It seems to me that I am killing my plants and I would like to halt that if at all possible. I have three plants: a spider plant, an african violet, and a pencil cactus. Currently they reside on my desk under my bed. They get some sun in the afternoon. The room temp hovers around 78 degrees fahrenheit and I don’t have any control over that.
The spider plant’s leaves are turning brown and shrivelling up. The internet seems to think that there are chemicals in the water that the plant doesn’t like and that I should switch to distilled water or rainwater or melted snow. What do you think? The spider plant.
The african violet looks ok, but it has no blooms. The internet says that means it’s not getting enough light. But the window ledge is kind of cold right now and I don’t want to move it there. It looks like african violets like fluorescent light as well. If I moved it out from under my bed and onto the shelf out in the middle of the room where it would get a lot of fluorescent light, would that help?The african violet.
Finally, the pencil cactus. I think I overwatered it. The entire plant has shrivelled up and has gone extremely brittle. Should I just let it sit and dry out? Is there any hope or anything I should do to help it out? Or is it too late and the cactus is destined for the great green house in the sky? My poor desiccated baby.
(IANAH) As someone who shares the inability to keep plants alive, I’m surprised about your spider plant; it’s about the only plant I’ve been able to keep around for more than a few months. About 3 years ago I started one at the office from a cutting my mother gave me, which has since then expanded to a half-dozen siblings.
I can only say that sometimes some leaves start to turn brown and dry up, and it must just be how it works; break them off and everything is fine. I do think it looks a bit over-watered… I limit myself to watering once a week, and they seem to be flourishing.
The ways I’ve tried to kill it include a sad attempt at composting (in the plant pot) with teabags, orange peels and coffee grounds. Don’t do that. I then later figured it might like a sugar cube in lieu of plant food, which lead to a month-long infection of nasty-smelling mould. Don’t do that either.
The most common problem for house plants is overwatering. Only water when the soil is dry.
Cactus’ will not need much water at all.
Most houseplants need as much sun as possible.
Your plants look to me like they been suffering from inconsistent watering. That is you water, neglect them for a a while until they get overly dry, then overcompensate by watering heavily. Also, IMO, you have your pot types reversed. African violets tend to prefer plastic pots and succulents (your Pencil “cactus”) do better in clay.
Try to maintain an even moisture balance with the AV and the spider plant. (Evenly moist means the soil feels like a wrung out sponge.) I have never bothered with special water for my spiders, and they do get the occasional brown tips, but that isn’t fatal, and the brown can be trimmed off.
I think your pencil cactus is a goner, but for the future, cactus and succulents can dry out completely–you should still water them thoroughly, but make sure the pot has excellent drainage and a loose soil so your plants do not stay damp.
Your plants are probably not all that happy with the high temps in your room, but that isn’t a deal-breaker.
I think your AV isn’t blooming because it needs to grow more leaves to nourish itself and regain its vigor. When it is ready, it will bloom in a bright window, or even in a room with nothing but fluorescents.
(Nanoda: A houseplant pot is too small an environment for composting. Even if it weren’t, the heat generated by the microbial activity necessary to break down food scraps would damage the roots. And plants do not need sugars as food. They make their own carbs through photosynthesis. Plant “foods” aka fertilizers, consist of mineral salts which aid them in doing so.)
Guilty face It’s true. I do neglect them. Sob As for the pots, I live in a college dorm and don’t have the equipment or knowledge to mess around with repotting. Maybe I’ll take them home with me next weekend and see if I can maybe switch them around. The earth in the pots is really compact. That can’t be good.
No composting or sugar cubes. Check
Thank you all, for your advice. I really appreciate it.
The one piece of advice I’ve gotten about African violets is to water them from underneath – that is, put water in the saucer and let it be taken up through the holes in the bottom of the pot by capillary action. Supposedly African violets don’t like water on their leaves. Sounds loopy, but that’s the advice I got from someone who had beautiful African violets.
In general, almost all plant issues in the house are due to watering. Underwatering produces a pretty obvious result: plants shrivel up and die. But over-watering will kill most plants just as effectively, though the signs are less obvious until the problem is quite advanced.
I have heard this too, but since I always kill african violets, I’m not an authority…
I think the cactus is a goner…
The spider plant looks like it might be a victim of low humidity. In the winter with the heat on, the plant might need some extra humidity. You can accomplish this by lightly misting the leaves once a week. Be careful, because too much water - like if the leaves are dripping - can lead to mold and fungus. Try to do it in the morning so the sun can evaporate the water before nightfall. You can also try packing moss in the rim of the water tray at the bottom and spraying that. Also, always keep the brown tips trimmed.
Could be, but that would probably cause the brown leaf tips that are common in spider plants, not shriveling up of the whole leaf (unless it has a vent spewing hot air on it directly). You can try upping the humidity a bit by mounting the pot over (but not touching) a tray or saucer of water. Water the plant itself only when the soil surface has dried out.
Your cactus is dead. R.I.P. There is no right or wrong interval for watering a cactus as it depends on soil, state of growth and environmental conditions. You definitely don’t want to water a mature cactus until the soil has completely dried out. A dormant one might be OK with monthly watering; in active growth once a week might be good.
African violets like bright light, warmth (68-80F) and well-drained soil that never gets soggy. Being 6 feet under fluorescent lights probably won’t help an AV flower. 1 foot is more like it.
And there’s no such thing as a green thumb, or a black thumb - just people who enjoy growing plants enough to find out what they like, as opposed to those who don’t have the time or inclination to do so.
About your water having “bad chemicals”, have you checked your PH? If the PH is out of range, that will prevent the plant from up-taking the nutrients it needs (nutrient lockout). Soil likes a little bit of alkalinity, you may need to shoot for something in the 6.3 - 6.8 PH range. What happens when you’re above or below this number is that your plant cannot absorb the nutrients they need to be healthy.
Also, I wouldn’t simply water when the surface of the soil is dry, the rest of the pot has to dry out too. The top portion will tend to dry out fairly quickly because it’s exposed to air and light and can be deceiving as to when to water again. It’s important to let the rest of the pot dry out to allow oxygenated air to get to the root system too. If you’re always watering, you’re preventing oxygen from getting to the roots. A good way to know is to lift the pot when it is dry, and lift when it is wet (just watered), and get a feel for when it is truly dried out. Only water when it has completely dried out to the best of your knowledge.
I have no advice, but I can sympathize; I too have an irredeemable black thumb, and I’ll be watching this thread closely. Thanks for starting it!
I’m mostly certain that my problem is overwatering, as my husband can keep our houseplants alive quite nicely if he’s the only one to touch them. Oh, well.
The soil is wrong for the plants. Buy african violet mix. You can use the same for the spider plant. The plants are having water problems because of the soil, and they are not getting enough at some point. The brown die back on the leaves shows that. The new soil should allow the plants to recover and make the watering problem less of a problem. The spider plant is the light green of a water deficient plant. They can live in water alone, so you can’t over water it. I could always tell a spider plant needed water, by the lighter color of the leaves. The african violet needs to be watered then let the soil become almost dry not bleached bone dry, then water again. They main problem is you are not watching the plants close enough and they are drying out.
The white crustiness on the clay pot in mineral build up caused by lime or too much fertilizing. Leaves dying back can be to much fertilizer too.
