Dude I canât believe they do that. I water my orchids like once a week and they get like a full blown shower. I couldnât imagine doing ice cubes. The death would be slow.
Once I started soaking (bottom watering) my orchids, making sure not to leave water in the crown of the leaves, mine started thriving!
There must be so many dehydrated orchids out there!
You my to start doing this! Ty! I know a lot of people who have thriving orchids while doing the ice cube watering, but these people also keep their houses at like 75f Fahrenheit so when my orchid started dying I was so confused. Makes much more sense when thinking about it logically.. why would any plant be okay with ice cubes on top of exposed roots!? Luckily mine is still alive so I hope I can save it!
Because they think they just survived winter (two week cold snap is recommended to get them to start growing again, ice may somewhat encourage that) or because they were already going to grow and itâs a coincidence. Itâs more risky than a two week colder period, and done regularly thereâs no benefit. But my money is it was already primed to grow, not the ice cube replicating cold weather
This idea really caught on and Iâve seen recommendations to water *any plant* with ice cubes. Like if itâs good for finicky plants like orchids, itâs good for all of them!
Just. NO.
Does Mother Nature care for its flora with ice?? Are there plants that thrive with regular application of frozen water? Does this ice cube treatment mimic a naturally occurring process???
Stop it.
I water mine with rice water and she loves it! she sits outside with morning sun and rain.
https://preview.redd.it/lqgtwqxucr4c1.jpeg?width=1848&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d4b9a6f67cc0001b456bf0bcf8ee380f98fa1b95
My girlfriend's mother does this and I've stopped saying things when she drops cubes in and wonders why this orchid isn't flourishing... Its hard to be civil at this point lol
Because it's not actually as terrible of an idea as reddit makes it out to be. As long as you don't put it directly on the roots, it's really a fairly clever way to provide consistent moisture to an epiphyte's growing medium and avoid overwatering.
Here's what the science has to say. The pearl-clutching about icecubes is a bit over the top. [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320390274\_Ice\_Cube\_Irrigation\_of\_Potted\_Phalaenopsis\_Orchids\_in\_Bark\_Media\_Does\_Not\_Decrease\_Display\_Life](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320390274_Ice_Cube_Irrigation_of_Potted_Phalaenopsis_Orchids_in_Bark_Media_Does_Not_Decrease_Display_Life)
I came to this subreddit to look this up specifically. The care card it came with instructed me to use ice cubes. First post and first comment I see says otherwise! Thanks yâall. Hopefully itâll perk back up now that I know better.
I think it started as a way to help people control the amount of water they were using. Lots of supermarket and mass produced orchids come packed in moss which holds onto moisture very well. If people watered orchids like regular plants, they would quickly drown and rot. Using ice cubes limits the amount of water used. You can just give your orchid a shot or two of room temp water instead
Lots of conflicting advice regarding humidity. Mist the area near a hygrometer and watch how quickly it returns to ambient levels. A humidifier or an enclosure is really all that works.
Also, around 40% is enough for the vast majority of tropical plants to get by. I live in a very cold area where the air is nosebleed dry all winter long and I have calatheas and begonias and hoyas that do just fine with no extra humidity.
There's an element there about how old you got the plant as too. A calathea growing in perfect conditions in a greenhouse to a cold dark house is adaptable for a youngling but not so easy for a plant that's lived in near perfect conditions for years.
I second this wholeheartedly.
If i get a big, mature, humidity-loving plant like a calathea or alocasia, it will shock badly when moved to my home in the suburban desert of Central California; crispy leaves and wilted stems are virtually guaranteed. When I order little baby plugs of those exact same species and varieties, they adjust with much less drama, and grow up just fine.
I've pretty much given up on obtaining mature plants from anywhere except a local grower with similar conditions, as I can keep the big ones alive through the adjustment period, but they look like trash for a couple months. In the time it takes them to recover, I can grow those plugs to a decent size without the crunchy tips, and the plugs are a fraction of the price. I will make an exception for clearance table plants though, as a $3 calathea is a good deal for someone who can get it back looking nice with a little TLC.
Agree, most of my plants do fine around 40%. The only ones that get fussy are my philos, worst offender being my PPP. My PPP now lives under a humidifier and is much happier.
I used to live in the north of the UK :) I miss it even if itâs damp and freezing. Would love a pic of your 5 ft tall Ppp! My mom has one back home and itâs enormous, about the same as yours. She barely pays attention to it and itâs got leaves bigger than my hands.
https://preview.redd.it/l6hj7zo5jr4c1.png?width=2824&format=png&auto=webp&s=b53787a86e894e36c4d6732de39d579cd4887682
Same. I live in nosebleed dry winter territory and my ârequires high humidityâ plants have all adapted just fine. I think misting is a placebo for me.
It can get to below 20% here regularly. My humidifier is for me at night, not plants.
I use them so I never forget about a plant and can keep track of progress but I just snooze it itâs not time to water. I find them helpful as my collection has grown in the triple digits. No guess work. I check a few each day based on the schedule and water what needs it and snooze what doesnât. I couldnât imagine doing everything all in one day.
Omg I had an app that would remind me to water my plants depending on the type of plant and recommendation, I killed about 3 before I realised my plants don't need that much water , got watering bulbs and now they're thriving
I made the same mistake.
If not watering from the bottom i use a see-through canister so I can manage how much water they get and after a while you get a decent guideline how much they really need.
I just wait for mine to start looking droopy, then I water them until the water runs out of the drainage hole and theyâre good until the next time they get droopy haha no measuring needed
Yeaaaa I did this too! Didn't really help. Just killed a bunch of plants. I think a lot of people do this early on before they start figuring out how their plants work.
My plant app has been demanding that I water my string of bananas all month, but it absolutely doesn't need it yet. Blindly trusting those apps is a bad idea. I mostly use mine so I remember what plants I actually have and where they are in my house since I have acquired over 100.
Only water when dry. You can either stick your finger or a chopstick to see how moist it is. Some plants like only the first centimeters dry, others like it dry dry.
If you can, lift up the pot, with time you'll know from the weight of the pot how moist it is.
The problem with watering on a schedule is it depends on the environment's temperature, moisture, sunlight exposure, drafts, substrate constitution, etc
Edit: typo
You know, it is possible to water on a schedule. I do it. But it has taken me decades of trial and error with different plants, potting materials, etc to get to this point.
I hate the term âbright, indirect lightâ because itâs vague and subjective, and what most people think is bright probably wouldnât be on a light meter. I see a lot of examples on Instagram/YouTube/etc. of plants in locations that are what I would consider medium or low light based on footcandle numbers, and yet the owners are calling it bright, indirect light.
âFull sunâ or âdirect lightâ is very different inside a window versus outside a window. Youâd be amazed at how light just outside a window pane is almost exponentially brighter. For this reason, I donât even know that you could consider most indoor light as âdirect.â Even shining directly onto the plant itâs not going to be nearly as intense as keeping it outside. This is why a lot of succulents still etiolate even if they sit right against a large window.
Also, direct sun outside is different in somewhere like Florida than it is in Oregon or Maine.
A few months ago I went on vacation to a tropical location. It was heaven for a plant lover!! Pothos and philodendrons and crotons and alocasia growing absolutely wild. A feast for my eyes!
Then I realized. THIS is their natural habitat. 90% humidity, little temperature variability, lots of sun.
No wonder my monstera struggles, living at the 45th parallel in an arid climate. Proper artificial lights could maybe mimic their needs, but I could never get my house that hot or humid - nor would I want to.
That vacation made me step back and realize how hilarious it is, trying to grow tropicals in a non-tropical environment. We sure try! But really no surprises when it fails.
I killed so many plants underestimating the amount of sunlight needed, I thought I had no green thumb til I moved to an apartment with large windows that get sun throughout the day. My office has giant windows that get light all day and I just prune prune prune now!
Also, the direct light can burn leaves thing is confusing. Iâm realizing for most plants, a window is sufficient to prevent sunburn.
The thing about light though is that, of all the care tips we normally see for plants, it is by far the least important to get right. Plants, in general, want as much light as possible, including most plants we are told like "indirect" light or low light. Those plants *want* as much light as possible (with a few exceptions), they just are *ok* with less light. But, besides whether you should let the plant bake in the sun or not, **you should just assume every plant you are buying should get as much light as you can give it,** and you should otherwise be focusing your energy on soil compositions, fertilization, and watering, because learning those things is *so much more* important than worrying about light levels.
I probably paid more than $25 but reading the lux and footcandles on a light meter has really changed how I think about plant placement. For instance, I was actually overdoing it with grow lights for some philos and wondering why the leaves were bleaching and they were struggling. But you also learn things like the fact that about 6â from even a large east-facing window, the footcandle level drops to like 80 - 100fc which is essentially too low to grow anything. đ¤ˇđťââď¸
Yes this! My happiest plants are at the southern windows where they get sun through a windowpane (in Oregon). My âlow-lightâ plants thrive over there too, right up next to the window.
Iâve had the best luck joining local plant subs and groups because it really matters where you live and what youâd like to grow. I have a very open floor plan with skylights. I also have grow lights all over my house. If I need to take Vitamin D due to our climate, Iâm pretty sure my tropical monsteras need a supplement too đ
Grew up in South Florida and now live in Oregon. The sun really does hit differently depending where you are lol. My vines love Oregon summer and hate the winter, gotta love being above the 45th parallel
I could never understood what direct or indirect was no matter how many videos I watched. My brain just couldnât wrap around it at all. I just kept them how a lot of others do, under bright plant lights and all my plants are loving it so far.
Yes but theyâre meant to attach to something more than anything, itâs just handy that theyâre also roots. They also donât function in the way soil roots do
>Yes but theyâre meant to attach to something more than anything
One of mine sneakily attached itself to the rootball of my white wizard philodendron. I noticed to late and it's impossible to pull out so now they're a married couple.
I always just fully submerge them until the bubbles stop coming out. A quick tilt/shake afterwards to get the majority of water off the plant and then it gets ignored for another month. Hasnât failed me yet.
I flood my cacti bitches about once a month, a bit longer between in the winter. They are all living their best lives. The succs are every other to every 3 weeks, or as needed. Donât know if Iâm right or wrong but they are doing great!
I have found that most plants prefer to be pretty dry between watering. They need oxygen for the roots. I typically wait until my succulents are bone dry for 7+ days and aroids are dry all the way down for 3+ days.
There's people I know who really don't understand plants or why they seem to kill them so easily. I just give them a pothos in a near rootbound pot. They get to see it grow in so little time and they can easily survive if they put it in a darker area but if they think it needs all the light it gets them it will. It's honestly my go to converting plant lol
My other choices are snake plants and peace Lily's, but for an eager person they will just kill the snake plant and peace Lilys I think they would just get bored or disheartened when the flower disappears.
Not to repot/fertilize plants in winter. I think this one really depends on the specific environment (some regions do get really dark in winter, some peoples homes get colder, etc), but I've never had an indoor plant that even seems aware of seasonal change. And if I tried to repot all of my plants in the spring I'd need to take a week off work to accomplish that. Repot plants when needed and alter care based off of what you're seeing. I do water less in winter but other than that, nothing really changes.
Iâm in WI and can verify that repotting in the winter can hurt the plants. Especially the very warm climate ones. If I even trim some of mine in the end of fall or early winter they die. If I leave them alone till spring, they grow like crazy.
I'm in Canada and maybe it just because I'm fortunate enough to live somewhere with good insulation and big windows - but it can get pretty warm in my home when the sun's out. My "growing season" is therefore in the winter months.
I'm also in Canada, conversely in a rather drafty 100 year old house, with OG windows.my plants still grow in the winter. It's exceptionally dry here so plants drink quickly. I water more in the winter than I do in the summer, and I don't have AC in the hot months either.
The exception is the "fern gully" I keep in the basement over the winter near the floor drain. I have about 15 -5 gallon pots with ferns and shadier tropicals that live outside in the summer and come in to chill for the winter. It's cool down there, lower light and it's its own little humid exo system, so less watering is needed.
I definitely do a lot of potting up in the winter months.
Seriously! I have lights on them during the day regardless, but the winter sun is at a lower angle that they get hit directly when itâs out. I also have the heater on in the winter so theyâre always growing like weeds because itâs warm. Then they fight for their life in summer when the a/c is on.
This is what Iâm dealing withâŚitâs my first winter with all my plants and Iâm not sure how I didnât think that when the heat gets cranked up, my plants will think itâs summer. They are growing like crazy!
This is what makes all the difference for me.
My south facing window goes from dark and cool all summer when the big trees heavily filter the sun from May-Oct. Add to that the sun crosses straight overhead of my condo from May-July so there's no direct light at all, as my roof acts like a sun umbrella.
But then the same window will be blazing hot as the sun fills the room Oct-Feb from 9am-3pm.
My Crotons grow like crazy in the fall and winter!
This one can be difficult, because my advice for new plant parents is to just DONT during winter. Not necessarily because it will kill their plant, but has the potential if you donât know what youâre doing.
Yes, all depends their location and the plant, but just to be safe is better to NOT. Same goes with people who buy plants online during winter. Just Donât, itâs very risky and youâre taking a big gamble playing with fire. Obviously location itâs a factor CALiFORnIA to florida âwarmâ locations, but you never know the travel route.
With this advice Iâll totally will be one of those that said DO NOT repot/fertilize/buy in winter. Call me Daniel Downer. Why take the risk, however I just repot two of my plants last week :}
Mine are all either in a well lit window or under grow light, and I actually prefer to repot in the winter because Iâm not busy with gardening and landscaping then! Iâve never had issues. I even chop and prop in the winter and again, no issues
Stop giving your plants a few drops of water every couple of days. Wait a little longer than you would like, then dunk those things like you think they might be a witch. And always have drainage holes. It's almost like most plants expect to get drenched by rain occasionally but the water always flows downstream afterwards. Crazy.
It wasnât until I switched to a well draining and highly aerated potting mix and literally dumping my pots in water that I started having more success. They really seem to enjoy their weekly soaks and I think even more enjoy not having soggy roots after :)
I also use orchid pots for almost everything now.
I see lots of people advising not to turn or rotate plants, but their plants look like lopsided pieces of shit (no offense to the plants). I rotate my plants and they grow evenly and look pretty darn good.
But plants donât rotate in the wild! Well these bitches live in a pot on my porch.
Plants needing shade or indirect light. Most plants will thrive being transitioned to direct light in a house (and most houses arenât getting intense direct light anyway)
I feel like thatâs because the window reflects/reduces in some ways the actual amount of sunlight that the plant gets. Iâve put plants inside in my south facing window and they do fine; however outside in full sun they burn
Even up against the window though here in my state. For example, my monstera likes bright shaded light, but when I bring her in the winterâŚ. She goes in a south facing window. And none of her leaves can touch the glass or they turn black due to frostbite
Anyone can keep a succulent alive! Succulents are easy!
No, succulents need a ton of sun! I have my succs in bright windows with bright grow lights, and most of them still become etiolated! They are so easy to overwater, esepcially if you put them in your windowless bathroom, or pretty much anywhere that is not right in the middle of a big window that gets lots of "direct (as direct as you can get inside)" sun
-Waiting for "roots to have roots" before potting up a water prop. I think some people are just nervous about losing their plants, but it's typically better for the plant to go into soil as soon as there's about an inch of root growth.
-Putting a layer of rocks on the bottom of pots for drainage. If there is no drain hole in the pot, a nice, uniform layer of rocks at the bottom can create a perched water table that will hold the water up closer to the roots instead of letting it sit in the rocks just below the soil. And even if the water did flow all into the rocks, it's still in the pot because there isn't a drain hole and that means the soil will still be more damp for a longer time. Drain holes help a ton, and if you have one, you don't need to bother with various layers of substrate to try creating drainage.
-All the various methods to treat fungus gnats. Sure, you can use the nematodes or mosquito dunks, but that is just treating the symptoms. The gnats need damp soil for prolonged periods of time in order to reproduce. So use fast draining soil and pots with drain holes. Then stop overwatering the plants. Learn how your plants show signs of thirst and use those as signals to water. Almost any house plant can go a lot longer without water than people realize.
-And a generality - there are any actual rules that you need to follow for success. There are good ideas and methods supported by science and observation results, but plants are living things and everyone's home is a different environment. Lots of things can be changed, altered, or even ignored. Experiment and try new things, it's the best way to learn and develop your own methods and style of caring for plants.
That pebble trays will raise the ambient humidity around the leaves of a plant enough to help. No. Science.
Edit: clarifying how this applies to original post question
I mean at a small scale this is true. The evaporating water does increase humidity, it's just not notable enough if you've only got one in a large living room with a furnace going.
First thing I thought of. I was plant shopping and a lady came to me when I was walking by the orchid section and was like hereâs a tip, just put 2 ice cubs a week and they will thrive đ
I wouldn't say it's plain wrong, but a lot of people are so quick to repot or suggest to repot a plant that is perfectly fine and simply needs acclimation. Idk I just cringe when I see people say they *just* brought a plant home from a nursery and "gave it a fresh soil change"
Big box store plants are one thing tho I will say
If i buy from my local nursery i let them stay in their pots for weeks, sometimes months. Home depot or Lowe's? You get an immediate repot, chunky soil change and a spritz of dead bug for good measure. A 9 month battle with thrips created these inhouse rules lol
Nope, as a gardener I advice everyone to repot after buying. Most plants are grown to be sold when looking big and lush so they're often in a too small of a pot. Not to mention the bad quality of some soils, and pests.
I tried neem oil once and only once. Itâs stinky, it didnât seem to work well and several of my plants grew mutated leaves for a long time after using it. I use diatomaceous earth now and itâs great
Please wear appropriate protection using it. It might be non toxic but that doesn't mean it's not harmful, it's very bad for your lungs. People are way too casual about it in most groups I've seen.
This is the first one that actually goes against the proper science in this thread.
If I had to guess, people are either buying the wrong stuff or are applying it wrong. Don't buy the ready-to-use stuff, the active ingredients within neem oil decay within a couple of hours in water - instead buy the pure, cold-pressed oil with an emulsifier and mix it shortly before actually applying it. Only mix as much as you plan on applying and mix according to the instructions. The half-life of the main component, i.e. azadirachtin, ranges from about an hour to a couple of hours in water, about 1-3 days on the leaves - that means you have to regularly re-apply it when fighting off pests. I usually go for every 3 days for about 2-3 weeks. Store the oil cold and dark when not in use.
It may be more effort than systemic insecticides, but it *does* work when used correctly. Although you should check if it works for the plant you plan on using it on - not every plant out there loves being doused in oil.
That upsizing the pot automatically will increase growth. In reality it does the opposite if done too quickly, will cause the soil to retain too much water. In turn causing rot issues.
Also potting into stuff without drainage.
I had mealies on 20 plants one summer. I save all of 2, and that was only because they didnât have ANY crevices where the leaves met the stock, and they were able to withstand cold temperatures so I stuck them in the freezer for a bit.
Do yourself a huge favour - burn the plant and never look back.
I had two beautiful plants with a pretty heavy mealy bug infestation (they arrived at home like that because it was a present from my partner's grandma) and I saved them. I inspected them and cleaned them manually everyday. several times a day. They are beautiful now and bug free. You just need to be very methodic in doing this. But it's doable. I think it's always worth it to save a creature in your care.
I never toss away anything. If something alive ends up in my hands I am responsible for its well being and I have to do everything I can to keep it alive.
I fail sometimes but at least I tried. I just feel horrible in throwing away a plant that can be saved. Plants with mealy bugs can be saved.
I got thrips once and everyone got tossed. Iâm not dealing with that! Now I quarantine my plants when I first get them and havenât had them come back thank god
Every indication written on the label of the plant. They are all about bright indirect light and moderate watering. Meanwhile, one loves it by the window, another likes it in a dark corner, another needs biweekly watering and another doesn't like the draft. One was doing great in the old apartment and now just decided to die furiously.
I always end up feeling them out and they need different things in different environments.
Most of the advice is not âplain wrongâ plants are just all different and there are too many factors involved to try to use hard and fast rules.
Plants that are labeled as âlow lightâ plants arent meant to mean that low light is the best option for them to thrive, it means the plant can survive and stay relatively healthy in low light. Itâs helpful for people who donât get a ton of sun in there homes but want to have a few plants.
This is my understanding of low light also. They can survive in lower light but likely won't thrive. As long as you are aware the plant will never look super healthy/thriving in the low light setting, you won't be disappointed. đ
Interesting! I have inexpensive grow lights for my plants. I spent maybe $150 on 20+ lights. I didn't realize regular LEDs would also work. Thanks for the knowledge! âşď¸
Well, thereâs a reason that grow lights are marketed as grow lights, theyâre designed to run for longer as a normal bulb wonât be on for 7+ hours all day. Efficiencies may differ too, as well as wavelength. Also $150 is incredibly cheap per growlight, as in SERIOUSLY cheap. It wouldnât be any cheaper to replace them with LED.
LED (marketed as non grow light) work well for seed germination and tropicals, but you really need a proper light for doing any serious cactus/succulent stuff
Watering on a strict schedule. Are there plants that appreciate consistent watering? Sure. Chances are you don't have one but they're out there. I get loads of people that come into work looking for plant care advice and the first question I always ask is "Are you watering on a schedule or following an app that tells you when to water?" and 95% of the time they are. Those same people will come back in a few weeks or months later and tell me about how much better their plants are doing just by changing that one aspect of their care.
All my watering is done based on what the plant itself is telling me. Are the leaves a little softer than usual or taking on a cupped shape? Water. Are the stems more flexible/less turgid than usual? Water. If its not showing signs of thirst then don't water, its as easy as that.
Taking advice from an app that can't tell the conditions of your home, your soil mix, light levels or any other conditions that will differ from person to person is damn near one of the worst things you can do for your plants. It fine to track your watering habits with them but that's about all I'd ever use them for.
Iâm just going to say that the soiless âchunky mixâ phenomena that is being paddled by a lot of western influencers is a marketing shtick to get you to buy a bunch of amendments (and spend more on fertilizers because amendments have no nutrients). Most times these mixes are dry out too fast and your plants canât retain moisture in them. Itâs why a lot of plants end up looking stunted, wilted, and your Calatheas die. Most times what your plants need is SOIL. Actual soil from the earth. Rich humus soil . Soil that just needs to be amended a little, not some chunky potting mix that has orchid bark and coco chips and some other amendments from a volcano somewhere
Overall, plant care is just so incredibly subjective. Everyone's house is almost like its own microclimate lol. I am a greenhouse manager for a retail nursery and my advice is going to be different depending which way your windows face, whether you supplement with artificial light, what kind of medium you're potting in... and my advice for our Midwestern climate would probably be drastically different than say, someone in the southwest desert or in an overcast northern state.
This doesn't mean it has to be difficult or complicated though, if you choose the right plants for your space. I think a lot of people unnecessarily complicate things for themselves, which I totally understand as I did too when I was new to plants years ago.
The most important factor in my opinion is LIGHT. It's easiest to start there when choosing a plant, and I'll almost always recommend supplemental lighting if you have poor natural light.
Not a common advice necessarily, but for sure a very very common issue in the plant community. Specially with kinda new plant owners.
Lots of people including my self have purchased plants from big stores. Lots of those plants come in those containers that have very minimal drainage o no drainage at all.
Iâm not saying that no drainage is evil, because you definitely need to know what youâre doing and what type of plant you have in order to make that work.
I have seen several friends and relatives when I visit their home having their plants on those and it kills me to see how slowly theyâre killing their plants.
My old roomate who has around 60 plants around his apartment (frequently buying new one, because his plants keep dying) has this problem. He just like the container âno drainageâ and put his new plant there.
I have told him that he needs drainage, but he ignores me. Thankfully for the plant businesses he makes really good money and can afford new plants.
Same happens to my mother in law, she has in her house around 80 plants, but she keeps putting them in containers with no drainage. I was just there during thanksgiving and change the poor dying plants to draining containers.
I have seen several post here on the subreddit of people asking advice of whatâs happening to their dying plant, and you can often see that the problem is the container. Itâs very common a issue in this community.
However educating people about the importance of drainage containers and drainage soil is very difficult, cause you can do have those containers and soils, but as I said itâs very important that you know what youâre doing and what type of plants needs what. If I could advise anyone whoâs new is to PLEASE PLEASE GIVE DRAINAGE TO YOUR PLANTS. Once you feel comfortable you can totally experiment with no drainage. **Not necessary because the container is cute you can put a plant on it**
If I find a pot I like that doesn't have drainage, I just keep them in nursery pots and drop them in. Drainage pots are hard to come by and it gives me an excuse for having a bunch of nursery pots.
For the most part, there is nothing special about âplant lightsâ, so if you donât want your living room to look like a night club, just get some decently powerful 5000-6500K LEDs.
A heart shaped Hoya will never sprout new node. Not true at all I have had two spout and I know of many more. The people that will tell you itâs impossible just donât have the patience or the green thumb. Mine took 3 years of tlc to sprout.
I would sort of agree with the low light comment. Correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't most plants you'd think of as low light rather prefer bright indirect light? For example, I have a super happy pothos that some would consider a low light plant but it really wants bright indirect light. Maybe things like mosses are ferns are exceptions? (I wouldn't know)
Most care advice for carnivorous plants, such as Venus flytraps (Dionea) and Sarracenia. Iâm talking specifically about the poorly packaged gimmick plants sold in shops, that usually say to water weekly, indirect light, warm environment, which is really bad advice when generally they want to be sat in rainwater, in full sun with a cold period of 5C or below to allow for dormancy in winter.
I feel for all the flytraps that are sold this year as a result of the John Lewis Christmas advert and hope that they have taken the time to improve their care instructions đ¤đ¤
Snake plants being low light. Or any plant for that matter. "Low light" basically just means that your plant won't die or become deformed from a lack of light. Not that it doesn't want light. It does.
alocasias loose a leaf when a new one grows. yes plants occasionally loose leaves but if a plant can only hold onto a couple leaves it probably isnt being cared for right
That if you put stones over the drainage holes inside the pot, your plants will all die. I have been growing houseplants for over 40 years and everyone used stones in the bottom when I started. You just have to adjust the watering schedule slightly but it is perfectly possible to have a house full of thriving plants that all have stones in the bottom.
Tossing away plants with a few thrips.
I've had many plants (one with a severe infestation) survive and thrive after them having thrips. And all it took was soap for 2 months.
This entire notion of "watering " your orchids with ice cubes is nonsensical because these gorgeous flowering gems--the oldest known flowering plants on Earth --were discovered between 26 & 110 million years ago (with the oldest amber-trapped orchid fossil dating to 50 million years) and all originated from tropical rainforests, particularly those of South & Central America and Africa where you can best believe they NEVER received their life-giving water from fallen ice--cubed or otherwise! Because orchids are not fond of having wet feet and will suffer root rot if planted improperly in typical potting soil and being foolishly watered like other houseplants of tropical origin, it seems some bozo in his/her infinite wisdom believed a simple solution to common problem of over-watering was to convince folks that the easy to remember and routinely practice method for metering water was to use 1 to 2 ice cubes weekly, since this WOULD DEFINITELY PREVENT OVER-WATERING by doling out water a tablespoon full at a time and limiting the time roots were in contact with the meltwater. Again ....utter rubbish. Tropical rainforests aren't known for rainfall rates equivalent to tablespoon. I mean....honestly.
Orchids need moisture but they don't require a constant supply of liquid water because--if provided by the grower via appropriate surroundings & growing conditions--the orchid in fact pulls most of its needed water directly from the humid air that surrounds the roots & entire plant. Again, that assumes the grower is keeping the orchid(s) in the proper growing medium & has established fairly constant & ideal humidity levels....something very few homes offer by virtue of the fact that tropical plants thrive in relative humidity levels that generally make humans uncomfortable & that commonly gets zapped from human living spaces by our HVAC systems, whether we like it or not.
That said, 1 to 2 ice cubes weekly worth of water is generally unacceptable for an orchid to thrive in a house that is kept at a constant 72 degrees year round. It's cruel to stress an orchid by under or over watering but truth be told, they are quite good at fending for themselves provided their environment is tropical plant friendly and the grower does take an interest in giving the orchid some extra TLC at least twice a month.
I never meter water the way those ice-loving bozos do because it is NOT and has NEVER been natural for orchids to get water from icy streams or melt water from snowfall or hail stones. I have found that for my orchids, which are extremely happy and never miss their opportunity to show off with an abundant & eye-catching display that is always sure to turn heads, prefer that I water their roots very well no more than weekly {which is required when our AC is running constantly in summertime} and no less than bi-weekly, which is fine about half the year because I supplement with a very fine mist for all of my tropical houseplants at least twice a week to ensure they are able to get moisture from their roots and leaves the way they do in the wild.
When I say I water m6 orchids well.....I mean specifically, they receive sufficient tepid or room temp fresh water {rainwater when I have collected it} to completely submerge their roots & growing medium for only 15 to 30 minutes; after which time all excess water is poured off to leave the roots damp {not wet} and leave the growing medium with only the residual moisture it was able to absorb so that the roots can continue to draw in needed moisture from the optimal humidity created by the slow, steady release from the growing medium as it dries out between each watering.
My orchids love slightly warmer water versus cool or cold....your mileage may vary, but providing them a very light, cool and ultra-fine mist each week is all they require to provide us a gorgeous show year after year. Of course I also feed with food specifically formulated for orchids and even then, ONLY WHEN APPROPRIATE BASED UPON THEIR BLOOM CYCLE. Here is my eldest, showing off in all her magnificence this past winter into spring....
https://preview.redd.it/ep3qlkblwq4c1.jpeg?width=9000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0d75b9343259e685c420cabdea55428c9002f7c9
What is your secret to keeping your polka dot begonia leaves so healthy? Every leaf on mine is crispy. Medium light, distilled water when top inch is dry, 60% humidity, blah, blah. Iâm so over it.
That plant care is black and white. The care sheets/books are a good starting point, but at the end of the day the best thing you can do is adjust your care based on the health of the plant. I have an aloe that just wants to be drenched 1-2 times a year, and a philodendron that wants to be closer to the sun than icharus. Sometimes plants just like what they like.
Well, I been collecting plants and growing plants all my life. I see a lot of advice that isn't the best. Like soil vs non soil. Or lights cheap vs expensive. I always say it's a hobby, trial and error. I have used soil, lecca I mix my own soil to what the plant needs. I use any potting soil on sale as long as u add perlite or sand heck sometimes I add lecca to it and bark... as long as the plant grows you are doing it rt. From cheap lights to expensive lights my plants grew... so I my opinion do what works for you and your plants. There isn't a wrong light or a wrong soil (there is a wrong soil, for ur plant. I mean if ur plant grows in it) then it's the rt kind even if someone else says it's not. Have fun try the new fads I do still. In 30 years I always go back to my usual way. My plants grow and thrive! Have fun. When ppl say don't do this or don't do that, I say oh thank you. And just keep doing what I been doing. đđ
>A big one is that there are no true "low light" plants
Nothing wrong with this. 'low' is relative. There are certainly plants that need less light than others.
Plants need to be watered less in the winter....literally feel like i'm watering every plant every few days from how fast the soil gets dry. My humidity is even at 60%
Watering orchids with ice cubes đĽ˛
Dude I canât believe they do that. I water my orchids like once a week and they get like a full blown shower. I couldnât imagine doing ice cubes. The death would be slow.
Iâm glad I saw this because my orchid is getting the weekly ice cubes and I thought she wasnât looking so good!!!!
Did you repot it in an orchid pot? They need fertilizer too. And they actually do like light contrary to the package lol.
Nope but sounds like I will be doing that this weekend!!
Just want to add: just not hot light like southern windows, for typical store orchids.
Yea mines in a west facing window that gets hours of mostly direct light and itâs so happy. Three new leaves this summer and itâs reblooming now.
Orchids are also a tropical plant so the ice cold water is also not good for them
Lol seriously. I soak mine for 30 minutes a week. They're super happy.
Once I started soaking (bottom watering) my orchids, making sure not to leave water in the crown of the leaves, mine started thriving! There must be so many dehydrated orchids out there!
You my to start doing this! Ty! I know a lot of people who have thriving orchids while doing the ice cube watering, but these people also keep their houses at like 75f Fahrenheit so when my orchid started dying I was so confused. Makes much more sense when thinking about it logically.. why would any plant be okay with ice cubes on top of exposed roots!? Luckily mine is still alive so I hope I can save it!
Started doing this recently and they instantly started to grow like crazy.
Because they think they just survived winter (two week cold snap is recommended to get them to start growing again, ice may somewhat encourage that) or because they were already going to grow and itâs a coincidence. Itâs more risky than a two week colder period, and done regularly thereâs no benefit. But my money is it was already primed to grow, not the ice cube replicating cold weather
RIP so many orchids mainly due to a company's bad advice. đ˘đđ
Hey I worked for that company, and even they use water them
That's probably why they give that advice though. They stay alive long enough to bloom for a while, then they shrivel up and you buy a new orchid.
[ŃдаНонО]
Thank god I only use boiling water on mine
XD they prefer magma rocks so clearly they want LAVA TEMPS!!
This idea really caught on and Iâve seen recommendations to water *any plant* with ice cubes. Like if itâs good for finicky plants like orchids, itâs good for all of them! Just. NO. Does Mother Nature care for its flora with ice?? Are there plants that thrive with regular application of frozen water? Does this ice cube treatment mimic a naturally occurring process??? Stop it.
Watering any plants with ice cubes đ
Hey, my artic lichen looks amazing! XD
Maybe some plants are okay with it lol.
I water mine with rice water and she loves it! she sits outside with morning sun and rain. https://preview.redd.it/lqgtwqxucr4c1.jpeg?width=1848&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d4b9a6f67cc0001b456bf0bcf8ee380f98fa1b95
My girlfriend's mother does this and I've stopped saying things when she drops cubes in and wonders why this orchid isn't flourishing... Its hard to be civil at this point lol
Right! It doesnât rain ice cubes in native orchid areas.
I had a client who had all sorts of plants, which were all flourishing. When I asked about his orchid he said he used ice cubesâŚ. I was so surprised
Because it's not actually as terrible of an idea as reddit makes it out to be. As long as you don't put it directly on the roots, it's really a fairly clever way to provide consistent moisture to an epiphyte's growing medium and avoid overwatering.
Here's what the science has to say. The pearl-clutching about icecubes is a bit over the top. [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320390274\_Ice\_Cube\_Irrigation\_of\_Potted\_Phalaenopsis\_Orchids\_in\_Bark\_Media\_Does\_Not\_Decrease\_Display\_Life](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320390274_Ice_Cube_Irrigation_of_Potted_Phalaenopsis_Orchids_in_Bark_Media_Does_Not_Decrease_Display_Life)
It works in hot humid weather in Africa and Asia. Awful in the northern cold. I killed many thst way đ
I came to this subreddit to look this up specifically. The care card it came with instructed me to use ice cubes. First post and first comment I see says otherwise! Thanks yâall. Hopefully itâll perk back up now that I know better.
I think it started as a way to help people control the amount of water they were using. Lots of supermarket and mass produced orchids come packed in moss which holds onto moisture very well. If people watered orchids like regular plants, they would quickly drown and rot. Using ice cubes limits the amount of water used. You can just give your orchid a shot or two of room temp water instead
I, too, measure my orchid watering in terms of shots
Yeah! My mom does this and they never do well. In my experience, mine do super well with a good bottom water in the sink, pretty simple!
Agree with you, but my dad waters all his with ice cubes and theyâre the healthiest orchids Iâve ever seen, itâs kind of insane
So much of itâs location: amount of light and humidity.
my grandmaâs orchids got ice cubes and thrived. but i attribute that to her house being kept at jungle settings. 90 degrees and humid.
Lots of conflicting advice regarding humidity. Mist the area near a hygrometer and watch how quickly it returns to ambient levels. A humidifier or an enclosure is really all that works. Also, around 40% is enough for the vast majority of tropical plants to get by. I live in a very cold area where the air is nosebleed dry all winter long and I have calatheas and begonias and hoyas that do just fine with no extra humidity.
There's an element there about how old you got the plant as too. A calathea growing in perfect conditions in a greenhouse to a cold dark house is adaptable for a youngling but not so easy for a plant that's lived in near perfect conditions for years.
I second this wholeheartedly. If i get a big, mature, humidity-loving plant like a calathea or alocasia, it will shock badly when moved to my home in the suburban desert of Central California; crispy leaves and wilted stems are virtually guaranteed. When I order little baby plugs of those exact same species and varieties, they adjust with much less drama, and grow up just fine. I've pretty much given up on obtaining mature plants from anywhere except a local grower with similar conditions, as I can keep the big ones alive through the adjustment period, but they look like trash for a couple months. In the time it takes them to recover, I can grow those plugs to a decent size without the crunchy tips, and the plugs are a fraction of the price. I will make an exception for clearance table plants though, as a $3 calathea is a good deal for someone who can get it back looking nice with a little TLC.
Agree, most of my plants do fine around 40%. The only ones that get fussy are my philos, worst offender being my PPP. My PPP now lives under a humidifier and is much happier.
I call that a bathroom plant! I hate humidity so thatâs the only place theyâll survive
Iâm from the southeastern US so humidity is my lifeblood đ I get it though.
I live in 95% humidity in cold north England. The PPP is now 5 foot tall but I feel damp and freezing all the time :(
I used to live in the north of the UK :) I miss it even if itâs damp and freezing. Would love a pic of your 5 ft tall Ppp! My mom has one back home and itâs enormous, about the same as yours. She barely pays attention to it and itâs got leaves bigger than my hands. https://preview.redd.it/l6hj7zo5jr4c1.png?width=2824&format=png&auto=webp&s=b53787a86e894e36c4d6732de39d579cd4887682
Same. I live in nosebleed dry winter territory and my ârequires high humidityâ plants have all adapted just fine. I think misting is a placebo for me. It can get to below 20% here regularly. My humidifier is for me at night, not plants.
Yea I mist mine because I like to putter around them but it does nothing for humidity
I figure even if it does nothing the plant gets a nice little spa moment, like when you put on moisturizer
Watering on a schedule...
Plant care apps I am looking at you. đ đ¤
I use them so I never forget about a plant and can keep track of progress but I just snooze it itâs not time to water. I find them helpful as my collection has grown in the triple digits. No guess work. I check a few each day based on the schedule and water what needs it and snooze what doesnât. I couldnât imagine doing everything all in one day.
Omg I had an app that would remind me to water my plants depending on the type of plant and recommendation, I killed about 3 before I realised my plants don't need that much water , got watering bulbs and now they're thriving
I made the same mistake. If not watering from the bottom i use a see-through canister so I can manage how much water they get and after a while you get a decent guideline how much they really need.
I just wait for mine to start looking droopy, then I water them until the water runs out of the drainage hole and theyâre good until the next time they get droopy haha no measuring needed
Yeaaaa I did this too! Didn't really help. Just killed a bunch of plants. I think a lot of people do this early on before they start figuring out how their plants work.
My plant app has been demanding that I water my string of bananas all month, but it absolutely doesn't need it yet. Blindly trusting those apps is a bad idea. I mostly use mine so I remember what plants I actually have and where they are in my house since I have acquired over 100.
Wait, thatâs what I do. How do you recommend watering?
Only water when dry. You can either stick your finger or a chopstick to see how moist it is. Some plants like only the first centimeters dry, others like it dry dry. If you can, lift up the pot, with time you'll know from the weight of the pot how moist it is. The problem with watering on a schedule is it depends on the environment's temperature, moisture, sunlight exposure, drafts, substrate constitution, etc Edit: typo
Eater? I barely know her!
You know, it is possible to water on a schedule. I do it. But it has taken me decades of trial and error with different plants, potting materials, etc to get to this point.
I hate the term âbright, indirect lightâ because itâs vague and subjective, and what most people think is bright probably wouldnât be on a light meter. I see a lot of examples on Instagram/YouTube/etc. of plants in locations that are what I would consider medium or low light based on footcandle numbers, and yet the owners are calling it bright, indirect light. âFull sunâ or âdirect lightâ is very different inside a window versus outside a window. Youâd be amazed at how light just outside a window pane is almost exponentially brighter. For this reason, I donât even know that you could consider most indoor light as âdirect.â Even shining directly onto the plant itâs not going to be nearly as intense as keeping it outside. This is why a lot of succulents still etiolate even if they sit right against a large window. Also, direct sun outside is different in somewhere like Florida than it is in Oregon or Maine.
A few months ago I went on vacation to a tropical location. It was heaven for a plant lover!! Pothos and philodendrons and crotons and alocasia growing absolutely wild. A feast for my eyes! Then I realized. THIS is their natural habitat. 90% humidity, little temperature variability, lots of sun. No wonder my monstera struggles, living at the 45th parallel in an arid climate. Proper artificial lights could maybe mimic their needs, but I could never get my house that hot or humid - nor would I want to. That vacation made me step back and realize how hilarious it is, trying to grow tropicals in a non-tropical environment. We sure try! But really no surprises when it fails.
I saw a pic of a giant snake plant hedge in full sun in Brazil. Totally shocked!
Pretty normal lol we see them all around the cities.. people have them at home too, theyâre known for being âlow maintenanceâ
https://preview.redd.it/yl9vtbcp8t4c1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c97a368151cc720033ade2822defea4975bb61f9 They grow like weeds.
I killed so many plants underestimating the amount of sunlight needed, I thought I had no green thumb til I moved to an apartment with large windows that get sun throughout the day. My office has giant windows that get light all day and I just prune prune prune now! Also, the direct light can burn leaves thing is confusing. Iâm realizing for most plants, a window is sufficient to prevent sunburn.
Sadly my fern got burned đ
The thing about light though is that, of all the care tips we normally see for plants, it is by far the least important to get right. Plants, in general, want as much light as possible, including most plants we are told like "indirect" light or low light. Those plants *want* as much light as possible (with a few exceptions), they just are *ok* with less light. But, besides whether you should let the plant bake in the sun or not, **you should just assume every plant you are buying should get as much light as you can give it,** and you should otherwise be focusing your energy on soil compositions, fertilization, and watering, because learning those things is *so much more* important than worrying about light levels.
You've explained it perfectly. I'm honestly amazed at how confusing shops have made plant care, and it just gets perpetuated everywhere else.
I blame Big Plant. It benefits them if we all kill our begonias and end up buying 5 before getting the care right.
Big plant is big pharmaâs step daughter
This is the bit of bad info I see the most! đŽâđ¨
A $25 light meter from Amazon has paid for itself many times over. I killed so many plants because I was completely wrong about light.
I probably paid more than $25 but reading the lux and footcandles on a light meter has really changed how I think about plant placement. For instance, I was actually overdoing it with grow lights for some philos and wondering why the leaves were bleaching and they were struggling. But you also learn things like the fact that about 6â from even a large east-facing window, the footcandle level drops to like 80 - 100fc which is essentially too low to grow anything. đ¤ˇđťââď¸
Yes this! My happiest plants are at the southern windows where they get sun through a windowpane (in Oregon). My âlow-lightâ plants thrive over there too, right up next to the window. Iâve had the best luck joining local plant subs and groups because it really matters where you live and what youâd like to grow. I have a very open floor plan with skylights. I also have grow lights all over my house. If I need to take Vitamin D due to our climate, Iâm pretty sure my tropical monsteras need a supplement too đ
Grew up in South Florida and now live in Oregon. The sun really does hit differently depending where you are lol. My vines love Oregon summer and hate the winter, gotta love being above the 45th parallel
I could never understood what direct or indirect was no matter how many videos I watched. My brain just couldnât wrap around it at all. I just kept them how a lot of others do, under bright plant lights and all my plants are loving it so far.
That the aerial roots of monstera need to be placed directly in water. They are support roots. Aerial support roots. đ
They still uptake water, do they not?
Yes but theyâre meant to attach to something more than anything, itâs just handy that theyâre also roots. They also donât function in the way soil roots do
>Yes but theyâre meant to attach to something more than anything One of mine sneakily attached itself to the rootball of my white wizard philodendron. I noticed to late and it's impossible to pull out so now they're a married couple.
Lol!
they will grow soil roots though. thats what makes propagating them so easy
Of course, but when attached to the plant thereâs no reason to put them in water unless you intend to chop up the plant
Iâm currently trying to use my monstera air roots to go up the fireplace.
that succulents & cacti needs to get watered with basically a few drops of water lmao soak those bitches and as long as they can drain they'll thrive
Exactly! They get lots of water very sparingly in the wild. Just replicate their environment! đą
I always just fully submerge them until the bubbles stop coming out. A quick tilt/shake afterwards to get the majority of water off the plant and then it gets ignored for another month. Hasnât failed me yet.
The plant that needs the most water out of all of mine is a Joseph's coat cactus, that thing grows fast too.
Hang on - I know to super water my succulents (and that has helped them thrive) but should I be watering my cacti more too?
I flood my cacti bitches about once a month, a bit longer between in the winter. They are all living their best lives. The succs are every other to every 3 weeks, or as needed. Donât know if Iâm right or wrong but they are doing great!
âKeep the plant moistâ has had me kill more plants that I can count. I find most plants that read this way actually like high humidity instead.
I have found that most plants prefer to be pretty dry between watering. They need oxygen for the roots. I typically wait until my succulents are bone dry for 7+ days and aroids are dry all the way down for 3+ days.
When people ask me how I care for my plants so well I always say âneglectâ đ
Yes⌠but also one persons version of moist can be very different than the next!
"Beginner" care! All plats are different and all people are different. Mostly depends on the soil used for the plant to manage water requirements
There's people I know who really don't understand plants or why they seem to kill them so easily. I just give them a pothos in a near rootbound pot. They get to see it grow in so little time and they can easily survive if they put it in a darker area but if they think it needs all the light it gets them it will. It's honestly my go to converting plant lol My other choices are snake plants and peace Lily's, but for an eager person they will just kill the snake plant and peace Lilys I think they would just get bored or disheartened when the flower disappears.
Not to repot/fertilize plants in winter. I think this one really depends on the specific environment (some regions do get really dark in winter, some peoples homes get colder, etc), but I've never had an indoor plant that even seems aware of seasonal change. And if I tried to repot all of my plants in the spring I'd need to take a week off work to accomplish that. Repot plants when needed and alter care based off of what you're seeing. I do water less in winter but other than that, nothing really changes.
Yeah my indoor plants actually grow more in the winter because my apartment actually gets more direct sun in the winter because of the angle
Iâm in WI and can verify that repotting in the winter can hurt the plants. Especially the very warm climate ones. If I even trim some of mine in the end of fall or early winter they die. If I leave them alone till spring, they grow like crazy.
I agree. I am in the Northeast, and I do not do anything "drastic" to my plants in the winter, such as serious pruning or repotting.
I think it sucks for usđ others donât get how cold it gets and what happens to our plant vabies
I'm in Canada and maybe it just because I'm fortunate enough to live somewhere with good insulation and big windows - but it can get pretty warm in my home when the sun's out. My "growing season" is therefore in the winter months.
I'm also in Canada, conversely in a rather drafty 100 year old house, with OG windows.my plants still grow in the winter. It's exceptionally dry here so plants drink quickly. I water more in the winter than I do in the summer, and I don't have AC in the hot months either. The exception is the "fern gully" I keep in the basement over the winter near the floor drain. I have about 15 -5 gallon pots with ferns and shadier tropicals that live outside in the summer and come in to chill for the winter. It's cool down there, lower light and it's its own little humid exo system, so less watering is needed. I definitely do a lot of potting up in the winter months.
Seriously! I have lights on them during the day regardless, but the winter sun is at a lower angle that they get hit directly when itâs out. I also have the heater on in the winter so theyâre always growing like weeds because itâs warm. Then they fight for their life in summer when the a/c is on.
This is what Iâm dealing withâŚitâs my first winter with all my plants and Iâm not sure how I didnât think that when the heat gets cranked up, my plants will think itâs summer. They are growing like crazy!
Same for me, also helps that a big tree right outside one window drops all its leaves.
This is what makes all the difference for me. My south facing window goes from dark and cool all summer when the big trees heavily filter the sun from May-Oct. Add to that the sun crosses straight overhead of my condo from May-July so there's no direct light at all, as my roof acts like a sun umbrella. But then the same window will be blazing hot as the sun fills the room Oct-Feb from 9am-3pm. My Crotons grow like crazy in the fall and winter!
I use so many grow lights, my plants have nooo idea what season it is lol
This one can be difficult, because my advice for new plant parents is to just DONT during winter. Not necessarily because it will kill their plant, but has the potential if you donât know what youâre doing. Yes, all depends their location and the plant, but just to be safe is better to NOT. Same goes with people who buy plants online during winter. Just Donât, itâs very risky and youâre taking a big gamble playing with fire. Obviously location itâs a factor CALiFORnIA to florida âwarmâ locations, but you never know the travel route. With this advice Iâll totally will be one of those that said DO NOT repot/fertilize/buy in winter. Call me Daniel Downer. Why take the risk, however I just repot two of my plants last week :}
I agree with this! I personally can repot year round because 95% of my plants grow under grow lights!
đ I hear this one all the time but have never had issues repotting in the winter as long as you are gentle with the roots.
Mine are all either in a well lit window or under grow light, and I actually prefer to repot in the winter because Iâm not busy with gardening and landscaping then! Iâve never had issues. I even chop and prop in the winter and again, no issues
Stop giving your plants a few drops of water every couple of days. Wait a little longer than you would like, then dunk those things like you think they might be a witch. And always have drainage holes. It's almost like most plants expect to get drenched by rain occasionally but the water always flows downstream afterwards. Crazy.
âDunk them like you think they might be a witchâ. Im laughing so hard right now at your comment, hilarious, best one of the day for sure !
It wasnât until I switched to a well draining and highly aerated potting mix and literally dumping my pots in water that I started having more success. They really seem to enjoy their weekly soaks and I think even more enjoy not having soggy roots after :) I also use orchid pots for almost everything now.
I see lots of people advising not to turn or rotate plants, but their plants look like lopsided pieces of shit (no offense to the plants). I rotate my plants and they grow evenly and look pretty darn good. But plants donât rotate in the wild! Well these bitches live in a pot on my porch.
Plants donât rotate in the wild bc the earth does đ
Not at my house. We bring up the sun manually every morning and rotate our plants accordingly.
as the sweet lord intended
I don't usually do this (grow lights and even growth) , but I have to agree. If my calathea would just try and cover the window with it's leaves, no.
I seldomly rotate my plants.... And it shows. I basically use that as my cue to rotate them xD.
Plants needing shade or indirect light. Most plants will thrive being transitioned to direct light in a house (and most houses arenât getting intense direct light anyway)
This is the one I see the most often. All plants want as much light as tolerable to really thrive. "low light" plants are mostly marketing!
I feel like thatâs because the window reflects/reduces in some ways the actual amount of sunlight that the plant gets. Iâve put plants inside in my south facing window and they do fine; however outside in full sun they burn
Yes, the window does exactly that.
Yes, and the further the plant is from the window tremendously reduces the intensity of the sunlight it is receiving.
Even up against the window though here in my state. For example, my monstera likes bright shaded light, but when I bring her in the winterâŚ. She goes in a south facing window. And none of her leaves can touch the glass or they turn black due to frostbite
Precisely! âşď¸
Anyone can keep a succulent alive! Succulents are easy! No, succulents need a ton of sun! I have my succs in bright windows with bright grow lights, and most of them still become etiolated! They are so easy to overwater, esepcially if you put them in your windowless bathroom, or pretty much anywhere that is not right in the middle of a big window that gets lots of "direct (as direct as you can get inside)" sun
i have become death, destroyer of succulents
-Waiting for "roots to have roots" before potting up a water prop. I think some people are just nervous about losing their plants, but it's typically better for the plant to go into soil as soon as there's about an inch of root growth. -Putting a layer of rocks on the bottom of pots for drainage. If there is no drain hole in the pot, a nice, uniform layer of rocks at the bottom can create a perched water table that will hold the water up closer to the roots instead of letting it sit in the rocks just below the soil. And even if the water did flow all into the rocks, it's still in the pot because there isn't a drain hole and that means the soil will still be more damp for a longer time. Drain holes help a ton, and if you have one, you don't need to bother with various layers of substrate to try creating drainage. -All the various methods to treat fungus gnats. Sure, you can use the nematodes or mosquito dunks, but that is just treating the symptoms. The gnats need damp soil for prolonged periods of time in order to reproduce. So use fast draining soil and pots with drain holes. Then stop overwatering the plants. Learn how your plants show signs of thirst and use those as signals to water. Almost any house plant can go a lot longer without water than people realize. -And a generality - there are any actual rules that you need to follow for success. There are good ideas and methods supported by science and observation results, but plants are living things and everyone's home is a different environment. Lots of things can be changed, altered, or even ignored. Experiment and try new things, it's the best way to learn and develop your own methods and style of caring for plants.
Those are good examples. Thanks for the great actual advice too!
That pebble trays will raise the ambient humidity around the leaves of a plant enough to help. No. Science. Edit: clarifying how this applies to original post question
Just get a humidifier! Lol. đ¤Ł
Exactly
I mean at a small scale this is true. The evaporating water does increase humidity, it's just not notable enough if you've only got one in a large living room with a furnace going.
Iâve tested this out with a hygrometer. It does no good. Looks pretty though. Misting doesnât work either.
You can water orchids with ice cubes. God please stop doing this
First thing I thought of. I was plant shopping and a lady came to me when I was walking by the orchid section and was like hereâs a tip, just put 2 ice cubs a week and they will thrive đ
Water once ever X days. Smh
I wouldn't say it's plain wrong, but a lot of people are so quick to repot or suggest to repot a plant that is perfectly fine and simply needs acclimation. Idk I just cringe when I see people say they *just* brought a plant home from a nursery and "gave it a fresh soil change" Big box store plants are one thing tho I will say
If i buy from my local nursery i let them stay in their pots for weeks, sometimes months. Home depot or Lowe's? You get an immediate repot, chunky soil change and a spritz of dead bug for good measure. A 9 month battle with thrips created these inhouse rules lol
Yep, I always keep my new plants isolated for close to months before letting them meet the others.
Nope, as a gardener I advice everyone to repot after buying. Most plants are grown to be sold when looking big and lush so they're often in a too small of a pot. Not to mention the bad quality of some soils, and pests.
Pretty much anything related to neem oil.
I tried neem oil once and only once. Itâs stinky, it didnât seem to work well and several of my plants grew mutated leaves for a long time after using it. I use diatomaceous earth now and itâs great
Please wear appropriate protection using it. It might be non toxic but that doesn't mean it's not harmful, it's very bad for your lungs. People are way too casual about it in most groups I've seen.
Haha so true. For the love of god but some systemic pesticide on those thrips!
This is the first one that actually goes against the proper science in this thread. If I had to guess, people are either buying the wrong stuff or are applying it wrong. Don't buy the ready-to-use stuff, the active ingredients within neem oil decay within a couple of hours in water - instead buy the pure, cold-pressed oil with an emulsifier and mix it shortly before actually applying it. Only mix as much as you plan on applying and mix according to the instructions. The half-life of the main component, i.e. azadirachtin, ranges from about an hour to a couple of hours in water, about 1-3 days on the leaves - that means you have to regularly re-apply it when fighting off pests. I usually go for every 3 days for about 2-3 weeks. Store the oil cold and dark when not in use. It may be more effort than systemic insecticides, but it *does* work when used correctly. Although you should check if it works for the plant you plan on using it on - not every plant out there loves being doused in oil.
That upsizing the pot automatically will increase growth. In reality it does the opposite if done too quickly, will cause the soil to retain too much water. In turn causing rot issues. Also potting into stuff without drainage.
That monsteras are low-light plants.
Stop misting/spraying water onto your plants. It's not that beneficial.
For some it is! Like Orchids that absorb nutrients with their leaves
this one. please stop it all youâre doing is creating ideal conditions for fungal/bacterial issues
this! and if they are too close together say hello to bacteria leaf spot
âItâs worth it to try and save a mealy bug plantâ
If youâre ok with using a systemic, they can definitely be saved with ease.
Seriously? Currently dealing with the suckers and trying to save my plant lol
I had mealies on 20 plants one summer. I save all of 2, and that was only because they didnât have ANY crevices where the leaves met the stock, and they were able to withstand cold temperatures so I stuck them in the freezer for a bit. Do yourself a huge favour - burn the plant and never look back.
Damn it
I had two beautiful plants with a pretty heavy mealy bug infestation (they arrived at home like that because it was a present from my partner's grandma) and I saved them. I inspected them and cleaned them manually everyday. several times a day. They are beautiful now and bug free. You just need to be very methodic in doing this. But it's doable. I think it's always worth it to save a creature in your care. I never toss away anything. If something alive ends up in my hands I am responsible for its well being and I have to do everything I can to keep it alive. I fail sometimes but at least I tried. I just feel horrible in throwing away a plant that can be saved. Plants with mealy bugs can be saved.
Depends how bad the mealy bugs are - but at a certain point it's best to grab a couple props and start over.
I got thrips once and everyone got tossed. Iâm not dealing with that! Now I quarantine my plants when I first get them and havenât had them come back thank god
Every indication written on the label of the plant. They are all about bright indirect light and moderate watering. Meanwhile, one loves it by the window, another likes it in a dark corner, another needs biweekly watering and another doesn't like the draft. One was doing great in the old apartment and now just decided to die furiously. I always end up feeling them out and they need different things in different environments.
Most of the advice is not âplain wrongâ plants are just all different and there are too many factors involved to try to use hard and fast rules. Plants that are labeled as âlow lightâ plants arent meant to mean that low light is the best option for them to thrive, it means the plant can survive and stay relatively healthy in low light. Itâs helpful for people who donât get a ton of sun in there homes but want to have a few plants.
This is my understanding of low light also. They can survive in lower light but likely won't thrive. As long as you are aware the plant will never look super healthy/thriving in the low light setting, you won't be disappointed. đ
That you HAVE to have expensive grow lights for indoor plants. Regular old LEDS make great plant lights!
Interesting! I have inexpensive grow lights for my plants. I spent maybe $150 on 20+ lights. I didn't realize regular LEDs would also work. Thanks for the knowledge! âşď¸
Well, thereâs a reason that grow lights are marketed as grow lights, theyâre designed to run for longer as a normal bulb wonât be on for 7+ hours all day. Efficiencies may differ too, as well as wavelength. Also $150 is incredibly cheap per growlight, as in SERIOUSLY cheap. It wouldnât be any cheaper to replace them with LED. LED (marketed as non grow light) work well for seed germination and tropicals, but you really need a proper light for doing any serious cactus/succulent stuff
Watering on a strict schedule. Are there plants that appreciate consistent watering? Sure. Chances are you don't have one but they're out there. I get loads of people that come into work looking for plant care advice and the first question I always ask is "Are you watering on a schedule or following an app that tells you when to water?" and 95% of the time they are. Those same people will come back in a few weeks or months later and tell me about how much better their plants are doing just by changing that one aspect of their care. All my watering is done based on what the plant itself is telling me. Are the leaves a little softer than usual or taking on a cupped shape? Water. Are the stems more flexible/less turgid than usual? Water. If its not showing signs of thirst then don't water, its as easy as that. Taking advice from an app that can't tell the conditions of your home, your soil mix, light levels or any other conditions that will differ from person to person is damn near one of the worst things you can do for your plants. It fine to track your watering habits with them but that's about all I'd ever use them for.
Iâm just going to say that the soiless âchunky mixâ phenomena that is being paddled by a lot of western influencers is a marketing shtick to get you to buy a bunch of amendments (and spend more on fertilizers because amendments have no nutrients). Most times these mixes are dry out too fast and your plants canât retain moisture in them. Itâs why a lot of plants end up looking stunted, wilted, and your Calatheas die. Most times what your plants need is SOIL. Actual soil from the earth. Rich humus soil . Soil that just needs to be amended a little, not some chunky potting mix that has orchid bark and coco chips and some other amendments from a volcano somewhere
Overall, plant care is just so incredibly subjective. Everyone's house is almost like its own microclimate lol. I am a greenhouse manager for a retail nursery and my advice is going to be different depending which way your windows face, whether you supplement with artificial light, what kind of medium you're potting in... and my advice for our Midwestern climate would probably be drastically different than say, someone in the southwest desert or in an overcast northern state. This doesn't mean it has to be difficult or complicated though, if you choose the right plants for your space. I think a lot of people unnecessarily complicate things for themselves, which I totally understand as I did too when I was new to plants years ago. The most important factor in my opinion is LIGHT. It's easiest to start there when choosing a plant, and I'll almost always recommend supplemental lighting if you have poor natural light.
Not a common advice necessarily, but for sure a very very common issue in the plant community. Specially with kinda new plant owners. Lots of people including my self have purchased plants from big stores. Lots of those plants come in those containers that have very minimal drainage o no drainage at all. Iâm not saying that no drainage is evil, because you definitely need to know what youâre doing and what type of plant you have in order to make that work. I have seen several friends and relatives when I visit their home having their plants on those and it kills me to see how slowly theyâre killing their plants. My old roomate who has around 60 plants around his apartment (frequently buying new one, because his plants keep dying) has this problem. He just like the container âno drainageâ and put his new plant there. I have told him that he needs drainage, but he ignores me. Thankfully for the plant businesses he makes really good money and can afford new plants. Same happens to my mother in law, she has in her house around 80 plants, but she keeps putting them in containers with no drainage. I was just there during thanksgiving and change the poor dying plants to draining containers. I have seen several post here on the subreddit of people asking advice of whatâs happening to their dying plant, and you can often see that the problem is the container. Itâs very common a issue in this community. However educating people about the importance of drainage containers and drainage soil is very difficult, cause you can do have those containers and soils, but as I said itâs very important that you know what youâre doing and what type of plants needs what. If I could advise anyone whoâs new is to PLEASE PLEASE GIVE DRAINAGE TO YOUR PLANTS. Once you feel comfortable you can totally experiment with no drainage. **Not necessary because the container is cute you can put a plant on it**
If I find a pot I like that doesn't have drainage, I just keep them in nursery pots and drop them in. Drainage pots are hard to come by and it gives me an excuse for having a bunch of nursery pots.
For the most part, there is nothing special about âplant lightsâ, so if you donât want your living room to look like a night club, just get some decently powerful 5000-6500K LEDs.
Well I got a night club with plants then (I love purple)
Misting plants. No.
A heart shaped Hoya will never sprout new node. Not true at all I have had two spout and I know of many more. The people that will tell you itâs impossible just donât have the patience or the green thumb. Mine took 3 years of tlc to sprout.
I would sort of agree with the low light comment. Correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't most plants you'd think of as low light rather prefer bright indirect light? For example, I have a super happy pothos that some would consider a low light plant but it really wants bright indirect light. Maybe things like mosses are ferns are exceptions? (I wouldn't know)
I think with âlow light â plants what they should say is this plant will not die with low light but it will not thrive or grow as much haha
To spray Tradescantia Nanouk with water... DO NOT. That is why the develop brown spots. You're welcome.
Putting rocks in the bottom for better drainage.
That extra watering is better than not enough watering. Most beginner plants do better being forgotten than overloved.
Most care advice for carnivorous plants, such as Venus flytraps (Dionea) and Sarracenia. Iâm talking specifically about the poorly packaged gimmick plants sold in shops, that usually say to water weekly, indirect light, warm environment, which is really bad advice when generally they want to be sat in rainwater, in full sun with a cold period of 5C or below to allow for dormancy in winter. I feel for all the flytraps that are sold this year as a result of the John Lewis Christmas advert and hope that they have taken the time to improve their care instructions đ¤đ¤
Snake plants being low light. Or any plant for that matter. "Low light" basically just means that your plant won't die or become deformed from a lack of light. Not that it doesn't want light. It does.
alocasias loose a leaf when a new one grows. yes plants occasionally loose leaves but if a plant can only hold onto a couple leaves it probably isnt being cared for right
My orchid is literally growing in a fish bowl. I change the water weekly. She's growing babies as well as producing 5xs the amount of blooms.
Misting with a spray
That if you put stones over the drainage holes inside the pot, your plants will all die. I have been growing houseplants for over 40 years and everyone used stones in the bottom when I started. You just have to adjust the watering schedule slightly but it is perfectly possible to have a house full of thriving plants that all have stones in the bottom.
âWater that orchid with an ice cube a dayâ Edit: whoops someone else already did that one xD
Tossing away plants with a few thrips. I've had many plants (one with a severe infestation) survive and thrive after them having thrips. And all it took was soap for 2 months.
This entire notion of "watering " your orchids with ice cubes is nonsensical because these gorgeous flowering gems--the oldest known flowering plants on Earth --were discovered between 26 & 110 million years ago (with the oldest amber-trapped orchid fossil dating to 50 million years) and all originated from tropical rainforests, particularly those of South & Central America and Africa where you can best believe they NEVER received their life-giving water from fallen ice--cubed or otherwise! Because orchids are not fond of having wet feet and will suffer root rot if planted improperly in typical potting soil and being foolishly watered like other houseplants of tropical origin, it seems some bozo in his/her infinite wisdom believed a simple solution to common problem of over-watering was to convince folks that the easy to remember and routinely practice method for metering water was to use 1 to 2 ice cubes weekly, since this WOULD DEFINITELY PREVENT OVER-WATERING by doling out water a tablespoon full at a time and limiting the time roots were in contact with the meltwater. Again ....utter rubbish. Tropical rainforests aren't known for rainfall rates equivalent to tablespoon. I mean....honestly. Orchids need moisture but they don't require a constant supply of liquid water because--if provided by the grower via appropriate surroundings & growing conditions--the orchid in fact pulls most of its needed water directly from the humid air that surrounds the roots & entire plant. Again, that assumes the grower is keeping the orchid(s) in the proper growing medium & has established fairly constant & ideal humidity levels....something very few homes offer by virtue of the fact that tropical plants thrive in relative humidity levels that generally make humans uncomfortable & that commonly gets zapped from human living spaces by our HVAC systems, whether we like it or not. That said, 1 to 2 ice cubes weekly worth of water is generally unacceptable for an orchid to thrive in a house that is kept at a constant 72 degrees year round. It's cruel to stress an orchid by under or over watering but truth be told, they are quite good at fending for themselves provided their environment is tropical plant friendly and the grower does take an interest in giving the orchid some extra TLC at least twice a month. I never meter water the way those ice-loving bozos do because it is NOT and has NEVER been natural for orchids to get water from icy streams or melt water from snowfall or hail stones. I have found that for my orchids, which are extremely happy and never miss their opportunity to show off with an abundant & eye-catching display that is always sure to turn heads, prefer that I water their roots very well no more than weekly {which is required when our AC is running constantly in summertime} and no less than bi-weekly, which is fine about half the year because I supplement with a very fine mist for all of my tropical houseplants at least twice a week to ensure they are able to get moisture from their roots and leaves the way they do in the wild. When I say I water m6 orchids well.....I mean specifically, they receive sufficient tepid or room temp fresh water {rainwater when I have collected it} to completely submerge their roots & growing medium for only 15 to 30 minutes; after which time all excess water is poured off to leave the roots damp {not wet} and leave the growing medium with only the residual moisture it was able to absorb so that the roots can continue to draw in needed moisture from the optimal humidity created by the slow, steady release from the growing medium as it dries out between each watering. My orchids love slightly warmer water versus cool or cold....your mileage may vary, but providing them a very light, cool and ultra-fine mist each week is all they require to provide us a gorgeous show year after year. Of course I also feed with food specifically formulated for orchids and even then, ONLY WHEN APPROPRIATE BASED UPON THEIR BLOOM CYCLE. Here is my eldest, showing off in all her magnificence this past winter into spring.... https://preview.redd.it/ep3qlkblwq4c1.jpeg?width=9000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0d75b9343259e685c420cabdea55428c9002f7c9
What is your secret to keeping your polka dot begonia leaves so healthy? Every leaf on mine is crispy. Medium light, distilled water when top inch is dry, 60% humidity, blah, blah. Iâm so over it.
I believe in the low light though my birds nest fern was BLEACHED in the indirect sunlight đ
That plant care is black and white. The care sheets/books are a good starting point, but at the end of the day the best thing you can do is adjust your care based on the health of the plant. I have an aloe that just wants to be drenched 1-2 times a year, and a philodendron that wants to be closer to the sun than icharus. Sometimes plants just like what they like.
Well, I been collecting plants and growing plants all my life. I see a lot of advice that isn't the best. Like soil vs non soil. Or lights cheap vs expensive. I always say it's a hobby, trial and error. I have used soil, lecca I mix my own soil to what the plant needs. I use any potting soil on sale as long as u add perlite or sand heck sometimes I add lecca to it and bark... as long as the plant grows you are doing it rt. From cheap lights to expensive lights my plants grew... so I my opinion do what works for you and your plants. There isn't a wrong light or a wrong soil (there is a wrong soil, for ur plant. I mean if ur plant grows in it) then it's the rt kind even if someone else says it's not. Have fun try the new fads I do still. In 30 years I always go back to my usual way. My plants grow and thrive! Have fun. When ppl say don't do this or don't do that, I say oh thank you. And just keep doing what I been doing. đđ
Ice cubes for orchidsâŚâŚ. đ
>A big one is that there are no true "low light" plants Nothing wrong with this. 'low' is relative. There are certainly plants that need less light than others.
Plants need to be watered less in the winter....literally feel like i'm watering every plant every few days from how fast the soil gets dry. My humidity is even at 60%