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This little guy has a few bad spots. Any suggestions on what I should… | Plant Recovery Room | Planta community

Stephanie

This little guy has a few bad spots. Any suggestions on what I should do. Thanks

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6 comments

  1. Alyssa

    It looks like it’s suffering from root problems and too hydrophobic of soil, since it’s pulling away from the pot but looks very dense and water retentive at the same time. Also, too big and deep of a pot for how small the plant is. So, there’s gonna be a long list of what to do lol 1) I’d recommend repotting it in a terracotta pot about two inches smaller in diameter than this one 2) get some cactus succulent soil from Target (it’s stored inside rather than outside like other soil stores and therefore will have a lesser chance of having plant pests laying eggs inside of the bag), get some perlite and orchid bark as well (I get mine off of amazon). 3) take the plant out of the pot and soil, have a bowl of water next to you, try to get off as much dirt as possible around the roots, if it’s stuck or hardened then dunk the root ball into the water bowl and massage the roots underwater with your hand to loosen it all off 4) look at the roots, if there are ones that are brown or mushy or smell like rotting, cut those off with clean sterilized scissors, cut off any mushy leaves too 6) Mix some of the soil and orchid bark and perlite together in a bowl until it looks like a chunky cereal mix and pot up the plant gently into the pot. Making sure that the soil line is no more than an inch or so below the pot rim. 6) water once thoroughly, then do not water for 10-12 days, or when the soil is dry all the way down to the drainage hole. Keep it in higher light than what they say with pothos, especially with the white variegation it needs more light since only the green parts of the leaves can complete full photosynthesis

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    • Stephanie

      Thanks for the help. I have a few questions now too. I have never used a terracotta pot for any plant except Succulents. So it is ok for the pothos? I have all the soil you suggested so I can do a good mix. The leaves are not mushy just crisp brown spots. Should I trim them off? Thanks so much

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    • Alyssa

      Of course! Oh yeah it’s totally fine, they are hardy plants and don’t like to sit in water too long, I have my big beautiful global green pothos in terracotta and it’s still pumping out leaves in the dead of winter. Okay cool! Ah I see, yeah if it’s crispy just trim off a little bit of the leaf and not the whole thing. Did you have it in high light? Could be heavy minerals in the tap water or fertilizer burn

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    • Alyssa
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    • Stephanie

      It's in a east facing window so it get good light but not high. I use tap water but I set it out for a few days before I use it. But I like the idea of rain water (that I got from this app). I live in the PNW so we get rain and I will start putting buckets out. Thanks so much. I'm really enjoying this app. I wish I got it sooner. I have had several plant funerals cause I didn't care for them right (loved them to death) lol

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    • Alyssa

      That’s good, that’s an east facing window I have as well. Yeah you could do that for sure! That’s definitely better for your plant I’m sure. Of course! Happy to help, hopefully that helps the little guy bounce back. Aww haha poor things, it’s okay we learn some and we lose some, just part of figuring out plants lol

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