Beginner Gardening: 'Dumb'cane, 0 by plantladylin

plantladylin wrote:
I have a couple of Dieffenbachia's, and they seem to thrive on neglect and mine stay on the dry side ... not bone dry but they do get dry. We have nothing but humidity here in Florida so there is enough moisture in the air to keep them happy. I agree, no direct sun which will burn the foliage, but my plants seem to do well in bright light.

From looking at your photo, the soil looks a bit heavy and wet to me, but that could be my old eyes! When you received your plant did you remove it from the pot to take a look at the roots? When re-potting, I only go up one size if necessary, otherwise I just prune away any dead looking roots and repot in the same container with fresh potting medium. I think a well draining potting medium is welcomed by Dieff's ... but I've found for me and my growing conditions, everything does better in a light, well draining mix. Years ago I couldn't keep a plant alive because I used a heavy soil and thought they were always in need of watering, LOL. Then there was a phase of a few years where I was working very long hours and didn't have time to water them so much and they seemed much happier.