Hello fellow plant lovers. I’m about ready to give up here. My Silver satin exotica has been doing this browning of the edges for quite some time now, and I do not understand why. I’ve been told everything from over to under watering. Can you all help me figure out why this keeps happening please, and what to do to stop it? I’m ready to toss it, because it’s killing confidence of plant care. Thanks 😊
Based on my experience and what I was told, this is due to inconsistent watering. Don’t beat yourself over it, I have scindapsus looking absolutely amazing climbing moss poles or vining and I have some doing just like yours.
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It can also be a sign of some kind of nutrient deficiency. Perhaps a soil change would be in order? It would give you a chance to look at the roots for any rot, too
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I’m not an expert but I have noticed that my plants that like the chunky soil always do better in terra cotta pots or something very breathable. They just do so much better. Plastic pots and glazed ceramics are the kiss of death.
2 J'aime It’s in a clear nursery pot, inside the planter. I hesitate with Terra cotta now, since every plant I’ve put into it, has suffered from the roots getting stuck on the pot, or declining in one way or another 🤷♀️ I will give it a try though, before I lose my mind with this plant. Do you have the same plant in terra cotta and a chunky mix now?
0 J'aime Not that exact plant but some very like it. This one is outside and I do live in high humidity, though when I have to bring it in in the winter I make sure to mist it when planta tells me to. Good luck. Don’t give up! I’m about 3 years into my plant journey and I learn something new every day. (And my graveyard is abysmal-but my heart was in the right place)
It’s absolutely beautiful! Well done! 👏 Thank you for your help! I think I’m in over my head, especially with this one. I won’t give up though! (Thank you!) Btw, my graveyard is so sad too. I cant bring myself to even look into it 😉
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Do you mist the plant? I’ve had to get a humidifier and start misting certain plants because the edges and tips will start to get crispy if I don’t.
1 j'aime No, I’ve never misted it, but most of the time the humidifier is going just underneath. Good catch though! Do you find misting does truly help?
0 J'aime I think it’s really a preference. I think for the truly tropical plants a humidifier doesn’t really help unless it’s in an enclosed space that can contain all that extra humidity so maybe misting it forces the plant to have that extra moisture on it’s surface. You just have to be careful with misting and certain plants because some plants don’t like having standing water on them.
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Mine started look like this and I couldn’t save it no matter what I did so I propagated any healthy leaves left and tossed the rest. It took a few months but I now have a healthy plant that I’ve been keeping on top of watering & it’s been doing great! Sometimes a refresh is needed.
0 J'aime Ugh So frustrating, right? K… Meg! I need you to tell me exactly what you did please 🙏 I have maybe 3 perfect leaves left, and they are sprouting new leaves soon. I’ll give it one more shot. Did you water prop? What type of soil did you use, and type of pot? And, how do you water it? I’ve read everything from let it dry completely, to keep it slightly moist. Please tell me your method? 🥺
1 j'aime Sorry if this is a long one but it was sooo frustrating, especially because she was thriving just a few months before this happened! I also waited until she started pushing out smaller leaves before I tried propagating, so she’s on the smaller side right now but each new leaf she pushes out is getting bigger & bigger!! I let the cuttings dry out overnight to help prevent root rot, then placed them in water in a glass jar and topped it off with fresh filtered water weekly. I tried rooting hormone powder and it honestly did nothing for me. If you want to promote root growth put a pothos cutting in with them. They give off rooting hormones that worked better for me! I put them under a grow light and then forgot about them for a few months until the roots grew looonggg. After that I potted them in a chunky mix (1:1:1 potting soil, orchid bark, and perlite) but there are a lot of great mix options out there depending on what you have access to! She’s in a clear pot so I can monitor the roots, check for rot, and see how wet the soil is. The first few weeks I kept her on the moister side while she adjusted. Now I follow planta’s watering recommendations. She was being a little dramatic and dropped a yellow leaf, but now she’s doing really good and pushing off two new leaves at once. She lives near a west facing window, gets some afternoon light, and is very happy there. It feels good to have saved her, but honestly I got into this hobby to find peace and joy in these plants. So if a plant just does not want to live no matter what I do, I am also very okay with letting it go, buying a fresh healthy one, and learning how to help that one thrive instead. Good luck!!
1 j'aime Thank you so much for all of the details! I completely understand the frustration, when it is supposed to be a kind of calming, and enjoyable hobby. I’ve become overwhelmed, and not really enjoying it anymore. I want to get back to it being joyful, so I’m going to adopt what you said, about starting over, and just get rid of the ones that are “trouble makers” 😉, or I just don’t like. I haven’t been able to do that yet. I’ll be propping this one today, thanks to all of you, and if it doesn’t make it… meh! 🫤 thank you again Meg!!
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