Pffft. If you're not killing something, you're not a real gardener.* Days like that aren't unusual. But neither are the days where one of the plants does something cool that you didn't know it was capable of, and then you're off and running again.

*(Not an original subjunctivism; I'd credit whoever said it first if I could recall who that was.)

I know just how you feel, Lori. I saw a bonsai show being set up about 12 years ago, give or take a couple, and I knew I wanted to learn 'how to do that' with plants. I signed up for an adult education workshop where we did a little juniper & I thought I was all set to go. I found out very quickly that I hadn't the skills needed to keep the plants alive, so I gave up bonsai for awhile, in favor of studying about it. I read all I could about the practice of bonsai and about plant physiology until I felt better about my chances.

I think that acquiring growing skills is much like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. We all stumble around in the dark for awhile until we finally get the outside border put together. This is our basic knowledge and about there is where we turn the corner and can keep our plants alive, but not necessarily flourishing. Many people get stuck, right there. The good news is, once we get that border completed, the rest of the knowledge comes faster and makes more sense, because it's all connected in one way or another with that basic knowledge we started with, and we're just building on that. It does take some effort to fill in the middle of the puzzle, but you seem willing enough to try, because I see your posts fairly often on the forums.

What a shame it would be if you quit now. You probably only need a few more pieces and you'll have the border complete, so don't give up. ;o)

Lots of people have brought me plants that are dying and they don't know why. Invariably, if it is not an inadequate light issue, the problem can, 90+% of the time be traced to inappropriate soils and the accumulative effects of bad watering habits (to prevent root rot) associated with the inappropriate soils. Even most insect problems can be traced to the weakening effects and stress of a poor soil. My guess is that your woes are caused by what you're growing in. I could be wrong, but the odds are overwhelmingly in my favor.

If you wish, I can help you with your soil choice here or via e-mail. I'll even send you a bag of soil to try, so you can see for yourself how much difference an appropriate soil can make.

I have found that almost every container gardener makes a huge leap forward when they gain a solid understanding of the plant/soil relationship and what is required of a soil to insure good vitality.

Good luck, Lori.

Al

I know exactly how you feel Lori!!!

Right now my plants all still look good as they have not been in the house long. But I was doing some watering last night and crawling around trying to get everyone and grumbling under my breath about what the heck I thought I was doing. I have neither enough room or light for all my plants. In a month or so they will all start showing signs of stress and I will drive myself crazy trying to keep them all alive till next spring so I can take them outside. And the spider mites will show their ugly heads too. But I do it every darn year. My family thinks IÂm nuts but I really love the darn things and donÂt want to give them up. In fact I would love to get a new one or two but donÂt know what I would do with it.

Just hang in there and know you are not alone!

p.s.
Really watch the watering of that banana. They are VERY easy to rot in the winter in the house! Check it for mites too.

Jane

The posts above are so inspiring that I'm not sure what else I can add. I think Al summarized it very well, and I also think you have the potential and passion to continue growing plants and to become quite proficient in this wonderful hobby. It takes time and practice, oddles of hands-on experience, research galore and many, many, oh so many casualties along the way. I've been doing this for twenty years and still have frustrating moments, mostly with feeding errors. So don't feel bad...

Take Al up on his offer. You'll find that a lot of problems stem from the growing medium, mainly watering woes.

And remember, this is supposed to be a hobby...fun... Enjoy it and forgive the ocassional casualty. It's all part of the learning process, even after many years.

Horticulture is both a science and an art. Plants are living things and full of surprises and lessons to teach us. Anyone who knows how to grow them has killed bunches of them during the learning process.

I've been growing plants for almost 30 years, and I still have times where the bugs get ahead of me, or I just can't seem to get the watering right on certain varieties of plants. And not having enough light for everything I want to grow is always a big problem.

Sometimes it helps to reduce your collection to a number that you can manage without feeling overwhelmed. I have found that when I get too many plants, I seem to almost intentionally "let" some of them die until I get back to a number I can handle.

Remember it's supposed to be fun. And go to your library and get a pile of books to read over the winter. The more you learn, the better care you'll be able to give your plants. Good luck and enjoy!

Hi all,
Thanks for the words of encouragement and thanks for the good sound advice. Al, I would like to email you about soil. I am one of those people that uses a course "all purpose" potting mix for just about everything. Always with added fertilizer and I usually add pebbles in the pots for drainage.
Although I DO have alot of plants that are fairly new to me, the thing that caused my meltdown yesterday is it is my OLDER, established plants that are beginning to really act up! I have had some of these plants a long time in the same conditions, and all the sudden they are going to revolt and go leaf up?? Why, oh why? It is frustrating and quiet frankly, they are making me feel incompetent! (thus the monumental meltdown).
I read, read and read everyday all day about these crazy plants. As I am a stay at home mom with school aged children, it is really all I do all day. Fuss over these plants. And how dare they start dying on me now, darn it! (lol)
I am currently troubleshooting several plant problems so don't be surprised to see more posts from me shortly. Thanks in advance for your patience.
I appreciate this board very much.
Lori

Lori,please post all the questions you need answers to there are so many experienced folks on this forum.It's impossible to ask to many.

I have no problem chatting by mail or answering here, Lori. Whatever you're most comfortable with.

I think that many folks here could benefit from an in-depth discussion on soils and how they relate to plant vitality and many of the usual problems that appear regularly on this forum. I'd even be willing to start a separate thread for that discussion.

There is a current, active thread on soils in/on the Container Gardening forum I started in Mar of '05 that has had almost 500 posts to it, so I'm pretty sure a discussion here would help quite a few houseplant folks. There's no sense in starting it if there's little interest, though.

Al

Al, I would LOVE for you to start such a thread, and I'm sure many others would as well. Your advice is always sound and I would be very interested to hear your experiences with soil mixes, as this is an area I would like to learn more about. I'm heading over to the container gardening thread you mentioned, but would love to see one on the houseplants forum, too. Thanks!

Is your palm like a Majesty Palm??? (those ones that they sell everywhere in early Spring?? I think it is a Majesty, or is it parlor palm? Anyway to get to the point, I had a palm in my house for about 3 years or so, maybe a few more years then that but it is suppose to be really hard to grow indoors. I got a kind of smug satisfaction over the fact that mine had done so well for so long, well It had tons of brown tips, looked horrid! I gave it away, hehehe. I had really ran out of room anyway, I had 4 more plants outside and no place to put any of them, but I scrunched in the other three and sent that one down the road, I think I should feel worse then I do about it seeing as I had had it for so long but nope I am just glad I can't look at those brown tips any longer!
When I get discouraged with a plant or get overwelmed I do have a thing with passing them out to people:)
Soil is a big issue, I used to use the all purpose soil as well (my spider plants did better in the all purpose soil though curiously enough)
Do please post a thread about Soil Al, I may be mixing my soil wrong.

If a bunch of them are going bad on you all at once, something in their environment is likely the problem. Maybe the last batch of soil was lousy, or maybe you need to repot (although this is not a good time of year for that). Maybe there is a pest or disease infestation that you haven't yet found.

Maybe it is something simple like a cold draft, or cooler temperatures/shorter days/cloudy weather causing a need for less water but you may still be watering in the amounts you usually do. Do you have hot, dry heat that you recently started using? A water softener that you just put in that may be adding salt to your water? Different fertilizer?

Try to figure out what has changed recently and get back to us with some specifics - we'll try to help.

jane5 z5 MO

You can get rid of mites with a systemic spray from Ortho. You can also prop a shop light up on books or bricks and keep plants under them. Fluorescent shop lights can be found at Wal*Mart for $10 or a bit more. No need to let them falter and stress over the winter. :)

greenhouser,

Thanks for the heads up on the spray from Ortho. I will have to look into that.

As for the shop lights, I have a bunch of them, hence the crawling around trying to get to all my plants as I have them pretty close together in the basement. I also have a spare bedroom with an east and south window that is just packed with plants. We have two very large dogs (100 and 160 pounds) and 5 inside cats, so these are the only two places safe for plants in my house.

I know its just November, but I am ready for spring already.
I hate being cold!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jane

Watergal, I think I am narrowing down what the problem(s) could be. I think it is a combination of cooler temps in the house, the use of heat all the sudden and the shift in light due to the time of year it is and the time change. I spent all day yesterday doing THE PLANT SHUFFLE. Trying to find better light for my plants. The way my house sits, the sun is now coming in at really odd angles and of course going down alot sooner. My plants aren't getting the light they were. It is frustrating because I have been through several winters with some of these guys and never had a problem before. My 5 year old Peace Lily is suddenly browning on the tips. My Dragon Tree is dropping leaves, my Palm (washingtonia robusta) is yellowing, my shefflera's are droopy. It is maddening! I am not an overwater-er and I never allow anything to sit in water, as I tip and drain. I think it's a light issue and probably a soil issue now that I have read Al's soil thread.
Lori