Hello, Thanks for taking a look at this post. I am dealing with a Lacy-Tree philodendron. I'm pretty sure that is the type except it has more ruffled edges on its leaves. I bought the plant last February at my local nursery. Since then I have been struggling with it off and on. My main problem is yellowing leaves but have also noticed some strange things. The branches are becoming thinner and weak. Over the past two months I have noticed that its roots (the ones that you can see above ground) are shriveling. Also, a large spike in the middle of the plant began to rot and turn black. It is in a basement with less light and cooler temperatures, so it doesn't dry out nearly as fast as my other plants. In light of that, I have switched soils and included a LOT of perlite, vermiculite, and some sand to provide good drainage. Still, the plant looks horrible. Do I still have a drainage problem? Here are some pictures. The soil picture is from this summer. Any thoughts? Thanks so much!
they need a very well-draining soil mix and warmth - no lower than 55...water well and do not allow to dry out completely. container should have drainage holes in it. equal amounts of regular potting soil and orchid mix and some perlite should do fine. go up in size for the container...that one is too small. just an inch or two more in diameter will be fine.
Hmm, seems like I am doing all of that... The pot is too big at the moment! In the past few months I bought that giant pot and it hasn't been healthy enough to start growing in it yet. The roots seem to be bad because you can basically just lift it out of the soil if you wanted to. Any idea why mine looks so sick?
I think the problem may be low light, compacted soil, and maybe the pot. If the soil gets real dry for too long between watering, or stays too wet for more then a couple of weeks, that could be a problem.You want the pot to have drain holes. Water should come out the bottom, then spilled out of the saucer so the pots not sitting in water. In the pictures, the soil "looks" dry and heavy, not that well draining and airy. It also looks like it's been watered just around middle where the stems emerge, not the entire root-ball. The entire root-ball probably comes out of the pot so easily because of the soil which looks cemented around the roots. Sand is not really the best thing to use for this plant unless it's really course, otherwise, it can actually hold water. You could try getting rid of all the old soil and using a more "airy" light and fluffy type soil, minus the sand. Use a pot that's more porous like clay, that's about an inch larger then the root-ball. Water well when dry, or close to dry and bright indirect light, more light if it reaches. I wouldn't feed it until spring, and only small amounts every other month and only if it's growing healthy again.
Cool, thanks for the reply. In you guys' professional opinion, do you think I can save it? Here is some more info, I'll try to articulate more... As for the watering, I water it thoroughly but only maybe three times a month. Water does drain from the holes at the bottom. I have gravel at the bottom of the pot to help drainage. The soil is actually lighter than it seems and you can sift your hands though it. It does have sand however. I made sure and overloaded it with lots of perlite though. Despite all this drainage help, when I dig my hand down the soil is a little damp but no where near wet. Also the pot is clay, but is glazed. Would more light help a lot? What do you think about artificial light like a full spectrum lamp?
More light will definitely help it (will remedy the weak petioles), as will a bit more heat, and an unglazed clay pot. It can probably be saved as it is; however if the main stem rots out at the bottom you can still take a cutting of the unblemished upper stem and re-root that in water. A word of warning on "full spectrum" lamps - they don't provide a balanced spectrum in the same manner as sunlight; they're basically mixed-gas incandescents so they're heavy on the yellow and often deficient in the blue-purple end of the spectrum. You'd do better to look for actual grow lamps, which have a spectrum that is balanced for optimum plant happiness. Unfortunately, you have winter so it can't just sit in your window - it'll get chilled and that will make it grumpy as well. One final question: how tall is your Philo? After a certain point (usually about 1' of growth) even the tree-type ones will want something to climb on.
OK, I will look into those ideas. I would gladly move it upstairs where it is warmer and has a better chance to dry out quicker, but the plant is far too large for any room up there. There is not one spot where it would fit. I thought that when I added all the perlite and vermiculite that it wouldn't have problems drying out. I think I was wrong. I will change the pot; this thing is getting so expensive. It's worth it though! Do you know of a good company to get a red/blue-violet light producing lamp? I have one of those light boxes that people buy to improve your mood. I don't suppose those are good for growing. So, several questions are: 1) What exactly are "weak petioles"? 2) Where can I get a growing lamp? 3) Do I have to change the soil altogether, with no sand? 4) Upon repotting, how often should I water considering it is a low light, cooler basement? 5) How do you root a stem? The stems are huge!
Take a cutting of at least two nodes (two ridges), allow it to dry out on the cut edge, then place it in a dish or bowl of water until roots form. Size doesn't matter at all on this, what matters is that you get at least two nodes of stem. It is the easiest way to propagate these things.
