I am trying to see how I do with streptocarpus. I read that they like to dry off before being watered again... Well, how dry? Like cactus and tumbleweeds, or just like less dry on the clothes dryer? I repotted into a barky fast draining mix so it should have plenty of air exchange at root level just minutes after watering. Please help me because these are such pretty plants and I don't want to kill them :).
How dry do streps want to get?
Streps remind me of orchids. Most people kill them by overwatering. You can let them dry out completely and they will be just fine, but if you overwater they will die for sure. When in doubt, don't water. Mine are totally dry before I water but not for weeks or anything like that. Say, if you water on Monday and on Saturday they are totally dry water them. If they are dry and drooping they will perk right up. If they are wet and drooping and you water they will probably die.
IT IS OKAY TO LET THEM DRY OUT COMPLETELY BEFORE WATERING:)
Hope that helps.
Pat M. (who has killed a bunch by overwatering).
Well, I bought 4 mail order. 2 are fine, 2 are struggling. The 2 that showed the stress are the ones i moved to fast fast draining mix (after dividing to increase my chances), so they are practically in orchid seedling mix. It was approximately 1 part perlite, 1 part packaged peat mix, 1 part fine fir bark. They seem to have stabilized and are actually looking a little happier with some growth in the baby leaves, and I don't want to make them backslide. The big leaves have kind of halted the curling under and dying from the outside tip toward the crown. Right now, they are kind of like "less dry" laundry, so I guess I should wait til they are like "more dry", lol. So tomorrow or the day after.
Yes, wait. When you do water the "less dry" laundry ones just give them a little, like maybe a teaspoon of water until they look normal. If they look worse after you water them, stop watering.
Pat
Do you think the mix sounds alright to keep them in?
Your mix sounds like it would drain well,but beyond that I'm not sure.Usually any good soiless mix,like Pro Mix,can be used,but you add a lot of perlite.Some use 1/2 and 1/2 and others add even more perlite.
if you wick water then you use much more pearlite,otherwise i would use at least equal parts, streps don't like to be wet & if the soil is to heavy they stay wet.
mrsbonnie
I don't use wicks. Top watering and/or let it sit for a few minutes in water then drain. I like how fast it drains with the bark and I think it would take a long time to get compacted.... I am more wondering if there is something I need to add mineral wise, beyond fertilizer.
If you switch off using different brands of food,it should cover the basic trace elements.Make sure one is a basic food....such as 20-20-20 .Also look at anything you put in your soil mix.Perlite and vermiculite don't feed your plants,nor does charcoal,but they all have important charactaristics....sorry can't spell. ^_^.
I know many here use Superthrive and other products,but I have never tried them.Also since you are using a lot of peat and bark,make sure you check the soil PH every now and then.Streps. don't mind a little acidic soil,but as the peat breaks down your mix will become more acid,unless you repot.
Thank you.
These are the rescue plants. The one plant I divided and repotted is improving and doing better. The other plants, stonewashed, are declining as we speak. What can I do to try to salvage them? Is this powdery mildew or what? I know sometimes you just can't save them, but... well, I want to give them a chance if they have one.
If I can't salvage them, does anyone have a leaf?
If they don't survive I can send you some established baby plants for postage.
Pat M.
That is wonderful. Can you tell what is consuming the plants on the left? It just keeps getting worse, while the other streps are doing better and getting used to life here. The plant on the right was declining very quickly, but is greening up and no more wasting away since I repotted it.
If you have white powder on the leaves that is powdery mildew. I have read somewhere, either here or another forum, about using milk and water at a 1:9 ratio to clear up powdery mildew. If you do use something make sure it is mild and do it very lightly on the leaves as you want to keep them pretty dry until they show signs of perking up. If there isn't white powder then don't spray. You can hold the plant over a piece of white computer paper, tap the leave and see if anything falls onto the paper and if you can see it move. Good way to check for thrips and other crawlies.
I think when they look like they are being consumed and going downhill fast it is because their roots have pretty much rotted though of course it could be buggies, etc.
Pat M.
It usually is because they are rotted (as Pat said) either by too much water or too much fertilizer.Try to let them dry fairly well between waterings.You can also try repotting into a fresh fast draining mix,rinsing the old soil off.Sometimes one that appears completely dead will send up some tiny new leaves.
Lynn
Could cold cause this? They shipped in fairly cold weather. I did rinse away the old soil and repot. There were 2 that I had trouble with, and I divided and repotted one, then the other, a day or 2 apart. The soil is very fast draining, it is commercial potting soil, perlite and bark. Equal parts soil/perlite and then some bark for drainage and it looks pretty, lol.
One that I repotted is starting to grow again, the other is still declining. It isn't actually powdery, just kind of sick dying looking. I don't think I have over watered at all. If I have erred, it was to the dry side. I dunno. It is right with the other's and they are at least not dying, but aren't blooming today, lol, but were a couple days ago.
I guess all I can do is hold it's hand and keep it company while it goes through this... sigh.
Keep your chin up ^_^ !! I don't think it was affected by cold,because Streps. like it cool.You can put leaves in the refrigerator until you have time to pot them.
When they are severely dry they wilt and still stand up after watering,usually.
With you holding it's hand (and don't forget to talk to it LOL ) I am sure it will pull through.
Lynn
I contacted the seller and he said it sounds like it got too warm on it's journey and then I added to the stress by repotting. He suggested that I put it in a dome to increase humidity and keep it on the dry side. If it fails, he'll see if he has one next spring when I place another order :). That is just such a long time to wait, lol.
Ok,someone else jump in right now LOL. In my opinion,the last thing I would do is dome it.That will keep it both warmer and moister.If it has any fungus or mildew that will also increase!!
Well, I put the 2 bad ones in a ziplock and left the top open. Sort of in between. I told him the same thing, that I thought it would make it decline faster, and he said it may not make it but that was the only chance it had. So what do you think? I hate killing plants :(
I guess you could try it for 24 hours and see. It seems like increasing the humidity would not be the thing to do but who knows? I bagged one that was going downhill and it got worse.
Pat
usually if you bag them they usually do better, for some reason they need the humidity. thats in most cases.
bonnie
Mrsbonnie, what kind of temp, cooler, warmer or same as it was?
same as it was, just bag it.
bonnie
If you are going to bag,make sure the soil is only damp,not wet.
I bagged it, one plant is probably gone, but the other still has a little green. I watered the probably gone plant a few drops at a time, then sealed the bag until I got a light mist on the bag and that's all it gets for now. I hope it works. What if I killed it because I let it dry off too much. I'd be the only person that kills streps by underwatering... sigh...