> I read they do not like direct light, but rather need bright, indirect. My understanding was that even the strongest fluorescent T5 light you can give plants equals to this "bright indirect" light level from plant culture descriptions - because real sun is SO MUCH brighter. I was at an orchid show a couple of weeks ago at New York Botanical Garden, and they had a lot of companion plants including many species of Maranta and Calathea growing on the floor of the greenhouses. I should totally have measured the light there with my phone (unlike orchids, these did not seem to be temporary exhibit, so it would have been meaningful), but I did not think to do it. Maranta growing in the ground is quite a sight to see, by the way. It's a very low ground cover - its habit is to try to grow roots into the soil at every node, so it does not reach up at all, except for its tiny little purple (or white) flowers. Very cute. I am thinking how to replicate this look at home. When it was growing on my window sill a winter ago, a long vine crept along the window sill - and it did flower at that time as well. I cut it up at that time to fill out the pot, but I am starting to think just letting it crawl where it wanted to go was a better idea. It does not seem to want to grow upright at all. > can you take a light measument? I did, finally. On my light stand, it was getting around 200-700 fc (it was on the less bright shelf not directly under lights). On the bathroom counter, I get 15-20 fc. This is with an uncalibrated phone light meter app, so absolute levels may be wrong, but comparatively, they do tell a story, I think. The plant stand was getting 16 hours a day on a timer at the time, and the bathroom day is roughly as long (manual turn on/off), maybe a bit shorter.

Jennifer —-(Spraying with Neem Oil and or and other mixtures to eradicate the insects organically could still harm those beneficial insects. Some people will just let those pest stay on the tree because they dont want to harm them. Its a difficlt choice to make for some and you need to understand that some bad infestations that might get out of hand and could cause your trees to become weak and allow other diseses to slowly kill your tree. i always try and let Mother Nature work on the right balance of the pest verses the beneficial insets to keep everything in check. But sometimes i will have to step in and use more than organic to combact the problem. its up to you to decide what is best for your tree. Laura Even those that eat leaves ___ Katydids 🌺

Do you live in a large city? While a 2-week wait (or longer) for the soil to dry down is fairly common, commonality doesn't mean the plants that grow in it are going to show appreciation. Let's work on that point, and I have some other ideas that will allow you to make adjustments that might fix whatever is going on. That you can go long intervals between waterings w/o under-watering means there is an excess of water in the grow medium for at least a week after a thorough watering and perhaps longer. I know you've been at GW for awhile now, so you've probably read my tips on how to significantly reduce the amount of excess water your medium can hold. I'll outline them in case you're already familiar. * You can use items in the pot bottom as ballast to displace a large fraction of the grow medium that would otherwise be filled with excess water. * If the pot is of manageable size, moving it downward then sharply upward while holding the pot over the sink can remove ALL excess water from the pot. * You can tip the pot when done watering, which also removes a good measure of excess water. * You can use a wick through the side of the pot exactly where the sidewall meets the bottom (that's the best spot) or through the drain hole. Compare B to A to see what tipping your pots gains you; and compare E to A to see what a wick can do. Figure D is one way of using an item as ballast, but there are other set-ups. Sometimes, when the bark is too large, you'll get stratification where the peat migrates to the bottom of the soil column (causing it to remain wet for long periods) while all the bark is at the top of the soil column; but through the tell, it would seem you'd be picking up on that. Still, it's worth investigating when you repot. Wet soil and organic forms of N can combine to cause ammonium toxicity, and your fertilizer derives all of its N from urea. This is a very common issue but one seldom diagnosed. Your fertilizer doesn't contain Ca or Mg. Garden lime serves as not only a pH adjuster, but as a source of Ca and Mg as well. The magnesium fraction of garden lime is more than 125X more soluble in water than the calcium carbonate it contains, so it's not uncommon for a planting to need a Mg boost after a couple of years, especially when using a fertilizer that contains no Mg. I used to use and recommend MG 12-4-8 or MG 24-8-16 because I hadn't yet found Foliage-Pro 9-3-6. It has ALL nutrients essential to normal growth, and serves admirably as a complete single source nutrition package. I use it for all plants except tomato and hibiscus. For those, I still use it, but I increase the amount of K it contains for hibiscus and tomato by adding ProTeKt 0-0-3, which also contains silicon, which I have found makes a big difference in that it helps plants better tolerate heat/cold, too wet/too dry, insect herbivory and disease pathogens. You might want to try the Foliage-Pro 9-3-6. In the meanwhile, you can try adding a dose of Epsom salts with a solution strength equal to 1/4 level tsp/gal. I almost never recommend dosing with anything aimed at providing a single nutrient, but in this case there is so little probability of a negative result it seems reasonable. Finally, the damage is concentrated in areas of the leaf where the variegation is lightest. If these plants get much foll sun, it could be sunburn. The pigment, chlorophyll, actually protects the leaf's photosynthesizing apparatus from solar overload. Leaf tissues with little to no chlorophyll are much more sun-sensitive than their greener neighbors. Al

The spots are scars left by a physiological disorder called oedema. See the short piece I wrote below, which explains the cause and how to keep it from happening. Oedema Oedema is a physiological disorder that can affect all plants. It occurs when the plant takes up more water than it can rid itself of via the process of transpiration. The word itself means 'swelling', which is usually the first symptom, and comes in the form of pale blisters or water-filled bumps on foliage. Under a variety of circumstances/cultural conditions, a plant's internal water pressure (turgidity) can become so high that some leaf cells rupture and leak their contents into inter-cellular spaces in leaf tissue, creating wet or weepy areas. Symptoms vary by plant, but as the malady progresses, areas of the leaf turn yellow, brown, brown with reddish overtones or even black, with older damage appearing as corky/ scaly/ ridged patches, or wart/gall-like bumpy growth. Symptoms are seen more frequently in plants that are fleshy, are usually more pronounced on the underside of leaves, and older/lower leaves are more likely to be affected than younger/upper leaves. Oedema is most common in houseplants during the winter/early spring months, is driven primarily by excessive water retention in the soil, and can be intensified via several additional cultural influences. Cool temperatures, high humidity levels, low light conditions, or partial defoliation can individually or collectively act to intensify the problem, as can anything else that slows transpiration. Nutritional deficiencies of Ca and Mg are also known contributors to the malady. Some things that can help you prevent oedema: * Increase light levels and temperature * Monitor water needs carefully – avoid over-watering. I'd heartily recommend a soil with drainage so sharp (fast) that when you to water to beyond the saturation point you needn't worry about prolonged periods of soil saturation wrecking root health/function. Your soil choice should be a key that unlocks the solutions to many potential problems. * Avoid misting or getting water on foliage. It slows transpiration and increases turgidity. * Water as soon as you get up in the AM. When stomata close in preparation for the dark cycle, turgidity builds. If you water early in the day, it gives the plant an opportunity to remove (for its own needs) some of the excess water in the soil. * Put a fan in the room or otherwise increase air flow/circulation. Avoid over-crowding your plants. Al