Identification: need house plant ID's (pics enclosed)

Hello. moved into a new home and some house plants were left. Was wondering what they were. thanks in advance.



Plant #1

the leaves seem to wilt a lot if not watered but after I do water it the leaves tend to turn yellow and drop

plant #2



most of this plant seems dead except for just he one end pictured here.

plant #3



almost all leaves from this plant have dropped. At first leaves drooped too much, increased watering, leaves still have dropped (not as much) and remaining leaves now "stand up" more

 

Plant #2 is a Draceana.

 

#1 looks like maybe Impatiens?

#3 looks like a croton, 'Codiaeum'

Now that they have a new owner, more light and water, hopefully they will recover:)

 

thank you

 

I will have to do more research on #1 but thanks for the lead. I will also try and post some better pics

I believe you are right about #3. This would also explain the problems I am having with it, as it had been kept near a heating vent and has probably dried out. Hopefully I can bring it back to life by keeping it (more) humid.

 

as you can see it appears to be mostly stem/branch and little green to it.

I started cutting back the middle stem (which had no green at all to it). The the inside looked black and dried out. I kept going till I saw a better result in the stem health. I don't know..that whole stem may be a goner. Any ideas to bring back more green to the rest of the plant?

 

cut the drac back to good healthy wood - it should re-sprout. you could also go really drastic and cut it very far back - leaving a decent sized trunk and then, cut the remaining part into various sized pieces and root them...you'll get new plants.

i agree with croton for 3. they like the soil to be kept evenly moist (not soggy) and they don't do well in direct sunlight or in drafts (hot or cold). if it's got some good leaves on it, it may be salvageable. i'm still new to them - don't know if you can top it off and root it or not. probably though...and, again, you'll end up with additional plants.

 

thanks for the info!. The croton I have alternately let it dry out then drenched it (this is my basic m.o. on all plants), all the while its right in front of the window and heating vent. So basically I've done everything wrong so far on that one. You can see in the pic it may have 10 leaves left - thats probably 25% of what it started with.

 

here are more pics of Plant #1 (now wilted) and another plant I have that appears to be the same kind of plant. For some reason I am only having problems with the one plant. Constantly wilting with dropping leaves








Here is another plant which is not doing well (Plant #4)

leaves are all turning very very pale

 

1 does look to be begonia - now that we can see the second (same) plant. the one looks severely under-watered. or, it could be in soil that's too moist - maybe one of your drenchings was more than the usual drench? :)

4 looks like swedish ivy...and severely under-watered and needs more light.

what kind of soil mix do you have all of these in??

 

#4 might be a Plectranthus? there are a few different species. This plant likes very bright light and some direct sun. Water well when dry and make sure it has drainage holes on the bottom.

 

over-watered but the soil is too moist? sounds like a contradiction. this plant may be a tough one!



whatever the previous homeowner left them in. dirt? actually i was going to add some peat to the croton and drac

 

Plant 1 is pink Impatiens.... I have those nasties all over my yard.

Underwatered and Wet Feet have the same symptoms - wiltiness. You can find out which one it is very easily - just stick your finger into the soil. If it comes out muddy, you probably need to re-pot and let it dry out. If it's bone, dry, give it a moderate drink.

 

how do you strike a balance between the two? This concept seems a bit tricky. Is wet feet like a disease/condition? re-potting with with less thorough waterings then? I actually watered it last night (not my usual drenching though) and it came back to like by this morning.

 

Wet feet occurs when you water a plant so often that the soil at the bottom of the pot always remains soggy. This can also happen when you leave water in the drainage dish under the pot for long periods of time. 'Wet feet' is an unhealthy state of affairs for most plants as it can lead to root rot, and once that sets in, it will eventually kill the plant concerned.

Impatiens like their compost to be moist but not waterlogged at all times, in winter you should need to water less often to acheive this than you would in summer.

If watering brought the plant back it was most likely suffering from underwatering, don't water again until the surface of the compost is dry to the touch and it should be fine.

Hope that helps

Plant #4 probably just needs more light:)

 

ok yes it does thanks. I've just read a lot where leaf drop and yellow leaves point to over watering so I was a bit confused at what was going on. I'm also thinking it needs to be re-potted to a larger pot.

I'll try my best... It is right in front of the sunniest window i have. This winter has been rather dreary though...

 

If you are going to re-pot, either use the same size pot with fresh soil, or a pot that's slightly larger, like an inch wider is all.

 

thanks, beth for clearing up my post!! lol, it was quite contradictory, wasn't it?! sorry about that!

another cause of wet feet is if the containers the plants are in do not have drainage holes - then you will have excess moisture sticking around in the soil - even if you let it dry out (at the top) the bottom will still have a ton of moisture. so, always put plants in containers that have drainage holes. what i usually do is use plastic containers and then put them inside larger decorative ceramic pieces...then, i can water and remove any excess before it causes a problem. you can use glazed ceramic directly (no insert) - just make sure there are drainage holes.

some plants also do very well in unglazed clay (with drainage). those that do well in unglazed are the succulents, euphorbia and cacti.

type of soil is also a factor in how moist the soil remains towards the bottom of the container as well as how well the roots of the plant do in the soil. different plants have different preferences/needs.

the drac likes soil that drains well because it doesn't like wet feet (roots). so, something like a cactus mix - which has bits of bark along with some perlite and a bit of peat - mixed with regular plain potting soil works well. the regular soil retains some bit of moisture and the cactus mix provides good drainage and aeration to the roots. always give drac's a good drink and let the soil dry out to about 2 inches down from the top before giving another good drink...for a large container like that, you should be watering it every 2-3 weeks - actually a little less in winter, say every 3-4.

the begonia, i'm not sure what is proper for them as i haven't tried growing them. someone else will have to answer that one.

 

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So these are actually two different plants? Begonia and impatiens? Are the two closely related

 

I'm sticking by my original ID of Impatiens walleriana for that plant. But compare for yourself:

Impatiens - GIS
Begonia - GIS

To answer your other question, they're only related insomuch as they're angiosperms. Impatiens, aka Balsams, are more closely related to Blueberries, while Begonias are more closely related to Cucumbers.

 

i'm sorry...i meant impatiens, not begonia. sorry!!!

 

thats some really good info...thanks!

 

As far as the croton goes is there a mix that would be best for keeping the soil evenly moist on a consistent basis?

 

i use cactus soil for mine...it does seem to dry out a bit more than it should. when i repot in spring, i'll change the mix so it's some potting soil and some cactus mix - i think that will work well.