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Dracena/Pothos arrangement under attack!!!

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

Hi, I bought this arrangement 8/2016 & lost 2 croton plants & replaced them with 2 pothos approx. 1 month ago. I repotted the whole arrangement using Miracle Gro's moisture control soil & some extra perlite, then watered with some super thrive fertilizer once.

The pothos soil had developed fuzzy mold at it's surface & after about a week my surface perlite turned a yellow rust color and my smaller corn plant leaves developed these yellow & brown spots.

Last week I scooped out the mold & discarded, then treated the surface using southern AG copper fungicide twice, broke up the soil & turned it over a bit. Soil seemed to have dried out finger deep & I hadn't noticed any surface mold since then.

But this morning when I went to check on my plant, I saw more yellowing & dropping of all my dracaena and pothos leaves! I've struggled with fungus gnats along the way, but believe they're generally under control. I only use distilled H20 to water & have learned to do so sparingly...Any help is so greatly appreciated!

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Comments (4)

Dave
7 years ago
Couple things..

the moisture control soil is just about the worst thing to use. It stays soggy for extended periods and if you didn't use about 75% perlite, it'll do just about nothing. Sorry, just being honest.

Does the pot have a drainage hole?

have a full pic of the plants? The pot seems pretty large.
Shyla
Original Author
7 years ago
Dave, I can always count on you! Thanks for the insight...yes, the pot is larger, i was trying to avoid having to pot up, but perhaps that was a mistake, yes I had added about 8 drainage holes to the bottom, but have never watered to the point of saturation. So you think I should just repot using a better mix...I had read about Al's gritty mix, but got a bit overwhelmed, so, whatever you think I'm willing to try...
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Evy, I'm not sure but the first plant looks like Peperomia obtusifolia... Is the leaf thick or thin? Second plant looks like Syngonium/Arrowhead Plant. Evy, does the Oyster Plant have Fungus Gnats? If so, it's too bad you didn't see them sooner. There were a few things you could have done. In the future, make sure soil dries between waterings. Not to the point it cracks..The top should look crumbly..Stick your finger or a stick inside the soil. If your finger or stick comes out wet/moist, the soil is still wet in the center to bottom. If dry, it's time for a drink. Plants in the Rhoeo family, like Oyster and Moses don't like wet feet. Sometimes, the top is dry, but the center and bottom will be wet. It depends on soils, pot material, house temp and sun. That's the reason it's best to insert your finger/stick in the soil. I agree, Oyster Plants are hard to find. However, they're sold online, not too difficult to find. Rhizo..nope, cats and birds don't mix..especially smaller parrots like Parakeets and Cockatiels. We had birds and a cat, Halloween. He knew not to bother the birds, but when we left the house, the birds were caged. He was great with them, but we all know a cats instincts..17-yr-old Halloween passed away a few summers ago. As long as we have birds, I'd never get another cat..'though I love them.' However my birds are precious. So, no matter how much we adore felines, our birds safety comes first. Sorry Evy..") Toni It's sooo funny Georgia fed Homer..what's funnier is Homer ate Nutra Berries. lol..Toni Compare 'inserting finger or stick' to baking a cake. When you insert a toothpick to check if the inside is done?? If you bake, you'll know what I mean. lol.
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I have a similar vase..yours is more refined I'd say..I like it more than mine. mine is blue with elephants..it's definitely a floor vase, big with a relatively narrow opening. I put there stems of pothos(i think) ,right in the water, and they grow like crazy. Pothos doesn't care whether light or dark or water or soil as long as it has something.. granted you can keep there big branches too or say, sunflowers when it's season..but pothos can be there all year round. (my vase was a mistake actually, from first month of owning a house here..I was hunting everything warm blue to match exactly the bed..)) it was a very set color palette. 3 colors, blahblah.. in a few months i felt like I'm suffocating..in this perfectly coordinated room... I still like the vase though. Brings memories. It just lives in another room now. Pothos likes it there. And regarding these elephants-I'm actually very tempted to count how many zoological species I have around the house..I should make a list lol..)
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Dave
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
I personally use the 5:1:1 mix for all of my plants. It's fast draining and it works well for my situation.

Its a bit easier to get the ingredients. 5 parts pine bark fines, 1 part peat, 1 part perlite with some dolomite lime.

A good fast draining soil needs larger particles. The mix you currently have is all very small particles so it just can't drain fast.

Their "moisture control" is extremely misleading. People buy it thinking they're getting something that drains fast and protects against overwatering. However, it's the complete opposite.

when potting up into a pot that's too large, you wouldn't have many issues with a super fast draining mix because they're pretty hard to over water.

But when you pot up to something much larger with a mix made of small particles, you'll never be able to water correctly and you'll run into root issues.

Speakng of that, did you pot up or repot when you did all of this?

the arrangement of plants does look great and the pot also looks wonderful with them.

Whats the third plant besides the pothos and dracaena? They need to all have about the same watering needs.

I think with a faster draining mix it would work out in that pot.
Mentha (East TN, Zone 6B-7A)
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Moisture control soil was advertised as a mix that you did not have to water as much. It has polymer crystals that retain water for an extended amount of time. Polymer crystals can hold up to 100% of their weight in water and release moisture into the surrounding soil until they dry completely. Polymer by itself can be used in hydroponics but it is not a good addition to soil unless you like to neglect your plants for months between waterings or you live in very dry climates like the desert.

The leaves look like either fertilizer burn or fluoride damage. Water until all of the soil is saturated and water freely comes out of the drainage holes, drain the water out then return it to its spot after you've tipped the pot a few times to remove the excess. I would also do as suggested above and add more perlite to the soil or use the 5:1:1 mix if you can find the components.

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