--- title: "I messed up pretty big! My pink princess has had a hard life… She was…" description: "I messed up pretty big! My pink princess has had a hard life… She was mailed under the worst conditions I’ve received yet. The first leaf she unfurled came out…" url: "https://getplanta.com/community/GpJkJG2qS7KZ7LpSwQwhSg/6558297fb3f7642decc894fb" community: "Propagating & Sowing" author: "Evil Plant Dad" published: "2023-11-18T03:03:27.042Z" language: "en" image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/fs3DSLffppJMqyQA4_c5AWI8_gqDeE1o_Njg6yZre_Q/862c4f4fe4a9411d9cfe2810abff64cc.webp?size=large" --- [Community](https://getplanta.com/community.md) / [Propagating \& Sowing](https://getplanta.com/community/GpJkJG2qS7KZ7LpSwQwhSg.md) # I messed up pretty big! My pink princess has had a hard life… She was… _Posted by Evil Plant Dad on 2023-11-18_ I messed up pretty big! My pink princess has had a hard life… She was mailed under the worst conditions I’ve received yet. The first leaf she unfurled came out deformed. An amazing variegated leaf came out next and then we started having soil water retention issues. The leaves formed weird “water blisters” that would pop and destroy the leaves turning them to mush. I knew something drastic had to be done fast so I switched to PON. This little princess stabilized but then started popping out strange ultra dark, near black, leaves. So imagine me as I see a healthy, normal colored, highly variegated leaf has grown but is stuck inside the stem. I tried to help the leaf out a little and SNAP 😭 this princess seems to have bad luck.. or is it me? I’m fed up with the look of this plant at this point so here’s my first attempt at a couple things. 1\. CHOP- I cut at the stem leaving only two good leaves 😵 2\. PROP- (a) I took the only healthy leaves from the top cutting and cut them into individual cuttings with their own individual nodes (b) all other nodes were cut individually and put into moss to attempt to propagate them as “wet sticks” I just happened to be propagating a golden pothos which actually helps other plants root in water so I stuck my leaves in there and now only time can tell if I’m destined to have a beautiful princess of my own. ![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/fs3DSLffppJMqyQA4_c5AWI8_gqDeE1o_Njg6yZre_Q/862c4f4fe4a9411d9cfe2810abff64cc.webp?size=large) ## 9 comments ### Kirsty commented on 2023-11-18 Good luck! ### Alysia 🪴 commented on 2023-11-18 I love your determination. Wishing your pink princess all the best 💕 ### MissyPlantyMom commented on 2023-11-18 The leaves do tend to get stuck in the sheath, I actually use a wet safety swap qtip to gently nudge it out.. Sometimes a chop \& prop is best since it sounds like it’s really struggling 😢 ![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/tQ7VoMEQ2rKbbg9h82Xtxz34KsBH0iAi_8vIqq8nzzA/9c98947cf8ac4ff1b24db8298c9d7e7b.webp?size=large) ### Althepal54 commented on 2023-11-18 Best of luck my dude! Sending you thoughts and prayers 🌱 ✌🏼 ### Chantal commented on 2023-11-21 I did the same thing to my pink princess! I got her off of marketplace and it was obvious she didn’t get the right care. The first leaf she grew after I got her snapped, and the second came out deformed. She had root rot when she came to me, and I waited a month for her to get used to her new living conditions before I completely chopped down to the first two leaves. I’ve got 12 wet sticks in moss that are starting to show new growth finally. I’m hoping they have the variegation the mother plant lost. Good luck growing the cuttings! #### Evil Plant Dad replied on 2023-11-21 Thank you! Good luck to you too! How long did the wet sticks take to start sprouting new growth? #### Chantal replied on 2023-11-21 I did initially have them with the leaves attached in water with my pothos cuttings for about a week but once the leaves started to go brown I chopped them off and stuck them in the moss. I do have them on a heated mat to help them out. I think it’s been almost three weeks in the moss. I started noticing the growth points popping out a few days ago. #### Evil Plant Dad replied on 2023-11-22 Oh nice I have a heated mat but wasn’t sure if heat was good for wet sticks too. Maybe I’ll stick them on top of it ### JWahlberg commented on 2025-01-28 I also am having issues with mine having weird growth too. I wondered if it was the water or soil. I repotted and started boiling my water. It's been several months now and I am just now starting to get a few normal leaves. The ones I was getting looked rusted. ![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/vjWbLg2QGkCR9ndXZJJ_JW5mcJdKzDXddMLjPf-KQAU/KsRD7uckS9OCR4w--mDXyg.webp?size=large) --- _Source: the Planta community (https://getplanta.com). Reading is open to everyone. To post, comment and like, get the Planta app: https://getplanta.com/download_