My ppp hates me (except my cuttings in water). Help. I’ve run out of ideas!! My last resort is to chop her again and start afresh. Other, less drastic ideas welcome. She’s in a specialist mix which she seemingly hates. I’m stuck. 😭. I want to love her!
I feel the same way about my dieffenbachias lol
1 like We do we do this to ourselves 😂
0 likes Exactly but I have only killed dieffenbachias but I refuse to let them get the best of me. So I keep buying them to figure them out. I currently have 41 plants 3 of which are dieffenbachias. So maybe this will be the first time that I will keep one alive
1 likeSorry for the incoming novel, the too long;don’t read version is: 1) chunky soil and don’t overwater to avoid root rot, 2) improve the support your PPP has, and 3) give it as much bright indirect sunlight as you can. If you’re not ready to chop again you could check her roots and see how they look. If she’s looking root bound or has root rot I’d repot (and remove the rotted roots ofc). My PPPs do NOT like to be overwatered, so I have them in a chunkier mix of indoor potting soil, perlite, and some moderately coarse orchid bark. From your pics the soil you have does look fairly chunky so you may already be in a good place there, but it’s always a good idea to check the roots to see what’s going on.
2 likesAnother is to address her support. I like the trellis you have in that something is better than nothing for climbing plants like PPP, but it looks like she’s outgrown what she has now as the new growth is above it. For my personal understanding, I think about plant supports like standing on a latter to work on your roof. Once you get to the top of the latter you either have to stand on it, balance and reach, or lean against the house and reach, neither of which are safe, ideal situations; much like a climbing plant reaching the top of their support, there’s nowhere else for them to go so they start doing weird things like standing on one foot and holding onto the gutter lol. I’d recommend extending what you have, replacing and getting something taller, or do something with organic material like a sphagnum moss pole if you’re looking to try something different. Moss poles are a bit more work since you usually have to make them and then water to keep moist, but since they’re made of organic material they simulate the plant’s natural environment a bit better and can help it thrive and not just survive. Also, as a perk you don’t have to water the base pot as often because the plant is (ideally) rooting into the pole, reducing your chance for root rot. **I will say if you go the moss pole route and it does start thriving, the thriving will only happen at the top with the new growth, or from the soil if it sprouts a baby. The current leaves may perk up a bit, but it won’t put out new, happy looking leaves in the middle of the vine (at least mine haven’t yet) so keep that in mind. If you’re looking for a totally happy looking plant from bottom to top a bit of a chop might still be needed long term so it can grow happy up the pole, but the chop would be more for the visual/aesthetic not because it truly needs it.
3 likesAnother direction to look into is the amount of light she’s getting. In the pictures you have the shades closed and if that’s the norm, she’s likely not getting enough light. PPP love bright indirect sunlight as long as you can give her, and even some direct sunlight can be ok too if it’s not for an extended period of time and if you’re ok with a little lightening/bleaching of the pure pink sections of the leaves. You can supplement with a grow light if you live somewhere where most-of-the-day bright indirect sunlight isn’t possible, but until she gets more light she will probably keep “hating” you as you said haha. You may have tried some/all of these so I may be off-base but after addressing the soil/watering, support, and light with my own picky PPPs it seemed to do the trick so hope something helps!!
1 like Thank you so much!! She’s in a specialist philodendron mix from soil ninja so that box is ticked as that was my initial concern that her mix was off… and as her repot was about 6 weeks ago I can confirm she’s not root bound. The blinds are shut in the photo as it was evening and I’d closed them, they’re open during the day. She’s in a west facing window (uk) so gets plenty of indirect light during the day, she was in my south room about 1.5 metres from the window which didn’t work her so moved her back to the west window. I think what I need to do is chop and buy a proper support for her,.. I want her to thrive and I think that’s the only way. I’ve got a new propagation station on the way so maybe it’s sign lol. Thank you again!!
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