I have had this plant for years(and it has a sentimental meaning to me)It has been in the same pot for years, and pretty much stopped growing. The dirt was kinda hard, so i got some miracle grow soil, and replanted it,hoping it would help it start growing again. It immediately started dying. I have no idea whats wrong.
This plant requires almost bone dry conditions between watering... if it was saturated for any period of time, it has root rot... I can't think of the name at the moment, but I have one too, and I usually forget to water it, and it seems quite content...
Phytophora - root rot. I have never understood why they will grow happily in a bottle of water yet cannot cope with overly wet pots but have seen them growing in wet drainage areas in Nurseries? Perhaps a pot will contain more pathogens and hold them in place? Anyway... I'd recommend putting down some cuttings off the healthy pieces now before the rot spreads into the rest of the plant.
Take cuttings from the healthy sections of the vine and replant in a fresh medium, if it isn't already to late.
it's an epipremnum, aka pothos. it could have root burn due to the added fertilizer in the soil. always use plain soil and add liquid fertilizer when watering - you can control the amount applied much more easily and avoid over-fertilizing and causing damage. epipremnum's like a well draining soil, so, mix regular soil with orchid mix (which has bits of bark and charcoal in it). i agree with taking cuttings and rooting them...once the roots are well-established (couple inches long), replant in soil mix.
Anyone know why they have the common name Devil's Ivy at all? They get absolutely huge here outdoors: equivilant to Monstera plants. I am wondering if the pot has a saucer, if so don't let it sit in water this often starts off the rot problems in potted plants.
well, i dug up the plants to see the roots, and they were all rotted(or burned, i dont know which) off. i would have never guessed that a plant that can survive in pure water, can be over watered. go figure. I love to grow things, but i'm not all that great at it. i have cut off as much as i could, to root them. so, i shouldn't use the miracle grow soil? I can't kill this plant. My husband got it from his fathers funeral many years ago, and it's continuing to live, means something to him. Its the only plant that i have been able to keep alive for this long. I thought i was helping it by repotting it, but managed to kill it. so, I can't kill the clippings too.
Can someone explain miracle grow soil please. We have miracle grow as a foliar fertiliser here in Australia but I haven't seen potting mix. I'd recommend just a standard open mix with minimal material blended in as joclyn suggested add orchid mix if neccessary to open the mix up and improve the drainage. Fertilise during the warm months only and at a reduced rate every 6 - 8 weeks, so maybe 2 twice a year in your climate. Does the pot have a saucer? I remove all saucers from pots at home, most plants will do better if the mix is not kept constantly wet. My one of these sits in a shady warm spot in a small pot and gets watered once or twice a fortnight depending on the weather. Take a similar approach but reduce watering further if you find the mix still stays too moist. The cuttings will probably need watering once a week, try putting some in mix and a couple in water.
chungii, miracle gro potting mix is soil with fertilizer pellets mixed in. they've got a whole line of stuff for all the different types of plants. geez, even their perlite has fertilizer mixed in it!! there might be some restrictions in your country and that's why you've not seen the soils (only the fertilizer). the 'idea' of fertilizer mixed with the soil is a good one - it's just not practical. some plants need more frequent dosings and others less so...and you never want to fertilize a plant that's in distress, so the timed release stuff (that's in the miracle gro stuff) can cause additional issues. also, with blooming plants, you'll want to boost dosings to help blooming and you shouldn't add extra fert if there's already something mixed in the soil because you never know when the pellets are going to release... better to go the 'old-fashioned' way and use plain growing medium and add fertilizer when needed :) chungii is correct in that you can put the cuttings in soil or water - both techniques will produce rooting.
You find rot more often in soil mixes rather than water because all potting mixes, once used, are no longer sterile, and the bacteria and fungus that cause root rot love wet soil conditions. They breed and rot the roots. They are found in much smaller numbers in just plain old water. Its the soils they love.
Thanks joclyn, I use a blend that's produced locally and it's basically boiled and compressed bark. It's what all the nurseries use in town some add different bits in but it all starts the same. There are a couple of main commercial brands of mix available and they do offer types for different plants, I'm happy making my own with the base I mentioned. I always add a small amount of slow release fertilser but have always believed it's going to get washed into the pot when placed on top so that's the best place for fertilser. I have worked at a different places and some prefer you to put it under the plant so it's there for instant uptake by the roots. (I'm not too sure I like this method, I've definitely seen roots growing around slow release fetiliser avoiding it, not to mention it's going to wash out, missing th top half of the pot.) I have found a small amount of slow release blended in the mix with an organic top dress works wonders even in the most basic of soils. The miracle grow we get is soluble and has pretty extreme N:P:K ratio I can't remember off the top of my head but I use it when spraying weeds to improve uptake of poison and it did wonders for my roses when I had them back in cooler weather.
Do pots then hold the pathogens and contain them too? It's not so much the water, it's that I've seen them in very wet but reasonably freshly watered areas where it's not stagnant but sits for days. I know pots should be sterilized between uses to prevent transmitting problems from previous mix into the fresh mix. I was just spectulating as to wether the disease has a greater chance to develop in a pot than an open environment.
So what is the current situation? I'd take cuttings of what's left and give them optimal conditions - slightly moist (not wet) soil, bright light (but not direct sun) and warm temperatures (they love warmth). Maybe even pop one or two cuttings into a cup of water! Good luck, Raffi http://www.plants.am
