Hello again all, Well, its been 18 months since I acquired my Diff and its going great. I have a question though. As you can see inthe pictures it has one central main stalk that stands independently. then it has about 6 smaller stalks that fall over and want to lean out and lie down. I have used some ties to hold them up straight to the main stalk and some support sticks. should I consider pruning and replanting some of them. they have tons of leaves on them. Or should I maintain the status quo. The plant gets taller by an inch every 6 weeks or so. It's thriving for an office plant. :)
they should be standing on their own. it would be a good idea to top them off and replant the cut pieces and whatever is left will grow and become stronger. wait until spring to do it though - just continue to support them as needed until then. it really looks great!!! you've done very well by it!!!
mcgon, It just keeps looking better and better and bigger and bigger everytime you post! Now I want one:)
Thanks guys!! It's really given my great enthusiasm for plants. A joy to watch it grow and change on such a regular basis. Thanks joclyn for that advice. I'll wait till March then and post some fresh pictures and get some opinion and advice on how to proceed.:) It's great to have such a friendly community here to ask advice and read up on other plants etc. :) It was pot luck I picked up the Diff, but its been an ideal starter plant for an office. I love it! Cheers all. McGon
yikes, I have a real problem.... I notice recently that my diff is looking a little thin.. usually looks thicker. I was putting water on today when I noticed the surface of the soil was all white in parts and moving. I thought it was sparkling water as it drained into the soil but its actually 100s or 1000s of little tiny lice. these guys are smaller than dust mites and you would not see them only they move. Is it killing my plant? my soil is infested with them? no sign of them on the plant itself just on the soil. what will I do? gloves on and new soil? what if some get transferred into the new soil? what then? are they harmless? seems too many of them to be harmless. can I get a treatment to kill them. argh. I love my plant. its over 2 years old now. :) help/advice appreciated?
Do these things jump and scurry around real fast when disturbed? Could what your seeing be Springtails? http://homepage.ntlworld.com/alan.cann/articles/pics/springtails2.jpg If so, they will not hurt your plant, but who wants to look at those! Springtails eat the decaying material in the soil. Diluted soapy water run through the soil should get rid of many, if not all. Other methods, flush the soil until it runs through the drain holes and out over the sides of the rim of the pot. Letting the soil dry more can help since they live in moist to wet soil. Changing the soil is another option. Keep dryer.
hi guys, thanks for your replies! thats EXACTLY what they are Bluewing. And you are both right, I have been keeping the soil fairly well watered. I would not water sometimes for a week or two if I was out of office etc, and then I would put a good soaking on the very dry soil because the plant would look very thirsty (dry looking). The soil would be damp for a few days then, so thats definitely why there was so many of them. Ideal environment by the sounds of it. I had a look at some pot plants at home and I noticed them on one of my other pot plants too, but much much less of them. only 10s visible. They are so small you would not see them unless you blow on the soil to disturb them, then they jump/scurry around so fast :) So tell me more about this soapy water advice. I would like to do that on my Diff just to kill off some of them as there are so many of the critters. What type of soap and what mix ratios. Don't want to harm the plant at all. Thanks again for the replies. It's great to know I can always come back here to get experienced expert advice. Cheers!
mcgon, Good! At least you know now that these fast hopping critters aren't anything too serious that will harm your plants:) Whatever you use for watering, at watering time, add a drop to a couple of drops at a time of the dish soap until the water feels slightly soapy to the touch, anything mild, like for instance, Palmolive Ultra Mild Dish washing soap. Pour the soapy all around the top letting it travel through the soil maybe over a bucket or sink, waiting about five minutes or so, then you can rinse with plain water through to clear. If you see any more Springtails after that, you'll need to repeat. Just don't water-log the plant (s) Note: Double potting, or the use of plastic wrap or any other material that's around the pot can hold moisture in, setting up the perfect "moist" home for these little buggers! Again, you'll want to let the soil dry more between waterings:)
The "stalks" are actually the stems of the plant (central axis), you can clearly see the nodes and internodes. The chances are high they are not planted deeply enough and the roots cannot grasp enough soil to support their own weight. I would certainly follow the suggestion to not repot the plant until spring but it you repot the stems so they are substantially deeper in the soil that will solve your problem. For now the wire supports are fine. You can cut the stems if you choose to begin new stem segments but just giving the roots more soil to "grab" will take care of the problem. New stem segment cuttings should be planted horizontally with about 1/2 the segment in soil. http://www.exoticrainforest.com/What is a stem. What is a petiole.html It is quite common for Dieffenbachia to produce new stems in a clump as it matures.
Glad to see it's doing so well, McG! Steve (Photopro) is absolutely right about stem support and whatnot - when you repot if you go just a bit deeper, your problems will be solved. In the wild, I'm always surprised at how much stem there is under the leaf mulch.
sounds good guys. Thanks for all that feedback. I'll let the soil dry out a bit for now, then maybe a couple of sprays of soapy water. Then I'll repot in Spring and post some pics and info about it. :) cheers, have a good xmas all.
