These are dragon wings I got early this season. I don't know what I'm doing and it shows. I have them in the house now and need to know what to do? This one got to much sun outside, I know this. what should I do for it now?
Help! I killing them
This one did really bad when I first got it, but with more water it came back. Now that I have it inside it is looking bad again. What can I do for it? Help!!!!!!!! I really like them and I want them to grow up to big beautiful wings.
Give it more humidity and light. When they are moved indoors, then it will take a period of time to adjust to less than ideal conditions. Cut back on watering as well - let it dry out a bit (top inch) between watering. To increase humidity you can put it on a pebble tray or put some kind of humidity dome over it (plastic cake lid from the grocery store, a plastic bag, a fish tank, etc.). Don't expect a lot of growth indoors, just try to keep it alive until spring. The nice thing is they are so prevalent in the industry now, that you could treat it as an annual if you wanted to and buy a healthy large one in the spring for $3 or so. You could also take cuttings and root them as well.
More light? Room with south windows indirect bright light or room with 15ft x 25ft east windows (Office)? Humidity dome? leave on at all time?
edited for spelling
This message was edited Sep 25, 2006 7:04 AM
I made some assumptions since you didn't give us enough details. If you recently moved your plants indoors, then most if not all houseplants will drop leaves, leaves will yellow, growth will slow down or stop, and the beauties of summer will become hags of winter. That said, what you want to do is mimic the great outdoors which means as much light as possible and make it somewhat steamy (hard to do indoors unless you have a misting system). You have to decide what is your best light, whether that be artificial light such as shoplights or sunlight through available windows. Southern exposure will give the most light but you might want to have some shades through the hottest part of the day or move the plants back from the window by a few inches (it depends on the window and the plant).
That was humidity dome, not doom. Like the dome on the capitol or most state capitals. Here is a place you can buy high domes (7 inch) for plant trays. They are great for propagation.
http://www.4hydroponics.com/clone/propdome.asp
Check out some of my pictures of my shelves at this post for ideas on lighting.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/653171/
I use disposable aluminum serving trays from Sam's (15 deep, large trays for around $10) to put under most of the houseplants to catch debris and excess water. I have added gravel or sand to a few for propagation and humidity. I am going to try adding gravel to all of them this year.
Here is a picture of an aluminum tray with a lot of rex starts and a humidity dome from this past winter.
I keep thinking how my wings are doomed, when I should be thinking of how to dome them ;-)
Excuse me for butting in.
I have a similar plant. I read about someone putting their whole ferns into large clear bags for inside through the winter, catches debris and holds humidity. Does this sound OK for a clay pot with a large angel/dragon wing?
Sally,
You shouldn't have to enclose it in a bag if it's already rooted. If it's really fussy like some rhizomatous begonias are, then I would say give it a try (I've done it in the past but it's unattractive even if it isn't displayed and tedious to water). In these cases I would try to get a terrarium or hard plastic dome (lid) to speed up watering when needed. The clear lids used on cakes at grocery stores are an alternative (though not tall enough for canes).
Plastic tents (baggies, etc.) are great for temporary humidity enclosures as in rooting leaves and canes. Right now I have a rex leaf in water that is rooted and making little plantlets in a cup of water in the kitchen. I added a couple of leaves of 'Martin's Mystery' and noted that one of those leaves quickly dried up and the other half dried up. I added one more leaf to replace the driest one but covered the cup with a zippered gallon baggie. The new leaf looks as fresh as the day I pinched it off.
Here are some things I have observed lately about starting cuttings by leaves or stems:
1) Water rooting can be quick and painless. I buy bulk cups at the discount warehouses (200 count 9 oz clear cups is what I bought last. I have used Styrofoam cups in the past.). Some cups I use foil over to hold short stem leaf cuttings but this is not needed for longer stems and canes. I can put about 10 cups in a tray and cover the whole shebang with a high top lid. Usually I will have roots in a couple of weeks. I can take the same cup and drill a small hole in the bottom for drainage and fill with potting soil and pot up the rooted leaf or cane. If it is warm outdoors, then they go out for some fresh air and filter sun through the trees.
2) If you do water rooting, your success rate will go up significantly if you tent (use some kind of humidity cover).
3) Conversely, lots of leaves will quickly rot using this method if not covered. Canes aren't as bad.
This is just a recent observation since I started rooting with water earlier this year, so take it with a grain of salt.
Just keep your angel wing as happy as you can while it is indoors. That means keep it warm, give it good light, and water moderately (not perpetually wet nor bone dry).
Great tips Butch, Laurie and I were just going back and forth in Dmail about propagating tips as I bought a few cuttings off eBay and then got nervous witht the variety of leaves and stems. The extra dome tip in water is what I will try now for several of them.
Thanks for the advice and further rooting info. I think I'll bring it in, trim in and try some rooting in water. May have tenX the plants next year!