Wilting Philodendron after Repot
Hello, I am having issues with my philodendron. After repotting it last week it has started to wilt and some leaves have been turning yellow. A few leaves closest to the stems at soil level even browned up and shrived completely (just three so far).
Some information and images. This plant is at least 22 years old and had been in the same pot for that time. I decided to repot it as the pot and saucer had deteriorated to the point that it was starting to fall apart and water was leaking through the bottom of the saucer and causing mold build up on the surface underneath it even with light watering.
It was a very leggy plant, it had one vine close to 25 feet long with no leaves on it, probably due to being kept for 8 years in areas where there was not much light. I cut it back to three feet and used most of the rest for rooting. I had noticed that over the last two weeks it had started to look wrong. Some of the vines had started to turn yellow and one section of the plant has started to severely wilt.
After I removed the root ball from the old pot using the upside down method I noticed that once I washed off the soil that there were several of the longer roots that had rotted about halfway up and one had some mold growing on it near the top of the root. I removed the damaged sections of the roots and removed the one with the mold a few cm above where the mold was growing. The other thing I noticed was that the other roots were very stunted, but healthy looking, none of the undamaged roots were longer than 4 inches; it was not root bound at all.
I put the plant aside in some water while I cleaned up the old pot and finished preparing the new one; that took about 45 minutes. For the potting soil in the old pot, I have no idea. For the new one I bought some Espoma PTM8 peat moss, Black Gold potting soil, and Miracle-gro perlite and mixed it myself (8 qrts of each).
One thing I did not do but should probably have was to pre-water the soil until it drained from the bottom of the pot. I repotted it directly into the new soil without doing that and then I watered it with the amount of water I usually used in the old pot when I should have probably watered a lot more.
Here are the images now. The first is the area I have the plant in. I think it is about right for a philodendron; there are two windows in this corner which will have bright, indirect, light coming through them during different points in the day and moderate light the rest of the time and then the rest are of the plant. I tried to get as close in on the soil-level stems as possible.
On this one, near the middle left there was a very long vine (8 feet or so) which I made a cutting from as a back up to root in water in case the plant dies. The root has started to, callous I guess is the word I am looking for? It has started to shrink to a hardened black stem kind of think near the end where the cut was made.
In this one I am wondering if I buried the middle slight left plant too deeply.
for what I have done so far:
I have been misting it each night. I read in another post here somewhere that adding a small amount of sugar to the water you give a plant after repotting can help it deal with transplant shock. I did this on the first day I watered it but have not since. After the first watering I noticed that within 3 days the soil was bone dry about three inches deep but I did not water that much as I mentioned above.
Tonight I did water it fully until it started draining through the bottom, the soil was slightly damp down to two inches and a little more moist below that.
I personally think this could be one of two things:
1. normal after-repotting transplant shock
2. result from not watering it enough directly after repotting
or maybe the first exacerbated by the second but this is the first time I have repotted anything so that is why I have come to seek advice from people that know a lot more about this subject that me.
Thanks!
Comments (10)
Geo Wil
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoRelated Discussions
repotting and/or dividing huge Philodendron
Comments (12)Holy socks! What a success you've had!!! First--Thank you so much for replying to my post and question. Your plant, 14 years ago, is exactly like what we are dealing with, though you had a lot more foliage than we do. Our plant sits in the corner of a "greenhouse" attached to our house--not a traditional greenhouse, though, more like a solarium but that sounds much more posh than what we have. It does have lots of windows on one side and two skylights. The "stalk" of the plant keeps creeping sideways and we've tried turning it--to no avail. I've found out it is just a creeping type. The link you included is super helpful. I see that what I found online about the creeping nature may not be exact. Looks like that stalk could go relatively straight up given best environment. I don't think we have sufficient 360° lighting. Your success in repotting gives me so much encouragement to proceed! We've had this plant for over 30 years; it has moved with us at least five times--across three or four state lines. We can't remember when we acquired the plant, it's been so long. We've been lax in repotting it in the last 10-15 years, as it always seemed happy--well, overly crowded for the last 5 years. But now it is just leaning too far out of the pot. I doubt there's adaquate soil in the pot for the roots to thrive. [I planted spider plants in it this pot to give a bit of color around the base. BAD idea; now I know. Those spider tubers fill up the pot, using all the root space.] I have some questions about your process which I'll save for the end of this post, so you can find them easily, if you have time to reply. I've found two suggestions online eslewhere. One is to repot it into an horizaontal/rectangular pot toward one end so it can be happy creepy and sending roots down as it creeps across. The stalk is at least 3" diameter at this point and over a foot long, with many air roots or whatever they are. We have a rectangular recycling big that we no longer use and that may be the new pot, but I fear it is too large and dampness could be problem. The second suggestions is to put another pot next to the plant and let the stalk grow and creep toward the 2nd pot, rooting as it moves in. Once it's established in the new pot, the stalk is severed so that the "baby" shoots are left behind in the old pot and the creeping stalk starts anew in the other pot. We have a large pot we could use for this purpose (and perhaps the recycle bin could work, as well). The problem with #2 solution is having enough space to allow this progressive growth to take place. Plus, your statement "the bigger the pot, the bigger the plant" serves as good advise for us moving forward. Pretty soon it'll need it's own room! My questions: 1. I'm not sure what you mean by "Mostly now I take offshoots with no trunk..." Ours has some "knees," I'll call them that have popped up and baby leaves shoot up there. I that an offshoot? 2. When you repotted it the first time, you planted the whole trunk, half way, and that worked. Did you cut it off or section it in anyway? 3. And related to #3 did it begin leaning or creeping again after you repotted it? 4. What are your thoughts on the two suggestions I found on line? Your photos are great and very helpful. Thank you for including those. We live in Missouri, and we could put the plant outside spring thru autumn but it's too heavy to move, so we don't. We can't plant it outside in the garden because we do get a solid winter. Now, as winter approaches we are trying to get it repotted so we can work in what's left of the warm weather outside because I think this is going to get messy. And all the other plants are coming into the greenhouse for the winter so this guy has got to take up less space rather than more. I apologize for the length of this post, but I'm just so excited to have someone who has experience with this give guidance. And I am so grateful for your reply. And I welcome advise from anyone else reading this (Ken_Adrian :-) in case you have any ideas for our Philodendron bipinnatifidum future. Best regards, --deborah...See MoreAdvice needed on wilted philodendron
Comments (3)Agreed with the above inputs. "The soil was just moist all the time." Overwatering isn't about the amount of water given to a plant, but about whether or not there is oxygen in the soil. Roots need oxygen and moisture at the same time to function. If it would have been called underdrying from the get-go, it wouldn't be so confusing. In a plastic or glazed pot, roots have no access to oxygen unless it is in the soil. Most potting soil is too dense, the tiny particles lodge together and eliminate the air. To compensate, it's usually necessary to let the soil dry fairly thoroughly. This exposes plants to wild swings of moisture/oxygen levels, which is not ideal. Changing to a more chunky/porous/airy/fluffy soil can help a lot of people (those who tend to think plants are always thirsty, soil must be kept moist.) Once the roots reach the bottom of the pot and start circling, they're especially sensitive to sitting in water/suffocating, and from being lost to drying and shriveling. If that happens, then there's a layer of dead roots at the bottom of the pot. If there's then period of moisture, those dead roots will start anaerobically decomposing. Such close proximity to that can make the still-alive roots ill. I'm not totally sure if I have the "why" of the above paragraph scientifically correct, but I've seen this happen, so I try to repot plants before a serious 'pancake' of roots gets going at the bottom of pots. I'd prefer to not investigate this more ;)...See MoreRepotting Heartleaf Philodendron
Comments (11)Thanks purp! So just leave some of the old soil in? I am fine with that! Last time I had them slipping out every where and snapping.... It's a good idea to add another support, will have to go out and find one! I hate change in my room and this one was a big one.... Hopefully it starts to thicken up again! I'm always so jealous of all your plants! Always seem to be doing so well and looking so good Thanks shihtzu4su! I started tapping the vines to wall wall as they grew and do it to new shoots as they emerge. Works pretty good and even some parts don't even need tapping anymore because of the Ariel roots. The only draw back is that eventually some of the tape loosens and a vine will come crashing down in the middle of the night! Freaks me out every time Thanks Rio! Yeah iIve been noticing it too on this new site... I think for me at least is when I take photos with my phone upright it then flips it sideways on here as all the photos I have taken with my phone sideways seem to stay in there proper position. I only ever go on here on my phone which accounts for a lot of problems.... I went on here for the first time using the computer and it's so much easier to move around and edit posts Hopefully my cuttings root. Never have had much luck with propagating philos!...See MorePhilodendron Brasil - Is wilting after repot normal...will it be okay?
Comments (9)One of the issues associated with repotting in the winter is, you can easily be left with a struggling plant that isn't being stimulated to grow itself out of the circumstances causing the problem. Long(er) recovery periods that tax energy reserves are another potential issue, as would be a higher incidence of insect infestations & diseases due to a reduction in the plant's natural defenses. It's important to determine whether the soil is fully moistened or if there are dry areas in the soil. If there are dry areas, resolution could be as simple as making sure the soil is moist (not wet or soggy). If the soil is beyond moist or damp and has soggy areas, that needs correction asap. Water/nutrient uptake is an energy-driven process and must utilize oxygen from the root zone to burn the fuel (sugar) that produces the energy needed. A limited oxygen supply = limited root function = increased probability of wilting and other issues. Pruning the plant back and getting the soil moisture level into a favorable range is probably the surest way of dealing with potentiality damaged roots and an overly-wet soil. The pruning means there is less foliage mass asking for water from the roots (so loss of turgidity is less likely), and getting the soil moisture level into the damp/moist range ensures an adequate level of oxygen in the root zone - enough to satisfy needs of the root system. Al...See More
robin98
6 years ago
Karen S. (7b, NYC)
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoSorry, but I don't think this is a Philodendron rather a Pothos. Bit too raggedly looking to be sure. But I think both can be handled & propagated the same way.
I believe this has been made unnecessarily complicated & in short, you're killing the plant w/ kindness & overwatering (overwatering is THE most common killer of houseplants).
Pothos are usually restarted from cuttings, often discarding the original plant if rather spent & beat up like yours (sorry). After 22 yrs. in the same pot, I wouldn't bother keeping the base part of the plant, especially w/ roots rotting repeatedly, as you've mentioned.
Likely why that's happening is that pot is too big for the amount of plant material left. I suspect what's happening is this: too much soil for too little plant material being kept too wet all the time. That equals root rot, because the roots can't get any air, they're too wet, so they rot. This plant needs to dry out somewhat btwn waterings so the roots can get some air.
I would have gone w/ Cactus & Succulent soil (C&S mix) combined w/ Perlite, in equal parts, like 50/50. That's all you needed; peat is not a good idea for houseplants, unless a small amount (it can become too compact & then water repellent which makes drainage problems).
I am unfamiliar w/ pre-wetting soil, not something I do.
Also normally, one should fill a pot w/ soil up to just an inch from the top. As is, those plants are potted too low in the pot, but I wouldn't bother doing anything else w/ those remnants. Don't mean to be brutal, but I'd discard those rotting leftovers & focus on the cuttings, of which you probably have many. Shorter is better should you not know that. 2-3 pairs of leaves per cutting is plenty.
Pls. stop misting, it's not helping & is keeping the plants too wet.
"I tried to get as close in on the soil-level stems as possible." Sorry, I don't know what this means.
For now, I'd skip fertilizer, sugar, any extra doodads & just let the poor things get re-established.
I see you've tried really hard to improve the plants, but now, I'd like you to consider keeping it simpler along the lines of 'less is more'. These plants do well w/ a fair amount of neglect even tho' that doesn't sound right.
Good to see you know to pot up the water rooting cuttings after they get roots about 1" long . Lots of cuttings in small pots is a good idea. As example, a 3" pot could take 3 or 4 cuttings.
Let me look for a pic of mine. This is a 4" pot.
This plant gets watered maybe every 7-10 days, depending when I notice & remember ;>)
The container that pot sits in has pebbles in the bottom, so I water to overflow into the pebbles ON TOP of which, sits that pot. It matters that the bottom of the pot is not in the water, rather just above it. That set up is referred to as a humidity tray. Some plants really appreciate it!
robin98
6 years agoKaren S. (7b, NYC)
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agorobin98
6 years ago
Jewel South
4 years agohc mcdole
4 years agoThe pot is way too big for the plants shown. I haven't read all the comments since they are fairly long. Start the cuttings in straight perlite works well too.
Here is some of my philodendron/pothos/syngonium starts in clear drinking cups (cheap) and perlite.
Patti Chicago Zone 5b/6a
4 years ago
Ekor Tupai