For years I’ve been a lurker in the plant world, admiring all your thriving jungles from afar. Growing up I was always the one a little too obsessed with nature, but last week I finally said: “It’s time.” I ordered my very first official plant haul and on Aug 14th these beauties arrived: • 🌱 4PK Pothos (random selection) → 2 × Marble Queen, Golden Pothos, Scindapsus Variegated • 🌱 4PK Essential Houseplants (random) → Ficus elastica ‘Tineke’, Monstera adansonii ssp. laniata, Philodendron tortum (fern leaf), Heartleaf Philodendron (Brasil) • 🌱 Personal wishlist picks → Calathea Rattlesnake & Calathea Dottie (painted prayer plant) They’re now set up on a 57” bamboo 7-tier plant shelf, about 9 ft across from a southeast-facing window, with LED strip grow lights (3 modes: warm white, red, full spectrum). Currently running full spectrum (380–780nm) on a 12hr cycle. 👉 Placement so far (based on what I’ve learned & been told): • Bottom tier (shadier/humid zone): Calathea Rattlesnake + Dottie (prayer plant). After the first night home, my rattlesnake stretched dramatically toward the window, so I asked ChatGPT and was advised to keep the two calatheas on the bottom shelf where humidity is higher and light is less direct. • Middle tiers (moderate light): Pothos crew, Heartleaf Philodendron, Scindapsus • Upper tiers (closer to lights): Ficus Tineke, Monstera adansonii, Philodendron tortum, Marble Queens, Golden Pothos I’ve got a humidifier, soil moisture meter, sprayer, and plant food ready to go. 💧🌬️ 💭 Concerns: • My Monstera adansonii came in rough (droopy + bleach spots), and my app already flagged him as “not well.” Soil is still wet from shipping, but he looks unhappy even with light. • My Scindapsus leaves are feeling dry/crunchy to the touch even though the soil still reads moist. Not sure if that’s stress from shipping or something I should act on. 👉 For those who own any of these — what’s your best advice for long-term success? What’s something you wish someone had told you in the beginning about these plants? ((in photo attached plants were in different until i came home the next day to find the rattlesnake reaching for the south facing window so that’s why it mentions i changed their placements around a bit, i’ll have to admit i do have a live king camera on plants and the rattle & prayer look a bit happier at the bottom… i’m dying to put the rattlesnake snake on my gaming desk & the prayer back up up top as i wont those two to show off the most))
