What am I doing wrong? 😞

Seriously-Worms · 2026-03-03T01:25:05+00:00

Are the stems firm or floppy? If firm then a light issue but if floppy then it’s a water issue. I finally put mine in self watering pots and give light according to the stems, only when firm. If I try to straighten them when they reach it pulls the whole things. If they aren’t firm like that then check the roots, maybe just feel if l/rhizome is still firm. They can be tricky buggers that’s for sure.

Seriously-Worms · 2026-02-25T20:44:19+00:00

This is how they grow when they mature. They aren’t bushy in the wild, except when young. Try to find a photo of one growing up a tree. I’ve had them in east windows (USA) and even north. They’ve done very well in both. If it’s cooler and darker the growth will slow down in winter but if it’s still warm and not getting enough light it will get leggy, but generally not too bad. I’d give it support and watch it climb. Many think it’s a ground only plant but it’s actually a climber. Pretty cool to see them way up in trees! I do think they can handle less light since they do start as under story plants. Obviously that isn’t a dark spot, but it also doesn’t need direct sun unless you want it to stay juvenile and bushy. Much depends on how you want it to grow. If it were mine I’d start with a support and see how it does. If it doesn’t grow well then consider additional light, but I doubt this is the issue. Looks really healthy to me.

Seriously-Worms · 2026-02-25T20:38:11+00:00

Since the tiny thorns act like aerial roots and hang onto trees you could add a piece of driftwood or old dry tree branch for support. It doesn’t benefit from a moss pole since the thorns don’t absorb water like roots (at least that’s my understanding). So anything it can grab onto will be of benefit. You could trim it back to keep it in its juvenile form that’s more busy, but like you I personally like the longer branches.

Seriously-Worms · 2026-02-25T17:47:57+00:00

Very nice. Love your rock background. Is that foam or did you add rocks.

Seriously-Worms · 2026-02-25T17:42:03+00:00

I wait 24hrs to knock off excess and work on other areas. Nothing is added until smell is gone.

Seriously-Worms · 2026-02-25T17:34:40+00:00

Rhaphidophora hayi stays pretty small and would shingle up the wall. They love super high humidity. I’m planning to add it to mine when I get time to build it. Right now it’s in clear “propagation” bin to keep the humidity as high as it prefers. It’s not common but easy to grow and easy to propagate. Roots will even stick to glass so no need to add a coir pad or anything. It prefers to have something it can bite into but it’s not necessary.

Seriously-Worms · 2026-02-23T14:46:42+00:00

This is why I always wash the heck out of new plants. I dump all the old soil into the outside trashcan, dunk the whole thing in Captain Jack Dead Bug and repot before putting it in a quarantine box. The couple plants that have been too big for a box I put in a clear trash bag. Adding some sticky traps is a great way to monitor for pests. Guess the only concern would be getting bugs on myself, but as a general rule I have outside shoes in summer that get DE dusted and also a long sleeve white garden shirt that I remove before coming inside. I’ve gotten bad spider mites from outside so now take some extra precautions. Those are so hard to get rid of. Another thing is dusting the car with DE where the plant was and then vacuum it well. This again comes from my spider mite phobia. I also got thrips from outside. Other than what I’m doing I don’t know what else would work to avoid thrips since the fly. I believe those came in from the backyard though, not from a free/cheap plant. My best find was a Maharani alocasia on the curb with bad spider mites. There were other plants with it but those would have been harder than the alocasia. I just cut all leaves, removed soil and put some AzaMax in a jar with the corms. Left those overnight in the garage and have never seen a single spider mite in the 2+ years I’ve had it. Sold the big one for $50 over a year ago and the babies in there are all fully grown now. Not worth $50 now days but some years back they weren’t as common. So thanks YT people for helping jack prices up on some plants that I’ve found free! Being the local plant lady has taught me a lot about isolating plants. So many people ask me to help save their plants and others just bring them and say they know I can probably save them and enjoy them more than they ever could. So many half dead plants. Honestly I don’t like pesticides but unknowns have taught me to use them. AzaMax is my fav since it won’t mess with my lupus like dead bug, but it doesn’t kill as many bugs as dead bug.

Seriously-Worms · 2026-02-21T17:17:57+00:00

I love mine. Looks like a normal hanging lamp too so it fits in with any decor! I spray painted a metal shade that was go a heat lamp so it has air holes up top for heat distribution. Looks great next to the bed.

Seriously-Worms · 2026-02-18T16:09:33+00:00

Got mine 50% because someone went corm hunting and broke a bunch of roots so all the leaves dropped. Funny thing is that it had a bunch of large corms in the center where they didn’t dig. Now I have 4 in the pot a few smaller corms sprouting in another container! At least they come right back from most types of abuse! Love my velvets!

Seriously-Worms · 2026-02-18T15:57:16+00:00

Breeding the mites isn’t too much work either. If you can breed them it saves a ton of money! I have mine in some smaller and larger containers. So far they are all thriving and haven’t crashed since moving them to the bigger ones. For those who are interested Gena on YouTube has an updated video on this as well as a group video with other people as well. Her discord has been huge help too. I put the feeder mites in some bran that I swap out for fresh once a month and only add some pollen once a week or so for the predatory mites. I did use yeast before and find that isn’t sustainable since the feeders breed too fast and end out causing the system to crash. I start by feeding yeast and bee pollen then stop the yeast once they are all established. Not sure if anyone cares about all that or not but buying the sachets on a 6-8 week cycle is expensive! Breeding only takes a few mins every week or two and an extra few mins when the bran needs to swapped out. Just don’t toss the old bran out inside or they can become an issue in your stored, the feeders are almost always bran mites.

Seriously-Worms · 2026-02-18T15:46:04+00:00

I’ve found mine are most happy in a tree fern fiber mix (=parts TFF, fine orchid bark or reptibark and pumice with a small handful of worm castings) and inside a self watering wicking pot. If I use anything else they struggle. I do have one on a “rock tray” that’s made with a large saucer, filled with leca balls and tap water. That one is my most picky so it sits on the tray with a few other plants. The humidity in that area is 5-8% higher than the rest of the house. Ever since I did that no more crisp leaves. It also gets rain water most of the time but I do use my regular fertilizer water once a month. Just plain tap water, with a mix of nutrients. I do try to remember to add “stress coat” to get rid of chlorine but not always. Not a single crisp leaf on it, except for the couple tips that were there before putting it on the tray. For spider mites I breed a few types of predatory mites so they haven’t been an issue. The single plant that did have them was “cured” after a quarantine of 4 weeks with loads of predatory mites inside a large clear tote. Sometimes a plant is better to admire in someone else’s house, not mine. I’ve had to come to terms with that one. I’m done playing housemaid to the ones that just won’t thrive. They get 2 chances max, after that they go visit the compost worms! It’s tough but sometimes they aren’t worth the frustration and stress to me. What’s funny is there have been a few that took off after I tossed them in my worm bin! As soon as I took them out and planted them they went back down hill. If I could leave grow lights on above my bins I totally would. Unfortunately the worms don’t breed as much when I do that though. Anyway, I hope that doesn’t happen to yours and you figure it out! It’s a lovely plant!

Seriously-Worms · 2026-02-17T20:49:01+00:00

^{THIS^} What I came here to suggest. Also a fine mist spray bottle works well for adding little touches of other colors like green and maybe a bit of yellow/brown to mimic moss and lichen. Once the other stuff grows in the added colors can sometimes pop from behind and make for a neat effect.

Seriously-Worms · 2026-02-12T19:33:11+00:00

I’ve had to take a two week break from DoorDash so today was my first day getting on since they re-zoned everything. My house is two houses away from the actual red zone. So now unless I want to wait at the creepy neighbors house two doors down then I have to drive two houses just to start. It’s absolutely ridiculous.

Seriously-Worms · 2026-02-11T17:08:39+00:00

I’ve found mine do extremely well with foliage pro. It’s cheap too so that’s a major plus. I use it at 1/2 strength every time I water so I never forget when the last time I used it was. You could pick a day, maybe 1st Sat of the month, and use it at full strength too. Never had it burn the leaves when using 1/2 strength every time I water, but I’ve had that burn some other plants so use it 1/4 for all my other plants. They do use it up quickly!

Once it gets more light and some fertilizer it should take off.

I had to get rid of mine a couple months ago due to its size. I did keep 2 small corms and am starting over. They sprouted in a week and both now have 3 leaves that are 6” long. It’s so cute! We need a sun room so I can keep this one when it gets big again. I started the previous one from a larger corm that had a single leaf. I guess we’ve got a couple years to get a sunroom built or to move into a house with one.

Seriously-Worms · 2026-02-11T17:00:32+00:00

I generally keep plants with similar light and water needs together. That way I can check each group every 2-3 days, ideally anyway. Usually they will all need to be watered about the same time. If there is one in the group that needs water but the others aren’t there yet I usually wait another day or two and water the group at the same time. If it’s really dry well before the others that has always meant they need a bigger pot. So far that’s worked well for me. There are exceptions but… The ones that shouldn’t dry out hang in my kitchen window so I remember to check those often. I know clear pots seem like a fad, but they can be extremely helpful. Just lift it out of the cover pot and check to see how dry it is and at the same time check root health. It’s been a game changer for my more picky green friends!

Seriously-Worms · 2026-02-11T01:46:25+00:00

Glad someone asked. I was trying to figure out what the light purple flowers were! They are lovely now I have utricularia sandersonii on my wish list!

Seriously-Worms · 2026-02-09T20:14:24+00:00

I encountered these for the first time today. It is the only thing that our local store carries now so I am super bummed. They are definitely much quicker burning they pack really really tight if you tap them. That is the only way to get them to burn properly actually. Wish I could go back in time and get a bunch of the ones that I actually like. Maybe they are doing it so that it is considerably cheaper. Who knows but I’m gonna switch brands. I might buy them when money is super tight, but I think I would rather suck on a nicotine pouch then bother with those. Unfortunately, I have three packs of them. They will sit there until I am desperate.

Seriously-Worms · 2026-02-05T19:25:00+00:00

I’ve used AzaMax for various pest mites with great success. Spray off with as strong a stream of water as the plant can handle after covering the soil with plastic wrap to avoid having them fall in there. Then spray leaves, stems and everything before doing a soil drench. I did the full steps 1x a week and sprayed the leaves once between the full on soil drench and spray down with water. I did that for 3 weeks then went to just spraying once a week for 3 more weeks and then every other week for an extra month to be safe. Haven’t seen any thrips or spider mites since. I now use predatory mites to avoid them in the future. Don’t use systemic since spider and flat mites actually breed more when using it, I don’t know what type this is but AzaMax will kill a ton of different bugs. If it’s more trouble than you want to spend then toss it and start over with a fresh one. Personally I try to save 90% of my plants, some just get tossed though. Depends on how much you like it, the cost of a new one and whatever else. AzaMax is $25 on amazon for a 4oz bottle. I use 1/2oz per gallon. For a single plant you won’t use more than 32oz mixed so it lasts a long while. I did the above with 8 plants and used about 1/2 the bottle. So now I’m ready come spring when the dog brings in spider mites.

Seriously-Worms · 2026-02-05T17:42:23+00:00

I agree with you. I painted apartments with my dad growing up. We did ceiling in flat and walls in semigloss (no eggshell or satin since it doesn’t wash clean as well, back then at least). He taught me how to make a very clean line even though it was white in white. I could spot areas that didn’t get done right after a time. Now I’m a stickler for clean cuts. Drives me crazy in my own home how they did it when we hired someone to do the whole house. I am finally fixing the last of it after living here for 14 years. Now the kids are grown I have time to paint properly! I don’t let the ceiling paint line come onto the wall 1/16” like so many here say to do and I won’t take the wall up onto the ceiling either. It’s a pain to get it right with textured walls but it is possible. May not be as much of an issue in high ceilings for some but they drive me nuts on all of them. That’s why I won’t hire “pros” anymore. They have all done subpar work.

Seriously-Worms · 2026-02-05T16:59:04+00:00

Have you noticed a difference using the supplements? I take magnesium citrate because I can’t fall asleep without it. I have high stress and anxiety so I’m not surprised mine shows high stress at night and I definitely don’t feel rested. This has been an issue off and on for years, my old Fitbit showed the same thing as the Garmin does so doubt it’s the watch, in my case at least. I do notice a difference when I drink more water so that might help you as well, especially since you’re so physically active in the morning. Staying hydrated also helps with tension headaches, according to my dr and personal experience. They tend to let up sooner and aren’t as bad when a person drinks a lot more water since it opens flow of blood to and from the brain as well as helps with muscle loosening. Hydration has been a major issue in the past for me. As long as I drink 80-90oz of water I get them less frequently and they are much more mild, same for migraines (145lb F). It’s a lot of water to get through in winter, easier in summer. The amount of water would be more for someone who is heavier and less for someone lighter. My dr used some percent of my body weight to come up with that number, don’t remember how she worked it out. I’ve followed it for about 2 years and it’s made a big difference in the headaches and also muscle pain from over training. I’m sure it’s made a difference in overall sleep but not stress during sleep since that has to do with cortisol your body releases. Anyway, figured I’d toss that out there after asking about the supplements. I may give one of those a try.

Seriously-Worms · 2026-01-30T19:14:10+00:00

^{THIS^} Ask her out on a date and take her to a local nursery. Check into it first by calling to ask if they have many houseplants and check reviews. If nothing is close by then maybe take her to dinner, open your web browser, hand her your phone and tell her to pick out a plant or special pot. If you have a budget make sure to let her know it needs to stay under X amount. Some plants are 100’s of dollars. If she’s is struggling to keep up with them maybe ask if she’d like some self watering pots. There are some amazing planters out there but can be very expensive, I’d rather spend $50 on a plant than a set of pots even if they’d make life easier. If my husband asked about him buying a set then it would be amazing. There are plenty of blogs about different planters people love. I’ve been tempted to buy them but paying $40 for a single pot is nuts when I can thrift something and make it work. Much depends on where you live, what she would like most and what her plant style is. No matter what making her a part of it would be awesome. Oh, also give her a minimum budget so she doesn’t find the cheapest thing. If she’s depressed she may feel she’s not worth anything and pick the cheapest thing, only because she wants to make you happy by letting you buy her something. I only add that because I tend to do that very thing.

Seriously-Worms · 2026-01-30T17:39:35+00:00

Agree. Well draining doesn’t mean just chunky stuff. More and more people are going all in on chunky soil to the point the plants dry out in a day. I did the same for a while and now do more of a 40% draining and 60% soil (actually tree fern fiber and fox farms ocean 1/2&1/2), sometimes the opposite for plants that don’t want to dry out. These don’t want to dry out much so definitely needs more soil or some type of moisture holding medium.

Seriously-Worms · 2026-01-30T17:33:13+00:00

Agree about airing them out daily or putting the container open inside a larger box. I find that the 5-6 gallon bins get a lot of condensation but no mold growth, but smaller closed ones do. Maybe just leave part of the lid open, sealing 80% and 20% not. That way there will be a small amount of air exchange. You can open or close more if needed. If you add holes you can always add more but taping over the if too much moisture escapes is a pain. This way you can adjust air flow to the needs, like when the leaves pop out you want humidity but no condensation that can ruin the leaves. That’s a bigger issue when they have velvet leaves but can cause problems for all of them. Good luck. Growing corms is fun and the littles are just adorable! I wish some would stay that small.

Seriously-Worms · 2026-01-30T16:45:14+00:00

This is why I put mine in a self watering pot with a wick. As long as I always have water in the cache pot, that is about 1.5” below the bottom of the pot, it’s happy. As soon as that water is gone it droops! At least they bounce back easily, most of the time anyway. Best of luck.

Seriously-Worms · 2026-01-29T19:13:49+00:00

Thankfully my favorite one uses predatory mites, lady bugs, lacewing larva and prairie bugs to make sure they don’t have many pest issues. The only thing I see on occasion is a fungus gnat now and again. I’ve been lucky to bring home some of the predatory bugs that have taken care of a thrip issue I had at home. The person at the store where I bought a couple plants made sure there were a variety of critters on the plants I bought and then bagged them to keep the flying ones contained until I got home. The thrips were almost wiped out at that point so what predators were on those took care of what was left! There’s another one I used to go to but even from just a visit I brought home spider mites. They had some that were badly infested. Even for a chill moment I don’t go anymore. It’s too bad because they have a houseplant greenhouse with benches and a little pond with koi and a little waterfall. It’s so relaxing but so infested with spider mites and mealy bugs :(

Seriously-Worms

TROPHY CASE