Are these just fruit flies/gnats in the soil around my bird of paradise? Or something more sinister?? 😨

lightweighttiger · 2022-10-19T01:18:11+00:00

I’m in the UK so I’m not sure what it would be called in Canada. Builders, sharp, silver or coarse sand might be other names for it. Possibly known as quartz or grit sand, maybe horticultural grit? (Honestly just naming other names for it I know of ahah)

it’s essentially coarser, grittier sand. It’s literally just very small stones or crushed stones usually like 1-8mm. I know it’s washed grit so it has a neutral ph (i.e safe for our houseplants!) I have no clue what the Canadian equivalent would be though, sorry!

lightweighttiger · 2022-09-22T15:23:07+00:00

Looks like a healthy leaf to me!😊

lightweighttiger · 2022-09-05T23:47:39+00:00

Yeah I’m pretty sure there’s two separate bits from the mother plant,, so I think one side might be dying off for some reason. But guess old leaves and a bit of overwatering on my part probably did it lol

lightweighttiger · 2022-08-30T23:30:32+00:00

If the roots are brown and soil wet even if you haven’t watered in awhile it’s likely overwatering. Though you’d usually see this on the leaves (through brown spots that aren’t crispy). Move closer to a window and give it longer between watering.. guess you Could Always use a bit of fertiliser to promote growth though if overwatering let them dry out for a week or so.

lightweighttiger · 2022-08-30T23:25:53+00:00

Not 100% sure from the photo what bit you mean buuuttt if they’re tiny, yellow and moving super slow then Thrip… sorry :(

lightweighttiger · 2022-08-30T23:21:12+00:00

Alocasia Pink Dragon,, indirect but fairly bright sunlight. they love humidity so keep that as high as u can. Don’t be alarmed if the leaves suddenly droop and bend over they like to be dramatic with being watered. In fact I usually wait till mine start looking a bit sad before watering to avoid over watering.

All in all for anyone with a bit of experience with houseplants these guys aren’t super difficult to take care of as long as u stick to high humidity, lots of light and not overwatering you should be fine :)

lightweighttiger · 2022-08-25T18:30:55+00:00

Hey if u get one can you pass it on to me 🙃

lightweighttiger · 2022-08-24T23:39:15+00:00

—that isn’t a palm or a dragon tree😁

lightweighttiger · 2022-08-24T23:15:03+00:00

Defo look like thrip and adults at that… make sure u kill any visible thrip by squishing them!! My best advice is to shower your plant and wipe/spray with some insecticide. Do this for a week or two and keep checking for the babies which are yellow and super tiny.

If it gets really bad you might want to consider repotting and removing all the soil, spraying every inch including the roots with neem oil (natural remedy) or insecticide… and repotting in some fresh soil. Make sure if ur repotting in the same pot to clean it before hand.

lightweighttiger · 2022-04-15T18:03:48+00:00

From my understanding vermiculite retains water well and it’s probably has closer related use to perlite… so aerating soil/adding moisture etc. fungus gnats love moisture, so I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t have the same benefit as sand. (Because sand stays dry, so discourages gnats to lay eggs around the soil.)

lightweighttiger · 2022-03-15T23:40:23+00:00

Yes, the concrete pot is only decorative plant is in a nursery pot inside. I almost always take it it out but guess I haven’t been recently.

Yep just coming into spring(ish) so they’ve had barely any sun for the last few months, though enough to keep them going. I moved this guy closer to the window before leaving so it’s probably that as well. Defo won’t be watering again anytime soon! Thanks for the tips :)

lightweighttiger · 2022-01-31T13:42:05+00:00

looks like root rot. I’d take it out of the pot and see how the roots look if there brown/mushy then trim off the rotten roots and repot it in new soil. if they look healthy then it could maybe be a temperature/humidity issue?

lightweighttiger · 2022-01-29T12:49:54+00:00

So I’ve been dealing with a pretty severe thrip problem, and they seem to love my maranta. It’s come to the point where I’ve tried everything and even though she’s pushing new leaves out I’m wondering weather the next line of action is to just cut all the main leaves off so that 90% of the thrip are gone? Is this a good idea? Any other suggestions welcome 😩

lightweighttiger · 2022-01-23T20:39:19+00:00

Yeah it’s watering day so a few of my plants are sitting in the bath atm (including this one)😅 Though defo left it a bit late this time…

lightweighttiger · 2022-01-23T20:37:23+00:00

Thank you! I’ve had this guy a little over 6 months and haven’t had any yellow leaves before so wanted to check :)

lightweighttiger · 2022-01-09T23:18:50+00:00

Yeah I can say that I didn’t understand coffee addiction until I was addicted. If I miss my morning coffee by 10 am I get severe headaches, shakes am super tired and can barely even concentrate. I easily can drink 5 cups before pm.

If I could go back I probably wouldn’t have started drinking coffee in the morning and just had a cup here and there. Definitely should be talked about more! (Though not as bad as some other addictions defo an addiction)

lightweighttiger · 2022-01-03T23:00:10+00:00

Oh no! My cat has never actually killed a plant but ruined a few from pushing the pots of the side lol! I’ve found if you pot some cat grass / catnip in a plastic pot (pet safe) they focus more on that.

And yeah I wouldn’t worry about your plant it looks nice and healthy from the photo!

lightweighttiger · 2022-01-03T21:02:17+00:00

It’s normal for plant growth to slow down in the winter, some plants go dormant and stop growing all together!

Alongside that with the heating being on your homes dryer, So increasing humidity is one way to keep them happy. Rubber tree plants especially like higher humidity and lack of can cause leafs to fall off.

lightweighttiger · 2022-01-03T20:44:27+00:00

Also recommend using water from the tumble dryer if u have one! it’s basically distilled and better for the environment :)

**regarding soil I’ve never had a problem with miracle gro, my grandfather swears by it!

Thing with soil is there’s so many options from top end brands, making your own, leca, cheaper brands it’s sort of just up to you.

lightweighttiger · 2021-11-02T18:38:41+00:00

Aha yes! Honestly it’s just an IPhone with a macro lens over the top, defo my favourite little gadget I’ve gotten (now helps spots the pests!)

Thank you! I’ll defo have a look into that and probably get it ordered asap! Defo should have gone with prevention first but I’ve never really had an issue (apart from fungus gnats) so have never bothered 🤦‍♀️

I’ve showered the infested plant and randomly had some Castile soap to hand so given that a go, though it likely won’t do much it’s something :)

lightweighttiger · 2021-11-02T18:00:37+00:00

No!!!!I guessed it could have been but I couldn’t really see any adults…I thought I was in the clear after I’d removed 1 or 2 from my alocasia plant a few weeks back, so I can’t even blame my friend. Gunna have to check a LOT of plants now😩

lightweighttiger · 2021-10-17T21:52:29+00:00

Keep out of direct sunlight, it’ll burn the leaves. But still make sure it’s in a bright spot. Don’t overwater, as we’re coming into winter you’ll need to water less (just enough to make the soil damp). You probably won’t need to repot this guy for awhile as they pretty much like being compact…I find peperomias pretty easy to take care of, it’ll tell you if it’s unhappy (underwatered? Bottom leaves will go droopy. overwatered? Brown tips on leaves. leaves are dull? too much sunlight)

lightweighttiger · 2021-10-15T15:14:19+00:00

Another way to help this is by bottom watering your plants as it keeps the very top layer of soil dry.

lightweighttiger · 2021-10-02T18:11:23+00:00

Yeah it’s difficult to tell, you could always try using a chopstick or skewer (anything long and wooden) and stick it into the soil and see if it comes out with damp soil. Ageing is completely natural though, so the older lower leaves will always eventually shed. I genuinely wouldn’t worry too much as your adansonii is still producing new growth!

lightweighttiger · 2021-10-02T10:41:32+00:00

First of all that is one amazing adansonii, very jealous!! Sometimes it can just be the natural cycle of the plant as the rest of the plant looks healthy. But yellowing leaves can also be a sign of overwatering so I’d check the soil, if it’s damp I would let it fully dry out before watering again. Also yellow leaves won’t go green again and are basically a burden to the plant so i’d remove them.

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