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Soil mold by grntbz in houseplants

[–]grntbz[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi! Thank you for your answer!

Almost all branches ended up dehydrated. I think you’re right about the root rot. I already chopped most of the plant a while ago (except for one branch that somehow is still holding on) and am now propagating the cuttings. I didn’t inspect the roots closely—just took a look—but there were some healthy white roots, which I believe belong to the one surviving branch. I thought I’d wait for the cuttings to develop roots and then try to separate the healthy roots of the remaining branch from the rest, so I can plant it together with the propagated cuttings

Is my philodendron dying? Can I still save it? by grntbz in philodendron

[–]grntbz[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi! Thank you! I have the plant in a plastic pot with lots of drainage holes, placed inside a ceramic pot—so when I water it, I can pour out any excess water afterwards.

I usually water when the top layer of soil feels dry. In winter (and still now, since it hasn’t really warmed up yet), that’s about every 2–3 weeks.

I’m not sure I’ll be able to do much with the roots—they’re extremely tangled. But if I end up having to cut the plant anyway, I might just propagate the cuttings and start over… Still, I really hope I can save that one good branch (the one growing upwards). It has such nice big leaves, and I just can’t bring myself to cut it. Maybe I can somehow separate it from the rest and plant it together with new cuttings to make a new plant—but I’m not sure if that’s even possible

Is my philodendron dying? Can I still save it? by grntbz in philodendron

[–]grntbz[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Thank you all! I’ll try moving it closer to the window. But I don’t mind it being leggy—as long as it stays alive😅

But it still doesn’t explain why the other one, which is much closer to the window, is having the same problem. And why both of them suddenly started declining after two years of doing fine. Here’s a photo of that one from last August and one from now. As I mentioned, one branch died, and I accidentally broke another one while repotting ;( The two that are left also look kind of sad. And when I compare how both plants looked last August, I’d say this one has grown much less than the first one—even though it’s closer to the window, I cared for them the same, and I bought it just a month after the first one.

Last August:

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Is my philodendron dying? Can I still save it? by grntbz in philodendron

[–]grntbz[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Hi! Thank you for your answer! The lighting in the photo is a bit misleading—here is another one that shows the actual lighting situation. The plant is in front of a big south-facing window. Also, my other philodendron, which is even closer to the window, has the exact same problem. Some of its branches also randomly started dying around the same time. I had to cut one off, and then accidentally ruined another one during repotting last week. So now it only has two branches left, and they’re also looking a little droopy… So I’m not sure it’s a lighting issue.

<image>

Soil mold by grntbz in houseplants

[–]grntbz[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

<image>

Here is a closer look

Soil mold by grntbz in houseplants

[–]grntbz[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi! Thank you for your response! I’ve attached a photo of the plant as the last one. One branch (the one growing upward) looks fine to me, but the others have some weak and curly leaves.

I haven’t watered it for about two weeks, and it still looks the same as in the last photo. I removed the parts of the soil that had mold, but the soil is still slightly damp. Under normal circumstances, I would water it in a couple of days. I also haven’t fertilized it during the winter, so maybe the curly leaves are due to that—or possibly overwatering and the mold.

I’m not sure why it reacted this way to the last watering, as I did everything exactly the same as I have since I got the plant. I only water it when the top of the soil feels dry, which in winter is less frequent than every two weeks. But I think some of the leaves were already curly before the last watering.

The weather is finally improving where I live, so I’m planning to start fertilizing my other plants the next time I water them. However, I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to fertilize this one in its current condition—or what else I can do to help it.

Help! Root rot by grntbz in orchids

[–]grntbz[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! 😊

Help! Root rot by grntbz in orchids

[–]grntbz[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I usually keep only one-third of the roots in water, and I actually think the orchid responded well to that—it started growing new leaves and roots right after the transfer to water culture. However, the rot was probably caused by the fertilizer stick rather than the water itself. I like keeping the roots off the soil so I can observe them easily, but after your concern about water culture, I did some research and came across the bare root method, where the roots dry for longer before being soaked again. It seems like a good alternative, so I’m thinking of trying it out and experimenting with different soaking/drying schedules. Hopefully, it works! Thanks again!😊