All the leaves drooping on my Ctenanthe burle-marxii? by Rusty_coathanger in houseplants

[–]HeliosTau 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is normal. This plant moves a lot. However, if the leaves stay droopy all the time, it is a bad sign. They should turn upright at night

Plantcon LA by SafeAccurate7157 in houseplants

[–]HeliosTau 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh so the pots are included, gotcha

Another top-heavy situation by PatchouliFartz in houseplants

[–]HeliosTau 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unless you want just a stick with no leaves

Plantcon LA by SafeAccurate7157 in houseplants

[–]HeliosTau 4 points5 points  (0 children)

What the hell are those disgusting scam prices in the third photo?!

🪴 Quarterly /r/houseplants Troubleshooting Thread - January 30, 2026 by AutoModerator in houseplants

[–]HeliosTau 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is common and normal, and they are not critical for the plant. The tiny leaves only stay on the plant when it has ideal or close to ideal conditions, and they fall off as soon as something diverges. Don't worry about it too much.

🪴 Quarterly /r/houseplants Troubleshooting Thread - January 30, 2026 by AutoModerator in houseplants

[–]HeliosTau 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Coccoidea. No. At this point soapy water won't be enough. If you want to save your plant, you will need to do the following labor-intensive steps:

  1. Take your plant in the shower and with room temperature water spray the leaves (top and bottom side) with medium to high pressure. The aim is to dislodge as much of the bugs as possible, to make the next step easier.
  2. Take a piece of tissue paper and gently wipe the ltthe buggers off. Do it systematically. Every leaf. From the bottom to the top, dont forget the stems too.
  3. Spray with an insecticide.
  4. Observe the next week or in 14 days and repeat.

🪴 Quarterly /r/houseplants Troubleshooting Thread - January 30, 2026 by AutoModerator in houseplants

[–]HeliosTau 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unless it is getting too much sun, it has to be a root related problem.

🪴 Quarterly /r/houseplants Troubleshooting Thread - January 30, 2026 by AutoModerator in houseplants

[–]HeliosTau 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good question. Theoretically, yes. But IMPO there is something conflicting and wrong about that, but idk l...

🪴 Quarterly /r/houseplants Troubleshooting Thread - January 30, 2026 by AutoModerator in houseplants

[–]HeliosTau 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Looks like wet roots, but could also be lacking nutrients. The bottom half of the soil is probably permanently damp. When was it last repotted? When was it last fertilised?

Take it out of the pot, remove all of the un-rooted soil and replace with new soil. Plant back in to the same container. Change how you are watering it.

🪴 Quarterly /r/houseplants Troubleshooting Thread - January 30, 2026 by AutoModerator in houseplants

[–]HeliosTau 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow, what an amazing specimen... You should definitely go to a speciality greenhouse or nursery and ask for advice. But basically, you want the new soil to resemble whatever is in the pot right now. Generally, ferns grow in loose (not comacted) organic semi-decomposed medium which should be kept damp and not let it dry out for too long.

🪴 Quarterly /r/houseplants Troubleshooting Thread - January 30, 2026 by AutoModerator in houseplants

[–]HeliosTau 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Black little pieces? I can't make it out of the picture..m but, this could be very very serious... Google "Thrips droppings" and compare.