Caring for houseplants

[shadowshiv]

One tip for you Andem.

The dracaena 'dragon tree'... the one on the left in the last set of pics... and the deifenbachea (or dumbcane), in the second pic on the right hand side... those will be your most vivid 'indicator plants'.

When watering, wait until either one of those (you'll see which one is more sensitive), droops a bit, before you water. You don't want to be overwatering, and that will show you that they actually got a bit dry. Try not to let them keel right over of course, because doing that too often is hard on them too. But, wait until one of them droops a bit, and then water lightly.

They will also tell you the clearest if you are overwatering, as both are prone to 'tipping' (the tips of the leaves will turn brown) if their root balls get too soaked.

All of those have fairly similar light and watering needs, so, you should be able to just listen to what your indicator plants are telling you, rather than fussing over each one.

Best of luck.

Poop. It looks like I may have overwatered my plant once or twice(either that, or my mom did when she owned the plant).:-(

That being said, it has grown three new leaves the past couple of weeks and I see some new stalks that have the possibility of becoming new leaves. I do not think that there is any danger of the plant dying, but the brown tips are rather unsightly. I also noticed that it has just happened on the leaves that face away from the window. Should I rotate the pot from time to time?

Also, is there a way for the leaves to regain their green tips or will they remain brown for good?

I also care about my plant almost like a pet. I have had three plants in my house since I moved in over 3 years ago. I had a poinsetta that I had gotten from my sister from Christmas. I had actually gotten it to grow many new leaves(they were green opposed to red) and some new stalks, but then one day it just started to die. The leaves gradually died one by one and there was nothing I could do about it. I was quite sad the day it died.:-(

I got a Christmas Cactus last Christmas from the same sister, but it died almost immediately. I think the store may have overwatered it from the outset. My mom had broken a piece off from the one that was growning inside her house, and now it has grown quite a bit! It is now big enough that I can take it home with me! I will try and borrow my sister's camera and take some pictures to show what kind of plant I am talking about.

 

[karrie]

Shadow, the leaves will be forever tipped like that. You'll just have to wait for new growth to come in and the old ones to drop off.

 

[lone wolf]

I just pull the brown off. It's dead anyhow....

Woof!

 

[shadowshiv]

Shadow, the leaves will be forever tipped like that. You'll just have to wait for new growth to come in and the old ones to drop off.

That's what I thought. Thanks for the affirmation, Karrie. There are still many new leaves on it, and it looks like there will be many more in the future. My mom had said that the plant should be watered once a week(but to check the dirt just to be sure). I checked it today and it is still damp today. So, no water for you! I do not want to overwater you again.:smile:

Andem, another tip that I learned is this. If you water your plant, watch for the water going into the catch-basin(for lack of a better word) at the bottom almost immediately. Usually that means the dirt needs some holes poked into it(I use a piece of a drinking straw). This breaks the dirt up and will allow the water to seep into it again rather than just going to the sides of the pot and draining out immediately.

Also, pour the water in slowly, a little bit at a time. I find if you pour too much at once, it will just go right to the catch-basin.