Many of you have probably experienced this, but I just wanted to share...
My plantlets and babies just didn't seem to be growing right or getting enough light, so I finally broke down and set up a light stand (a four shelf industrial wire rack and shop lights).
Within one month there was quite a noticeable difference! Tight crowns have started loosening up, there is a lot of new growth on the plants, and most of the babies have more than tripled in size! Some of the plants are even getting buds on now, and will be blooming (finally!).
I have been busy as a bee the last week or so repotting the plants, removing suckers and separating babies. I went back to using my old AV potting mixture (1/3 soil-less/peat mix, 1/3 vermiculite and 1/3 perlite), and started using VF11 when watering.
I bought little 1.5 inch thumb pots (from rainbowviolets) for potting up the babies. They are the perfect size, and the babies are so darned cute! Like tiny little previews of what they'll (hopefully) soon grow into. I'll take some pictures tonight so you can see some of them.
I'm also trying my hand at wicking. I bought plastic mesh to set the pots on (from Home Depot - the kind that covers flourescent light fixtures) and some clear plastic boxes. I have so many plants and babies now, that I think this will make it much easier to water everything.
I am so happy I decided to invest in the light stand. It was a bit expensive, but worth it!
Stephanie
What a difference a light stand makes....
HI Stephanie :))
Yeah ! Light is the most important part of growing any plant or living thing :) Without light food can not even be processed.
We had some AV's at work that they almost killed. I never have worked with any, but I invested in a table lamp from Home Depot that gives off full sun spectrum. It was $19.99 and the 3 plants have come back and are thriving. One has beautiful ruffles (Rhapsodie Cora) and it is a guess what the other two will be, but one will bloom soon and the poor other one will be another month or so (it was almost dead).
I went out and bought another of the lights so I could have two here at work. I have about 4 other plants under the small adjustable light also. Getting crowded.
At home I bought a Gorilla Rack from Home depot ($99.00) and installed 2 shoplights with 2 bulbs each on 4 shelves. I have a jungle around March-april.
Good luck
My shelves are eighteen inches wide, and I only installed one shoplight with two bulbs each per shelf. My plants and babies were under table lamps with daylight fluorescent bulbs, but I think there was just too many plants and leaves, and not enough light for all of them.
They all seem happy now and seem to be recovering and growing well, so I'm happy about that. Of course, the fresh soil and VF-11 is helping, too.
Here's a picture of some of the babies.
Stephanie
Here's another picture.
And here's a baby Witch Doctor, in a little thumb pot. I love the leaves on this one, and can't wait until it gets big enough to bloom.
Stephanie
Alison,
Here's the Ma's Melody Girl you sent me back in July. The poor thing was fine when I got her. But then she got too much light, and then not enough.
But look at her now! She's finally growing!
Stephanie
Stephanie,Oh you have ALOT of babies and they all look absolutely wonderful! Looks like your setup is working great.A light stand is a great thing to have.I love the varigation on the leaves on Witch Doctor.Make sure to snap a pic when its in bloom.I am anxious to see what it will look like.: ) Nancy
Wow, look at all the babies!!! Great job Stephanie!!!
Did you just set the plastic mesh on top of the boxes? I haven't wick potted one yet, so I don't know how to do it. Does the wick go all the way up the pot?
Debbie
Nice little babies you have there. I need to get something with more light. I don't have a lot of room but need to come up with some idea. Good luck with all of you little children.
You have very pretty babies! I love, love, love VF-11! It's ike a miracle worker for any plant.
Great growing :)) Are you using VF-11 plus soil mix with food ? Becareful Vf-11 must work alone and over fertilzing can cause problems.
Girl leaves like " Ma's Melody Girl " do good at the end of the light tubes of natural light.
Your plants look great ! I need to send you a box more :))
Rustywoman looks like your doing great growing ! I love Optimara's Rhapsody series ! Cora is real pretty !
Debbie,
I cut the mesh to fit inside the clear boxes I bought, and the mesh is actually sitting on top of overturned plastic cups so the plans wouldn't be too deep inside the boxes.
My wicks are pretty long - they go from almost the top of the pot, all the way down through the mesh to the botton of the box.
So far, wicking has worked out, although it's only been a short time since I started repotting and wicking. When all of the water is gone from the bottom of the box, I have been waiting a few days before adding more. Don't want things getting *too* wet!
Stephanie
Allison,
I've stopped using the same kind of potting soil I sent you. I think with my setup and conditions, it just wasn't working for me. Plus, it looks like I can't get it anymore up here, anyway. The last time I went to Lowes, they didn't have any and couldn't say if they would be getting more in.
So I've switched back to plain soilless/peat (with no food, etc. added), and make my own soil mixture. So now I can finally use the VF-11 I bought months ago. VF-11 is the only food I will be using.
I've been using it one-quarter strength, since I read somewhere (possibly this forum??) that if you use it every time you water, you should not use it full strength. Any opinions?
Stephanie
Allison,
Thanks for pointing out to me and everyone about the girl-leaf plants and their light requirements. This is wonderful advice, which I also found in old posts to this forum when researching about lights and stands. So the few girl-leaf plants and babies I have are placed at the end of the shoplight, in the furthest row out from the center of the lights. So far, it seems to be working, and the plants are looking much better!
Thanks again!
Stephanie
Stephanie -
Your wicks do not need to go all the way up the pot. I usually put a 1/2" of AV mix on the bottom of the pot and then lay the wick across that.
You want to be sure you are using a light mix when wicking. I add quite a bit of perlite. If the soil is too heavy and wet, you will get root rot. Just one more thing to think of!
Another hint is that the Yoplait yogurt containers are perfect for wicking solo cups and 2 1/4" pots. I use them on all my semiminis.
Nancy B
Hi Nancy!
I use an approximate 1/3-1/3-1/3 mix, but am usually pretty heavy-handed when it comes to adding the perlite anyway. It's so light and fluffy, sometimes it's hard to control how fast it comes out of the bag! So I guess my mix would come out as 1/4 peat, 1/2 perlite and 1/2 vermiculite.
I reread what I wrote when I explained how I was wicking, and realized I missed a step - the exact one you pointed out! Yes, I push the wick up through the bottom to almost the top of the pot, but then I've been doing as you said - fill partway with the soil mix, and fold the wick over. A few drops of water then hold the wick in place while I add the plant and fill in with more soil.
I'm trying to keep everything well-ventilated, too.
Thanks, everyone for such wonderful advice. Every little bit of information is welcome and greatly appreciated.
Stephanie