'Dumb'cane

I offered you a teenager the other day you told me No!...LOL
kids are 12 girl, 13 boy, 14, boy, 15 boy, 19 boy....blended family
and critters at least I only have to deal with the puppy and the kitty
they do the rest

Wow! Girl, you do have your hands full! At my age I can't imagine one teenager in the house, much less four, and a preteen girl as well??!! It's all I can do to handle my husband of 40 years and the one cat!

LOL..trust me yesterday I hid in my room and pretended I was on strike! Yeah and she's started her "monthlies" so she's not always so nice to deal with....somedays I swear her head is gonna spin around like that girl on the exorcist!

and the boys....way too much testosterone around here some days...LOL

LOL .. I'm afraid I'd have to run away from home! My hats off to all Mom's out there! You Rock!

hence the plant addiction...always looking to trade too...but my have list is in an excel file so I have to email it.

plantladylin,
When I took the picture I had just finished flushing it so yeah the soil looks wet but it is not normally like that. When I repotted it the roots looked good and it was potted up only one size.

You repotted it in a porus soil mix? The roots pretty well fill the pot? That glazed pot doesn't "breathe" so be careful to water only when the soil feels dry to the touch.

Thought I would post an update. After moving it to a dimmer spot and flushing the soil for salt it still was looking no better. It actually kept declining so I decided to unpot it to take a look at the root. As it turns out the soil wasn't a very porous mix so I repotted with a much more porous mix. Can't find pumice anywhere locally so I used perlite and course sand to increase drainage. Nearly 50% perlite. Hopefully it will start to show some improvement. Will keep you posted.

QC,

Just looking at all the stems, it seems to me that is quite an old plant. So many stems and so many healed over spots where leaves used to be!
It might have been a large plant and just gave up due to old age--and now you have it and are trying to resurrect it.
Also--in both cases--the plant was moved from one location to another. Some plants don't take kindly to being moved.

Anyway--that is what just went through my head this morning.......

I think if you just bide your time. mist it now and then, don't overwater it and don't feed it too much, it may start coming around....

Gita

Gita,

It was definitely not an old plant when I got it just last year. It is showing so many leaf scars because all the leaves fell off over the course of about 2 months. Was definitely full and healthy when I got it. Also it was only moved after it already looked like it does now. The rapid decline is why I posted it on this thread to get ideas for what went wrong.

was it in front of an ac/vent duct?

No duct anywhere nearby.

hmmm, usually when they drop leaves that fast it's because of a cold draft from somewhere, and you being in Arizona your kids leaving the door open in November probably isn't as bad temperature wise as when my kids do it....you should see how quick things drop here when they 'Forget" to close the door and it's freezing out

No kids Trina. It actually dropped most of it's leaves in the summer and has looked like it currently does for a couple months. It hasn't died but it hasn't grown any either.

The stems still have life in them, so give the roots time to repair themselves, it will start to grow again. Adding perlite will help with drainage, but still be careful about watering. I let me dieff's dry off a little, not dry to the bottom but not constantly wet on the surface. This is where Al's conversations about soil drainage/perched water tables become so important. Without air exchange at the root level, most plants can't succeed. I hope yours starts to recover from soil death :). I think it's awful that they sell soils to us that basically kill the plants we want to grow.

As a precaution, can you add a wick to your pot to help remove extra water? Then feel the wick to see if you should water. If the wick is damp, no water needed. That is another Al tool :).

I want to chime in--again--mostly about soils....

I have worked for a grower and several large nurseries and two large retail stores--where I was always in the Greenhouse or House Plant dept....
Currently--I have been at a HD for almost 12 years. The first five--I ran the whole Greenhouse--and it was the best one in the area....Truckloads of plants arriving weekly....

OK! So--reasonable to say that I have had a lot of exposure to house plants and a lot of experience taking care of them, watering them and maintaining them.

There are many brands and kinds of "Potting Soils"--many of which are heavy. (I don't care for the "Scotts" ones).
Some soils labeled as "Potting Soil"are, actually, just a step above "Top Soil"--which is used to fill in holes in the lawn.

Then there are "Potting Mixes"--these are more fluffy and loose and best used for houseplants and containers.
These have a lot of peat moss in them as well as Pearlite and small, composted bark pieces.

My own favorite brand of of soils are all the ones made by "Miracle Gro". Their "Potting Mix" is what i always use--with or without the "water crystals" in the soil. It has a smidge of MG fertilizer in it and it drains well and lets the soil breathe.

There are people that make their own potting mixes that are excellent--but not too many have time to do so.

Having been around so many houseplants--I would never put up with a plant that is not doing well and appears sickly.
Out it goes!!! One can buy a new, large Dieffenbachia in a garden center for about $10-$12 and start fresh...

Gita

You like Miracle Gro but don't like Scotts. I am almost certain they are one in the same.
The water crystals are a disaster during rainy periods for plants that are out of doors.
I wholeheartedly agree about tossing the dieffenbachia- except, I believe this one came from a parent's funeral service and has sentimental value.

QCHammy-

I was just wondering if maybe its your water in your new location? I know that there was such a difference in the water here where I live and the water where my parents lived, only 70 miles away. I am sure the water in Arizona could be much different than where you used to live. You could try purified or distilled water for a little while and see if that makes a difference.

I think there must have been some confusion. I killed a Dieffenbachia a few years ago that had been from my grandfather's funeral. This plant was a gift from a friend of my wife's. It has no sentimental value. It's not about being able to go out a buy another one for cheap--I hate being defeated by a plant. I don't consider myself a beginner by any means so you can see why this bothers me. I don't even care for dieffenbachia that much but by golly I'm going to grow this plant despite itself or myself.

Then research the needs of this particular plant and do your best to meet them. I for one am going to unlink to this meandering thread.

You know, why didn't I think about researching the needs of this particular plant before I started this thread? How stupid of me!! =)

This message was edited Nov 20, 2009 9:39 PM

I don't think that Dieffenbachia is a lost cause at all. I would cut the wilted leaves off and wait for new growth since you've repotted it to fresh soil. My Dieff's seem to get yellow, saggy, baggy leaves and look a bit yucky at this time of year. I have to admit, I am a neglectful plant mom and sometimes if they get really awful looking, I chop the tops off ... eventually new growth appears.

Your Dieff has good green stalks so I think if you just cut it back about an inch and water sparingly it might surprise you with new growth.

I'm with you, Lin. I never thought about cutting it back, but I wouldn't toss it, for sure. Thank goodness you're here, so that this meandering thread offers some helpful insight to caring for the plant :).