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Ornamental Grasses Container Gardening House Plants

What’s wrong with my plant?

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

I recently transplanted a small ornamental Phalaris grass my friend had divided.

For a couple weeks, it did well, with new green shoots growing. In the month since then, it's done poorly (minimal growth, yellowing/browning blades)

The 3 gallon fabric container medium is Coir:Perlite @ 2:1 ratio. I water with MaxiGro complete/stand alone nutrients at moderate strength, pH'd to 6.0

Suspecting fertilizer burn, I stopped nutrients and flushed with only water for 2 weeks, and the plant deteriorated even further. Re-introducing nutrients gave a short, initial improvement.

What's wrong with my grass, and what should I do differently?

webuser_447068953's ideas · More Info

Comments (7)

WoodsTea 6a MO
5 years ago
You might consider asking on the Houseplants or Container Gardening forums, which are both busier and more focused on the issues of growing in containers specifically.

Are you growing this indoors or outdoors? If outdoors, what zone?
HU-447068953
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks for the advice.

I edited the categories.

Outdoors, in Zone 8
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mblan13
5 years ago
Coir is very water retentive, try putting a dowel (I use the big shih-kebab sticks) in the soil for about 15 minutes If it comes out moist, do not water.

Is it a new bag of coir? Coir can be very high in salts as they are grown in tropical seaside areas. Cheaper brands often get coir from large scrap piles and don't always flush the salt from them properly.
HU-447068953
Original Author
5 years ago
I will give that a try right away, allowing the mix to dry more between waterings. (I have been watering pretty frequently).

The coir has been potted and left out exposed to rain for several months. Im assuming it’s been flushed enough, but can’t be sure.
HU-447068953
Original Author
5 years ago
Ok, so overwatering was not the problem, because when I let the soil dry an extra day compared to before, the leaves have begun to dry up (wrinkled, shriveled, headed for crispy).

I’m now wondering if the MaxiGro nutrients are not working well with grass. (I’ve used it successfully with other potted perennials). So to change that up, I sprinkled 1 TBsp of slow release Miracle Grow into the top layer and watered deeply.

If if this doesn’t improve things, then my next guess will be the potting medium. But again, other plants have done well in the Perlite amended coir. I was trying to avoid peat.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
5 years ago
It is a cool season deciduous grass. It is just going dormant.
HU-447068953
Original Author
5 years ago

webuser_447068953's ideas · More Info

Update:

The yellowed grass is now green again and growing larger.

Possible causes:

•Adjusted fertilizer formulation

•Drop in average temperatures

•Time for root development

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