Your houseplants and gardens - Yellow leaf means underwatered AND overwatered?! What a country!

[NoReturn]

First, I picked up the longest coconut fibre stick I could find: 1,5 meter or almost 5 feet for the Americans. That should give it enough space to explore for some years. I hope.

>1,5 meter or almost 5 feet
And with that you are already ahead of younger-me, who bought much smaller poles for her pothos and had to build them on top of them in a ridiculous manner.

On the way to the check-out, instead of the list of suggestions, I fell for some carnivorous plants. Whoops? They were just so cool and alien-looking I couldn’t pass them by. So I had to loop back to get more pots for those. I picked up some miniature duplicates of the big pot, so now all the plant pots in the office matches each other.

What kind what kind?

My plan of unwinding the pothos, moving it and then rewinding it would probably take all day.
The vines where completely and thoroughly braided into each other. Luckily, it’s a surprisingly not-crispy (Is that a word??) and flexible plant, so I was able to pull it back through itself with surprisingly little damage.

You did well!
If the pothos is too wilted when you unwind, it can tear, if it is too turgid it can snap. Sounds like you did it at just the right time.

Can you tell something about the plants age by how long the vines are?

It would be cool if we could, but sometimes those guys just decide to make a break for it if they're especially happy one year.

And… I’m so freaking proud of myself. It looks great! It looks like one of those office plants from some specialised plant service. I did that. Me: The plant noob!

You did so good!

 

[Swagstika]

@NoReturn

Thank you, thank you!

This whole thing has been a weird sort of… learning experience? Is that using too pompous words for it? Realising I wanted plants indoors and all was weirdly new for me. Especially when later I realised I had begun to care quite a bit. Especially about the pothos.

I mean, I have lots of plants outdoors, but that’s different. I have a sort of controlled wilderness where a robot lawn mower keeps the paths clean and the rest is focussed on eatable fruits and berries, and plants that smells good, especially lilacs and lavenders which I have a minor collection of different kinds of.

But outdoor plants are easier: I just chop off the pieces that are broken, diseased or otherwise displeases me and leave them to do their thing. If they grow, they grow. Sometimes they don’t: None of my tomatoes or chilies have grown into anything this year. Probably due to too much rain? And I think the local soil is too rich for some things such as my lavenders which are never really happy.

Indoor plants feel different. Like its more my responsibility? So a seasoned plant owner praising me is just icing on the happy cake here.

The new plants are pitcher plants! All are species of trumpet pitcher (Yes, I just googled it) and one kind is tall and thin and the other is stubby and fat. I picked three of each kind with the biggest difference in colours I could find. They are all green and red with different patterns and spots. My favourite is one of the stubby fat ones that is almost completely burgundy. So pretty!

They sound like they would be easy to keep, just needing to stay moist and not get too much nutrition in the soil. But we’ll see if I manage to fuck it up or not. Especially since they seem to require the exact opposite of the plants I have managed to keep alive so far…

 

[bliblblblbbllb]

Carnivorous plants are notoriously fiddly. They NEED to stay moist and they NEED humidity. Hopefully you live in Florida or something. Otherwise look into terrariums. No need to spend money really. I went to the dollar tree. They sold single small "seed starting trays" that were like 5 by 5 inches for 1.25 each. They also sold plastic meal prep containers for a pack of 6 that were twice the size. You just need clear plastic that keeps moisture in and the light through.

To some extent length is a sign of age of course, but like NoReturn said, it's not really cut and dry like say rings in a tree. My pothos under my nice grow lights grows a new leaf on each vine about every WEEK, while my pothos under a single bright LED in my bathroom in a mason jar of water has taken months to establish four leaves, starting from a single unrooted node.
I know it might feel cursed but don't be afraid to trim back the pothos. Pothos is also pretty much the easiest plant to propagate. If you take single leaf cuttings (cut below the spiky nodes) and just slap them in a cup of water until they grow a root, and that root has a root on it, you can take that and slap it in the same pot with the rest. The result: lots of vines producing a bushy full plant pot.

I don't really like my white ice philodendron I got from a grocery store. It feels like a pug of plants. I don't have any other way to describe it, it's just not quite right. It's spitting out new leaves left and right but some of them have gotten stuck/deformed. Unfortunately I think it got a bit of shock or burnt from my strong grow light setup, after being half-dead indoors away from natural light.

My philodendren birkin is also started weird. Some of the new leaves are ROUND and there's still an incredibly large separation between the old leaves it came with and the new leaves it's spitting out rapidfire, the new leaves point up with strong stems and high variegation and the old leaves droop down, almost no variegation. I don't want to chop them because I figure they provide a lot of energy. I think it actually needs fertilizer, so I got some stuff and instruction from the hippie local plant store lady. We'll see in a few weeks, it's putting out two new leaves.

Finally, my anthurium is producing new spathes (flowers.) It's the first time since I got it, so I'm excited to see what they look like.

 

[one_time_user]

@Swagstika, yup- you're a plant lady now. sorry not sorry!

 

[The Skeksis Emperor]

I fell for some carnivorous plants. Whoops?

I can't blame you, they're very cool! Just don't be too upset if one or more of them die - they're very fussy. I've killed more than one by underwatering on surprise hot weeks (sorry planfrens). Just keep trying if they're not too expensive where you live.

This whole thing has been a weird sort of… learning experience? Is that using too pompous words for it?

No, it really is, and it keeps happening lol - I recently moved to a place that is positioned completely opposite to my old place and I have to relearn which window/room is good for which plant and which ones I have to rehome because they will just die. I can keep cacti now because my south window is almost a little greenhouse, and I knew almost nothing of cacti before.
And indoor plants for me always feel like they're half-way between plants and pets, because you see them all the time and they're so dependent on you. Enjoy!

 

[NoReturn]

The new plants are pitcher plants! All are species of trumpet pitcher (Yes, I just googled it) and one kind is tall and thin and the other is stubby and fat. I picked three of each kind with the biggest difference in colours I could find. They are all green and red with different patterns and spots. My favourite is one of the stubby fat ones that is almost completely burgundy. So pretty!

The plant autist I shared earlier has some videos on pitcher plants!

https://www.tiktok.com/@theplantprodigy/video/7249745913080499499

https://www.tiktok.com/@theplantprodigy/video/7124656364600708395

 

[Large Marge]

wtf is going on with my boy

 

[NoReturn]

Ver archivo adjunto 5278502 wtf is going on with my boy

Looks close, are there any visible pests? Little buggies?

 

[Lichen Bark]

Reminds me of edema, I get it all the time on my overwintering indoor pepper plants, but when they go outside it goes away. I've read it has something to do with the plants water balance. On the positive side if it is edema then it isn't contagious.

https://www.greenhousemag.com/article/gm0413-manage-edema-plants/

Bumps may turn brownish or tan and become corky. Severely affected leaves will often turn yellow and fall off the plant. The corky spots sometimes resemble spider mite or thrips damage, especially on ivy geraniums. To rule out pest damage, growers are advised to use a handlens and check carefully on the undersides of leaves along midveins for spider mites and in growing points for thrips.

My plant seems to grow still even though it has edema. I haven't been able to remedy the situation, perhaps they don't like my erratic watering schedule? Indoor temps? Not enough air circulation? (I'm currently testing if an increase in circulation will do anything.) I'm really not sure of the real cause.

 

[Swagstika]

Well, I feel stupid for fucking up with the carnivorous plants. But knowing that they are not easy to keep, I might feel less stupid if they die. Meh.

Too bad if they die though, as the husbando has become hilariously attached to them and moves them around to “protect” him?!
He cooks: Plants are in the kitchen to eat any flies that should bother him. He’s on the couch with the console: The plants have mysteriously followed him into the living room and are on the nearest table to him. It’s hilarious and cute at the same time.

The pothos had a few days where some leaves were limp. I thought maybe I had been a little too rough on a single vine but had trouble locating the specific vine that could be a problem. It’s doing much better now though. Leaves have all perked up and it has already grown enough that I had to tuck the end of a vine back in under another vine.

I had a funny discovery about it though: Before, it was on a shelf in indirect light and had a uniform, dark green colour. So I thought it was a jade pothos. Now, on the floor it gets some direct sunlight and have developed pretty yellow stripes. So it’s actually a golden pothos?

Edit: I really want to share pictures, but I’m being a little paranoid about it.

 

[Aiōn]

wtf is going on with my boy

That looks to me like root rot from over watering or poor drainage.

Well, I feel stupid for fucking up with the carnivorous plants. But knowing that they are not easy to keep, I might feel less stupid if they die. Meh.

I found out recently that flowering can exhaust a Venus flytrap and it is best to cut off any flowers at the stem so their energy can be reserved to grow bigger traps. You can also propagate from the flowers stems.

 

[glioblastoma multiforme]

So.... it happened. I ran out of space I could sensibly fit plants on flat surfaces, window sills and the like. Bought myself three to hang and some boujie brackets for them.

Just wondering if you guys have any suggestions for species that would be OK in places with low light? There are some plantless places in my house and it makes me sad. No direct sunlight. One place is fairly dark most of the time. The other is brighter but very humid due to being right by the shower.

Also how do you allwater plants that are too heavy to easily lift out of their pots? I have two chonkers who I can no longer really carry to the sink and I'm scared of over/under watering them.

My garden is fucking glorious. I'm scared to post too many pics in case I dox myself but here is one that hopefully gives an impression without any specific info about the locale:


edit: fix autoincorrect

 

[Doppelmonger]

I love cacti! In fact most of my small garden is composed of them with a small minority being shade plants.

I was taking care of my potted cacti when I noticed something peculiar. Is this a sign that this cactus is happy to see me?



Everything is a dildo if you are brave enough, right?

 

[NoReturn]

Too bad if they die though, as the husbando has become hilariously attached to them and moves them around to “protect” him?!
He cooks: Plants are in the kitchen to eat any flies that should bother him. He’s on the couch with the console: The plants have mysteriously followed him into the living room and are on the nearest table to him. It’s hilarious and cute at the same time.

And honestly if they're getting enough light it probably helps emulate their natural environment of dappled light. Adorable.

I had a funny discovery about it though: Before, it was on a shelf in indirect light and had a uniform, dark green colour. So I thought it was a jade pothos. Now, on the floor it gets some direct sunlight and have developed pretty yellow stripes. So it’s actually a golden pothos?

I've heard certain "breeds" of pothos are just the same type of pothos with more or less sun exposure. I've done an experiment myself by putting some cuttings of a "marble" pothos away from a window and the new leaves just came in much greener and with less overall variegation

Just wondering if you guys have any suggestions for species that would be OK in places with low light? There are some plantless places in my house and it makes me sad. No direct sunlight. One place is fairly dark most of the time. The other is brighter but very humid due to being right by the shower.

How low is "low"?

Also how do you allwater plants that are too heavy to easily lift out of their pots? I have two chonkers who I can no longer really carry to the sink and I'm scared of over/under watering them.

Ollas and terra-cotta watering stakes.

 

[anliteralidiot]

Too bad if they die though, as the husbando has become hilariously attached to them and moves them around to “protect” him?!
He cooks: Plants are in the kitchen to eat any flies that should bother him. He’s on the couch with the console: The plants have mysteriously followed him into the living room and are on the nearest table to him. It’s hilarious and cute at the same time.

Omg this is so sweet

Also, if you haven't read: DISTILLED WATER!! the heavy minerals in tap water will hurt the roots of your carnivorous plants.

I'm on vacation, and I'm having to trust my mom to water my plants right now. I'm not worried for most, since she's a plant person... And I have sticky notes on all of them. Most of them are a solid, "NO." And I wrote, "PLANTS" on the water jug.

But my pinguicula is so small, and the water jug is so big. I sent my mom a bunch of texts to clarify about watering it, but it's so little, and the roots are so shallow... I'm scared she'll accidentally knock it out, and one of my cats will eat it.

On the other hand, the string of hearts propagation I have for my mother-in-law has a bunch of fuzzy aerial roots on it! I don't know when she should plant it, but it's rooting so I'm happy.

 

[glioblastoma multiforme]

How low is "low"?

in the place by the shower, never any direct sunlight, but in the day you don't need to put a light on in that room at all. the other place its consistently dark enough that if you want to do anything but watch TV you need to put the light on, no matter how bright a day it is or whether the sun is in a position to be shining through the closest windows, which is only a short window of time anyway.

 

[NoReturn]

in the place by the shower, never any direct sunlight, but in the day you don't need to put a light on in that room at all. the other place its consistently dark enough that if you want to do anything but watch TV you need to put the light on, no matter how bright a day it is or whether the sun is in a position to be shining through the closest windows, which is only a short window of time anyway.

A lot of "low light" plants are more "low light tolerant" than true "low-light", but if you go for something that lives naturally in the underbrush or in a dark forest that might be the way to go.
You could also just do mushrooms, that might be cool.

 

[Swagstika]

Omg this is so sweet

Also, if you haven't read: DISTILLED WATER!! the heavy minerals in tap water will hurt the roots of your carnivorous plants.

I'm on vacation, and I'm having to trust my mom to water my plants right now. I'm not worried for most, since she's a plant person... And I have sticky notes on all of them. Most of them are a solid, "NO." And I wrote, "PLANTS" on the water jug.

But my pinguicula is so small, and the water jug is so big. I sent my mom a bunch of texts to clarify about watering it, but it's so little, and the roots are so shallow... I'm scared she'll accidentally knock it out, and one of my cats will eat it.

On the other hand, the string of hearts propagation I have for my mother-in-law has a bunch of fuzzy aerial roots on it! I don't know when she should plant it, but it's rooting so I'm happy.

I have to share the continuation of this: I was away this weekend for a conference. When I came back, husbando had bought a mister for the carnivorous plants. He actually went shopping for something for the plants? Plant dad, lol.

So that was pretty cute, but then later I discovered that my favourite tweezer had mysteriously disappeared from the bathroom.
Where do I find it?
In husbando’s hands. About to feed one of the carnivorous plants a fly he has smacked. My favourite tweezers of course. Not the cheap ones. Not the boring metal ones. My prettiest Tweezermans. Of course.
Husbando is an idiot and he got to keep them for the plants.

 

[anliteralidiot]

Oh god, I was wrong. My mother-in-law is good with outdoor plants, but she's unable to not water, unless she wills herself to forget.

She showed me her hen and chicks succulent, and the hen is dead. She has a couple of cactuses my husband gave her, but she said she occasionally gives them a tablespoon of water...
...is it rude to suggest making her a "NO" shelf? To...like help? Just a collection of the guys that only need monthly or less water.

 

[NoReturn]

...is it rude to suggest making her a "NO" shelf? To...like help? Just a collection of the guys that only need monthly or less water.

Not rude. You can even make it cute like a little text-bubble that says "We aren't thirsty" or something.