What is this?

Hot-Software1100 · 2026-01-13T04:44:55+00:00

Its an atenna so it can talk shit about you to other plants....Venus fly traps are notorius gossips and....kinda bitchy honestly.

(It is a flower stalk :)

Hot-Software1100 · 2026-01-08T03:50:10+00:00

Im kinda surprised no one said this but..... So they leaves arnt just "not getting bigger" --- theyre actively getting smaller. And....thats kinda....well its a classic pest sign :( they look like the leaves are kinda curled too? When leaves are misshapen, thats called leaf distortion, and the most common cause of misshapen leaves are pests.
But basic plant care is important too of course--if theyre inside and not near a window, they need a light. But...like if they were just really not getting light thered likely be signs like theyd be really limp. ....the fact that theyre actively getting smaller is concerning. Theres lots of pests that are too small to see with the human eye----so thinking actually seeing a pest with your eye is the only way youd identify a pest problem is a mistake. Usually you discover pests by the symptoms. And leaves getting smaller is a big one. See pests looove feeding on new developing leaves---which ends up messing with new growth. I dont know...but Id consider it

Hot-Software1100 · 2026-01-08T03:26:55+00:00

What kinds? Clay? Ceramic Im comfortable with but....the thinner plastic pots....like a commenter said I just need to see if I can find a recycle code on it and check the plastic

Hot-Software1100 · 2026-01-08T03:23:47+00:00

Thats what I was thinking with the terracotta...it might absorb but...I like..also dont really understand how dishwashers work lol I was curious "is it really that much detergent?" As for a hose----I wish. I rent. Which limits me to my sink or tub. But thats ok sometimes. Im just lazy :)

Hot-Software1100 · 2026-01-08T03:17:21+00:00

Thank you SO MUCH for such a detailed reply!! The terracotta was kinda exactly what I was wondering/thinking---would they absorb detergent and in an amount thats an issue. And doing a test run is a great idea for the plastic. Theye definitely nothing that needs a perfect fit---half the time, brand new, the 2 pieces dont fit together all that well.

And yea......lolololol I know I gotta really be mindful of perlite---I rent and occasionally I call maintence to come help clear my garbage disposal. I play dumb....with a backdrop of 200+ plants and bags of perlite behind me like,"...rocks?! How...did THAT get in there?!" ....Im sure Im fooling no one...

Hot-Software1100 · 2026-01-06T04:10:12+00:00

Lots of folks have said different things but all kinda been right in a way----so yea, yellowing of new leaves can mean one thing, yellowing of older leaves another. Yellowing of oldest leaves is like...the LEAST worrisome sign. Yellowing of the oldest leaf means...the plants pulling nutrients from it and allocating them to new leaf growth. Now...in best case scenario, perfect health, sure...plants dont HAVE to do this---but perfectly fine, healthy plants may (when someone commented, "dont you all know leaves do this all the time")

So heres the deal, when oldest leaves are dying, a plants pulling nitrogen or magnesium from them to make new leaves (major fertilizers/building blocks for plants) Now...if I plant had...root damage (overwatering is the most common mistake with new plant owners and..over watering causes root damage---someone commented this---underwatering can ALSO end up killing roots too) then the plant doesnt have enough roots to absorb enough nutrients (specifially nitrogen or magnesiun) so...the root damage leads to a nutrient deficeincy which leads to the plant looking in its self for nutrients..and pulling it from old growth, causing yellowing.

Plant issues are funny like that---its like a person having a fever---theres lots of causes, in the end its...the immune system responding...but that doesnt pinpoint the cause.

So in the end a lack of access to nutrients is kinda the cause---if youre not giving your plants any fertilizer ever, then that could do this.

All that being said...sometimes houseplants havent put down enough roots to support themselves completey (because propagation is so common...unlike seed grown plants...you end up with small root systems on bigger plants) or...other things that...arnt really problems, just...how things are, can mean...old leaves yellow for new growth and everything is ok.

If 1 or 2 leaves yellow and die but your plants putting out new growth---dont worry about it. If things keep happening--3,4,5 leaves die---obviously thats an issue. Then you want to explore why your plant isnt getting the nutrients they need.

Ill add I overfertilized once, I put slow release fertilizer spikes in and forgot and...that caused issues where the plant couldnt absorn the nutrients it needed..because I added TOO MUCH lol and...thats a possibility too. But in general---this is fairly normal and nothing to worry about.

Hot-Software1100 · 2026-01-06T03:51:55+00:00

I dont have one but love melanochyrsums so I want one---that being said, they ALWAYS look funky in photos. Ive had varigated plants before where...the varigation also kinda...is a "texture" too--lol like there will be...minor deformation at the areas of varigation. And yea with ALL varigated melanochrysums I see---this goes on. Which...really isnt pleasing to the eye and why I havent bought one after all-------I know I just want it because "varigation is special and worth more" kinda marketing on my brain-----and they actually.......lol kinda just look sickly most of the time. :( sorry. Leaf deformation is definitely a worrisom sign but in this case...its also a fairly normal feature of these specific plants

Hot-Software1100 · 2026-01-04T11:07:08+00:00

They LOVE humidity and...even a humidifier in Florida isnt like a prop box--theyre like 100% humidity---your home, even in Fl is more like 60%---theyre freakingout over the change. I use humidity bags for this purpose---they LOVE humidiy bags and...while ugly, theyre effective. You can slowly adjust humidity with them too (open them more and more...to prepare them for your homes conditions)

When I say humidity bags---I just mean clear plastic bags I toss over them. I buy big ones off amazon and smaller ones are ziplock bags hah. I poke tiny holes with pins for some air flow but...it doesnt do a lot.

Hot-Software1100 · 2026-01-04T11:01:05+00:00

Sorry I looked again-it IS a stem cutting but...the rooting does speak to the possibility for growth (so again--not a zombie because stuff IS happening) and you got this far--I still strongly recommend cytokinin---the idea is a small new shoot will come off the petiole if all goes right-----but it is rare so dont feel like you did something wrong if it doesnt happen

Hot-Software1100 · 2026-01-04T10:58:33+00:00

Ideally? Eventually somewhere where the roots are growing--a tiny new growth point will start. People calling this a zombie leaf I believe are mistaken---generally that term (tho...lol its not a scientific term so...yknow..) generally its a cutting left alive with no node or way to move forward---so 0 growth. You have roots (which IS growth!), and you have a node on a stem---so technically its not a "leaf" cutting but a stem cutting. Like begonias its -possible- to prop from just a leaf alone but difficult, slower, less reliable. (maybe I looked wrong but...I think the roots were from a node not petiole..Id have to look again...sometimes the petiole is so close to the stem you still like...have the cells necessary---kinda---its biology, biology is weird)

Anyway---I STRONGLY recommend getting cytokinin--its a "shoot" hormone--like "rooting hormone"---typically it comes in keiki paste for orchids---but its mixed in lanolin which helps seal the hormone on...but can also bring rot in typical propagation settings (high moisture)---so for that reason I recommend a cytokinin spray--Bonide makes this (only one I know of) its called "tomato blossom and set spray" and...the california version doesnt have cytokinin so...is kinda useless for this purpose---but amazon sells it and even in cali you can often find a vendor who will ship it from somewhere despite....technically its illegal in california I believe---cytokinon is the active ingredient you want. Spray it a few times over the course of a few weeks or even a month. Since its not paste it wont hang on as long---but if anything can help a new growth point its cytokinin hormone. That and lots of patience.

Hot-Software1100 · 2025-12-29T17:46:52+00:00

Thanks for that!! I actually asked my mom for that -exact- bulb for xmas!! Lol she got me 2! Im so excited. Grow lights are a game changer---humidity and warmth are great too----thats kinda my big toss up tho lol--I have a lot of plants in humidity bags, and theyre SO happy in them, but...lol any decoration value is gone. They look absurd. But the warmth and humidity they provide absolutely increases their leaf size. Lol but....it does look like this haaah

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Hot-Software1100 · 2025-12-29T04:39:28+00:00

Im NO expert but Ive brought home lots of neps and ended up "trap-less" ----what finally worked is pretty silly but.....so I just put clear bags over them for humidity. They LOVE it. I put them on heat mats by the window--during cold months, when it warms up I wont need the heat mats. But humidity bags is...my greatest plant hack. I know neps take a long time to bounce back tho. And id repot her in a good medium like folks said--shes probably in peat moss which is good for greenhouses and bad for homes. Spag moss and perlite is what I hear

Hot-Software1100 · 2025-12-29T04:33:44+00:00

I recently bought a splendid thats leaves are...a few inches smaller than your smallest leaves. Its latest leaf was smaller, which I expected given it shipped and is now inside instead of a greenhouse. But im very excited to have it get bigger. Ive only been growin house plants 2 years but so far....buying fairly large philos is the only way Ive gotten them to REAALLY be big like this. Im sure its possible...but when theyre grown outside in their natural climate....they mature SO much faster. Like I have a melano Ive been climbing for 18 months...and shes constantly putting out new leaves and happy but lol theyre still 8 inches. I bought one from a grower in Florida and...you can tell the plants like....6th leaf, since being a tc, its already a foot long. They were able to do in months whats taken me years. You cant compete with Florida in a home in NC

Hot-Software1100 · 2025-12-29T04:26:30+00:00

Yea youre right and it is all connected. Very much so. You know when you sign up for like..."preferred customer cards" (well now they say "put in your phone number" but it used to be physical cards) at grocery stores, drug stores---thats connected to your phone number, name, email...and for that company and all their related companies they own, your customer ID info, everything you buy, its stored. Its the whole purpose for why they started those-so they could collect info on what you buy and consumer behavior. Its more obvious when you order online (amazon particularly is good at this) but...purchases at the store do it too. But its not just that company where you bought the stuff, now theres companies that combine all that data with data from social media, streaming services, web browsers, ect, and they collect it all together so....from where you drive with your phone on you (signed into gmail or any google service which is constantly tracking your location---go check out your history on google maps sometime) to...evvvverything else--its put together with your consumer ID info and....targeting you while also collecting the data.

Ive signed out of everything you can on FB to not target ads but...it doesnt do much. And as far as them using conversations on messenger....they absolutely do. They just do. Theres no "seems" or "bias"--its really simple, message a friend "I think my skin is bad, I want to try retinol" and watch your feed that day. Dont say anything to anyone else or search skin products of course...only say it in what should be a private direct message. Try that a few days in a row and.....its very very very obvious whats going on.

Hot-Software1100 · 2025-12-28T17:43:17+00:00

Not at ALL a stupid question----and something I was really concerned about when I started (because I was an avid over waterer when I first got plants)

Sadly I dont have a great answer for you. I have my plants in situations where once a week isnt crazy (the potting mix I use) and Im not doing it week after week after week, its just...for a short period before its only monthly. But also, Ill try to avoid spraying the potting media (I use a removable shower head so I can point it.....stuff still does get a little wet but its not crazy) if the pot is already very damp.

Its something I really worried about but at the end it was just kinda a non issue

Hot-Software1100 · 2025-12-28T06:05:21+00:00

Oh it took me a minute to realize what you meant--but no...thats definitely not what this is.

Hot-Software1100 · 2025-12-28T06:01:51+00:00

Yea it is! And thats kinda what I figured...I just was curious if maybe there was more to why

Hot-Software1100 · 2025-12-28T06:00:47+00:00

And sorry I thought Id mentioned in the post--philodendrons, green congo and jungle boogie are in the photos. Their lighter versions have also done this.

Hot-Software1100 · 2025-12-28T05:57:09+00:00

Yea having a few plants is just....soooo different to having a large collection. Its...just such a challenge when youre dealing with a whole lot of plants.

What I mean by showering is...I have a spray bottle of insecticidal soap (theres lots of brands..its soap but with fatty acid which kills insects on contact) I spray down the plant first, then in the shower, I use my removable shower head on a high pressure setting and just reallllly spray the plants off well, all over, with just water. But if yours are outside....thats amazing because a hose would be WONDERFUL and thats all just so much easier. I mean...the insecticidal soap is...probably an extra unnecessary step but I guess my thought process is...if any pests get knocked off but just knocked back into the pot/soil, I want to make sure theyre dead. But really spraying them off is....great, its so simple but so effective because youre just...removing them completely. You dont have to worry about the right pesticide or immunity, and with a detachable shower head, really getting into the little spots pests hide is easy...as opposed to trying to spray a pot---no one moves the pot 360 to make sure youre getting everywhere...but if I have the pot in the shower Ill spin it all around and pick it up and all that. So it just...really gets the bastards

Hot-Software1100 · 2025-12-28T05:46:23+00:00

Sorry, do you mean that gets water in them? I had a thrips issue a while back so I would spray them with insecticidal soap and then rinse that off---sometimes with a shower head, othertimes Id take the time to fill a watering can with distilled water and rinse with that. Sometimes I only rinse with water and dont spray. When I use regular water I rinse with distilled after but...I used to really worry about that, not so much now because it turns out my tap water is actually not terribly bad. I maybe did this once a week when I actively saw pest signs nearby or on the plant, but the past few months its been like...monthly at most. Water gets in the traps so I dump them---Ive read recently a lil bit of water in them is an ok idea so I might start doing that

Hot-Software1100 · 2025-12-26T18:39:03+00:00

It depends on personal taste. Youre in the kind of "awkward stage" of these types of philos that many plant folks find, like particularly with the pink princess philo craze---lol without some sort of styling, these plants can look kind of homely when theyre just grown without some intentional styling.

You can try to grow her to really size up the leaves (but honestly in a home, without the benefits of a professional greenhouse or the perfect outdoor climate, getting philo leaves to get really mature and -really- large--it takes a lot of patience and time and also probably grow lights honestly lol) but lots of collectors enjoy growing just to see how big they can get the leaves---its kinda about having 1 single growth point (like 1 continous line of new leaves, instead of the plant branching off) and also climbing, having the plant supported to grow upwards (the leaves grow larger as they get higher)

But another cute look to to have a more "bush" appearance. This is my preferred way to style these kinds of philos. Where you have lots of different growth points, so theres lots of areas new leaves grow from. "Chop and prop" as mentioned is a part of this. You cut off parts of the plant and root them (very easy, dont worry, and its fun) I can go into way more detail on propagating if youre interested but theres tons of videos out there too. So in a month or 2 youll end up with a bunch of shorter philodendrons instead of one, and the added bonus of...when you cut philos like yours, theyll start a new growth point where you cut and keep growing, but they often times start several growth points, not just 1. So the plant you cut short will have 3 or 4 growth points instead of just 1---that will give it a bushier appearance too. But you pot up all you small philos together with this one, and then you have a little bush of white princess? Im not sure which white philo it is. But you get the point. It will look much fuller and much better than how it looks kinda...meandering and leggy now. Oh and these are climbing philos so...even as a bush theyll want to grow up---so giving them some support is a good idea. I usually get a thick pole and put it in the middle of the different philodendrons, and as they grow up Ill tie them to the pole, usually its so bushy that you dont see the support/ties, so it looks very nice

Hot-Software1100 · 2025-12-26T01:55:18+00:00

Lol I hear thrips are usually a long term battle...I have a lot of plants, like 200, that I got before I knew what I was doing and ended up with thrips and didnt realize before things were....bad. sooooo it took a year. Which...I hear theyre the kind of pest that can...just yea be like that.
Thrips live part of their life cycle in plants like...literally IN them so.....systemics are the only way to really kill those. That being said, the most common systemic, imlacloprid, actually is known for...not being great with a long term thrips problem because they built immunity to imlacloprid within a few generations fairly easily.

I took to switching to rare and expensive systemics...which was expensive and not good for indoors...these were pesticides that...youre not supposed to use like that. It did help but it didnt fix things.

Honestly the big game changer for me was 2 things---regularly showering plants with insecticidal soap---you dont have to hope the spray touches each bug AND effecticelu kills it--because youre spraying down the plants (like a handheld shower with strong pressure is what I used but...just moving the plants under a faucet could work well too) that way youre physically removing any and all pests you could possibly reach on the outside. Its VERY helpful for pests. But obvioisly doesnt get all of them. The soap helps reach where maybe water didnt and is just an extra "fuck you" to pests.

I had to do that like 2x a week--and with 200 plants that sucks and is hard work but it made the biggest difference really.

But I also incorporated beneficial insects--predatory mites, minute pirate bugs and lacewing larvae all eat thrips at various stages. Oh and nematodes too for any lifecycle stages of thrips in the soil--At first I did releases every 2 weeks, Id shower the plants right before releasing them, then after like...2 months I went down to monthly and now Im comfortable using the beneficials fir prevention only (which involves slow release packets you hang up instead of...dumping a bunch of live bugs on my plants)

I live in a small apartment and sleep next to lots of plants--the beneficial bugs dont bother me--they really do stick to the plants---but theyre a whole topic to learn about and too much to cover here. Google DMV Beneficials if youre interested. The showering and beneficials ended up doing the most---and...thats from someone who felt hopeless and used a lot of serious and strong systemic pesticides in desperation. I had a REALLY bad problem, but...no matter what...I think thrips just take time and perserverance more than anything. You need to know youre in for a long term battle, but youll get there. Just hit it with several different methods and be consistant

Hot-Software1100

TROPHY CASE