The soil looks kind of dry in the last picture...when did you water it the last time?

Feel free to ignore me and take better advice from the experts-I not that good at gardening. Brown thumb here ~~

Is this how it looks now? Would you say it's declining, gaining vitality, or just holding its own? Where do you live. What did you use for soil and when did you repot? Did you repot (including root pruning) or just pot up? Fertilizing - with what? Watering so you flush the soil each time you water, or won't soil allow proper watering? Monitoring water needs carefully?

It definitely needs more light. Any chance it could be moved outdoors if/when temps allow?

Al

My first thought is to prune during July, by half. It seems like a lot but it needs to branch to the side.

I agree with it needing more light. It seems to be stretching for it. I would prune it in June too.

Thank you all for responses.

Al, This is how it currently looks. It is holding its own, however, all the small lower leaves where achieved by some notching I tried several months ago. I live in Seattle and unfortunately only have windows on east side. (This plant and myself are both seriously lacking in sunlight this year!) We are having some sunny days (early) now but it is definitely too cold at night for it. Our summers are glorious and I could take it outside but I don't want to cook it! I did the repot up a year ago around June, i pruned roots as well. I just have some regular bag of houseplant soil from a box store. I have fed it a basic all purpose, 24-8-16. I do not think the water flushes each time. I do gently dust off the leaves every couple of months so he takes in as much as his light as possible.

What temps are safe outside? Should I repot with a new specific soil? Prune roots again in June? Should I get a different fertilizer? Should I cut off some of the super tall spindly tops? Do you have a recommendation on watering? I let the soil dry before watering again.

Thank you so much.

I think you will benefit from reading this. Pay particular attention to the part that talks about flushing the soil as part of getting the plant headed toward better vitality.

Safe temps outdoors are above 60* during the day and/or when night temps are reliably above 55* They like the 72-82* range best.

If growers would set their benchmark for the minimum standard as a soil you can water correctly w/o the plant paying a toll due to prolonged periods of soil saturation. Yes, it's convenient to water only every 3-4 weeks, but soils that can go that long between waterings are very limiting in terms of lost potential in several areas, growth health, and eye appeal being the big 3. There are many ways to get there, but all require a lot of chunky material in the medium and only small volumes of fine material (peat, coir, compost, composted forest products, sand, .........). These are the two basic soils I make and use:

The fertilizer you're using is what I used up until about 6-7 years ago when I discovered there was such a product as Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 by Dyna-Gro, which is what I use now for virtually everything I grow. I'm very pleased with how it performs, especially with plants grown in low light - like most houseplants. As long as the soil you're using has been limed or you make provisions to ensure your plant has a source of Ca and Mg, the 24-8-16 will work well. If you ck the label, you'll see a glaring absence of those 2 very important nutrients.

Cut the tops back in June if you get the plant headed in the right direction. A healthy plant responds much more robustly to pruning than a plant just getting by.

Follow the watering tips/instructions at the link I left for you to read. I'd invest a dollar or two in a 5/16" wood dowel and sharpen the ends in a pencil sharpener so it can be used as a 'tell' that will let you know when it's time to water.

Al

thank you so much for all the advice! i will work on this!

Al- one last question- I have thoroughly read everything! What exactly is your recipe for soil? Everything you have said makes so much sense about the watering retaining or draining. Is there a good recipe for soil or a brand you recommend? I have always purchased a basic store houseplant blend but given what I've learned from you- should I be mixing that with other medium?

I think the info you'll find here probably represents the largest single step forward you can take at any one time as a container gardener. I'm not just saying that. 12 years of feedback on the thread and in private messages witnessing to the fact that it made very significant changes in the way people look at container gardening is the only way I could feel comfortable stating it so casually. There are recipes there, but understanding the concept is much more valuable than a recipe. Being able to keep roots happy is essential. The right soil makes it easy, Nuff said.

Al

Strong work. Hopefully you'll bring it around to a state of vitality that allows you to prune it back a bit next summer, which should help force back-budding and promote a fuller plant!

Al

Wow, what a comeback, shopayland. Looking forward to updates showing the response to your pruning!