because roots may have started to grow through and you donβt want to rip them up. I also had a ping (carnivorous plant) shipped in one of the weir foamy pods and apparently for those, the pod should remain because their roots are literally almost nonexistent. The more you know π±βοΈβ€οΈ