Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
kelby_miller

Help My New House Plants Please

Kelby Miller
10 years ago

So I figured out the names of my new plants from my moms funeral and now I need some help taking care of them.

I live in zone 6-6b in south central PA. The heat in my house is set between 63-67 so it stays pretty cool in here while it's cold outside.

They all came in one basket which I have repotted into seperate pots with drainage holes on the bottom. After I repotted them I watered all of them until the water started coming out of the drainage hole and then let them sit in the sink for an hour. Then I placed them all in a NE facing window that has some pine trees over it. I did this last Sunday and we have not had any sunny day since.

I think they may be over watered but I'm not sure what else I can do to make the soil dry out. I have moved them to a table in front of a South facing window and prayed for some sun.

Please let me know what else I can do for my plants. Here they are:

#1 - Diffenbachia
#2 - Dracaena deremensis
#3 - Pothos I think or may be philodendron?
#6 - Possibly Ardisia crenata
#5 - May be Dracaena godseffiana, gold-dust dracaena
#6 - Looks like Oleander

1.
{{gwi:376049}}

2.
{{gwi:376050}}

3.
{{gwi:376051}}

4.
{{gwi:376052}}

5.
{{gwi:376053}}

6.
{{gwi:376054}}

Comments (12)

  • brodyjames_gw
    10 years ago

    If it were me, I would get rid of the moss, pull out all the plants and add much more perlite to the soil...like 50/50 ratio at least. Then I would repot and put the plants in a window with bright but indirect light and water in a few days to a week.
    Let's see what others have to say.

    Nancy

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    10 years ago

    Ditch the moss, improve the potting mix, use smaller pots, and give more light, as Nancy says. Now is a tough time of year to be doing root-work, so expect a slower recovery.

    Josh

  • eaksqueak
    10 years ago

    I am sorry about the loss of your mother. That is not a happy way to acquire new houseplants, but I can understand why you want to keep them. You were right to move the plants into separate pots, and I imagine you went to a lot of expense and effort to pot them all up, so I feel bad saying this, but they do look like they are overpotted. Houseplants need for the soil to dry out some between waterings so that their roots can absorb oxygen. You can reuse the current potting soil as long as it isn't moldy, just amend it with perlite as the others recommended. You can find it at any garden center. It will make the soil lighter and less water retentive. Also try to move down a pot size or two, save your larger ones, and with luck the plants will grow and be ready for the larger pots in another year or two. I am also in Pennsylvania. We can't control the weather. I have several of the same plants that you have. If they can make it through the winter then they can be placed in a covered and shady area outside in the spring and they will rebound. Good luck.

  • meyermike_1micha
    10 years ago

    I too am sorry about your Mom...I can understand why you want them to survive..

    I agree with everyone that posted before me...Maybe you can encourage new healthy root growth with the great suggestions...I wish you and your plants well..

    Mike

  • grrr4200
    10 years ago

    Very sorry for the loss of your mom.

    I agree with the above. Some of these dont need pots as big, a couple look cold burned. And all of them are over watered. Get them out, add some perlite and give them some time to adjust. If you want to keep them alive dont kill them with to much love

  • Kelby Miller
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thought Id update everyone on the progress of my plants. Some are doing okay but others aren't. i finally got some perlite today so i'll be mixing that in today. They are all in a southern facing window now.

    {{gwi:116492}}
    {{gwi:116493}}
    {{gwi:116494}}
    {{gwi:116495}}

  • teengardener1888
    10 years ago

    Out of all those plants, the Philodendron hederaceum is the most enduring. If any of them survive and thrive, it should be that one. Yet I believe all of them have a chance to survive and maybe even thrive. Please carry on with tendersoft care and they should all recover

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    10 years ago

    I feel like we started reading a mystery novel someone had ripped the first 2 chapters out of. I'm engrossed, but not sure I know what's going on at all. This may just be the adjustment to being recently disturbed/repotted.

    I'm wondering if this soil is so dry it's hydrophobic, not really getting wet when you add water, just running out of the bottom? After you water, are the pots a lot heavier? That kind of soil mix moves around when water is poured on it, squirting the surface with a spray bottle can help it accept some moisture without moving it around (which compacts it) so much.

    Generally, I would make an effort to improve the soil, but IDK about doing it so soon after the recent trauma already experienced, during such dreary weather.

    I think #6 might be a croton (Codiaeum,) BTW.

  • eaksqueak
    10 years ago

    If the soil is hydrophobic you can try setting the pot down inside another container with water in it and let it absorb the water from the bottom. This is actually how I water most of my plants. I use distilled water, though.

  • Kelby Miller
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Hey again.

    Could you guys help figure out what's going on with my Dracaena deremensis? The original picture is #2 in my first post.

    Here is what it looks like now. Is that roots growing out of the top of my plant?

    {{gwi:116496}}

  • MsGreenFinger GW
    9 years ago

    That is a new shoot as I can see. It seems to me that your plant is finally recovering.
    How about the others?

  • Kelby Miller
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Here is how the rest of my plants are doing. Better I hope:

    1.{{gwi:116497}}

    2.{{gwi:116496}}

    3.{{gwi:116498}}

    4.{{gwi:116499}}

    5. {{gwi:116500}}

    6. Didn't make it :-(