I replanted my ivy's and killed them

I have 3 ivy's. The oldest is 9 years old, then 8 years old and then 4 years old. I havent ever replanted them. They were still doing okay, the vines were up tp 20 feet long. But there were lots of places where there was no leaves. I sort of forget to water them sometimes. But they were for the most part nice and green. I dont have alot of sunlight here in the house. but they were vining towards the windows.

I took them out last week and replanted them. 3 days ago I looked at them and they are wilted, yellow, and some places are dying. I had cut all the runners to about a foot length. everything was cut down and put in the pots.

I have those pots that you water from the bottom. and I love them. I did add new miricle grow potting soil in with the old.

and I busted up the roots.

Please tell me what I have done wrong. I cant loose these plants. Each one was planted when a kid was born. Thats how I know how old they are.

Also 5 months ago I cut cuttings off of each one and made 2 more plants one for my sisterin law as a housewarming, and one for my new son. Both are flourishing.



Also, my corn plant that has been hid in a corner and never gets any light was taken out, and the dirt uncompacted and it was put back. Now all of it is Yellow and dying. I have kept it outside, and it hasnt gotten too cold.

That same day we planted alot of flowers and they are doing great. Still blooming and not a wilted or dead leaf.

Please help me. I am so scared I have killed them!!



This message was edited Apr 22, 2008 10:53 AM

What did you repot them with? Did you give them a good watering before you took them out of the old pots? Have you tried to use a transplant formula or superthrive to help them adjust?
Yikes - I just reread and saw that you reused your old potting soil - how old was the soil?
What I would do is take them out of the pots (water them very well first - this will help to not brake the roots off), wash the pots out well with diluted bleach, put in only new potting soil and give them a dose of Superthrive or M. grow also has a transplant formula out that works well as long as you dont use more then your suppose to.
Keep them out of the direct sun for a few days so they can re-establish their roots.
good luck!
Bre

This message was edited Apr 22, 2008 4:02 PM

I agree, you have reused the same old potting soil, this has no nutrition left in it, you say you mashed up the roots, why, all you have done is break the roots, these are what take up water and nutrients to the plant, the new bits you just stuck in the soil will probably be what you see dying as they have no roots yet and no decent soil to get rooted into, so re-pot the ivies into new larger size pot with new compost for house plants, and as for the cuttings you added, I would put them into a separate pot till they have rooted, once you have potted up your plant and watered them, give them a half strength of liquid house plant food after they have settled down into the new pot, say after about two weeks, dont have the plants sitting in a saucer of water either as ivies dont like there roots too wet, once you have watered them, wait about an hour, then pour off any water that is in the saucers, I think you will find they recover this way, Ivies dont need a lot of light indoors, so dont put them too close to a window that lets bright sunlight bake them. good luck, WeeNel.

Okay :) thanks!

I did use the old soil, and some new soil. I dont think I explained it real well. I mixed about half and half. I tried very hard not to break the roots. But I did seperate them. I have made lots of people plants out of my ivys by just sticking the cuttings in a new pot. So fiqured it would be okay. these always flourished and I still get Thank You's when I see them :)

I will redo these. I will wash off the plants. and then water sparingly. Should I redo the corn plant too? My dad actually replanted it. I didnt. I had came back inside.

I will keep them dryish for a while. which should be easy. I dont remember to water very often. :( I just pray I havent killed them. As they have been around a while. plus my kids know who's is who's and expect to take them when they leave home. Of course since they are boys I will make them wait till they settle down. I can just imagine the ivy's I have tended for 18 years geting watered with beer at a frat party! LOL

I will also bring them back in.

Let me ask this. I have them up on top of my cabinets. There is a shelf like area above the cbinets in the kitchen. is there a light I can buy to put over each one? I would have to buy a timer for it as I have to stand on the counters to reach them to water them. There just is VERY little sunlght in the house, period. I also have a space in my bathroom I thought about putting an ivey. BUT there is NO windows in there so I cant see anything thriving.

Should I bring the corn plant back in until it greens up again? I thought it might enjoy the outdoors for a while. and it was doing great ( had been out about a week) before he replanted it. now its all brown and wilty.. :(

Thanks again y'all!! I am feeling better about it and will get on this as soon as its daylight! :)

Since the Ivys dont need alot of light you should be fine putting them on the top of your cabinets. Thats where you had them before, right? And they did fine,
You do want to make sure you use 100% new potting soil. And using a transplant helper works well.
I dont know anything about corn plants but if it was potted back into the 1/2 old and 1/2 new soil, I would redo it into all new soil and use a transplant formula also
You may want to get it out of the sun so it can establish new roots
Bre

Okay, I will put them back up there on top. Yes this is where they were to start iwth. and did great. unless they got behind something that didnt allow there to be any leaves. ?? I just had LOTS of bare runners.. that is what prompted my dad to want to repot them to start with. :)




This morning I replanted them. I know what the problem was now. They were FULL of water. I guess they got watered when they got replanted and then rewatered. The soil was literly mud.

I put them in all new potting soil. its dry. I will put about a 1/2 cup of water in them every few days or so until they perk up. a 1/2 cup might not quite be enough. but the ones that have roots were still okay. The cuttings were pure mush where they were in the dirt.


Thanks agian!!

This message was edited Apr 23, 2008 9:11 AM

Chelle, I'm curious. Did your plants survive? Are they doing better now?

I have a friend who did planted plants when each of her kids was born, and she was devastated when a puppy ate the plant for a baby that had died.

Whats THat,
OMG, I cant imagine how devistated she was. That would be the worst feeling. These plants are so special to me. Especially considering I had them being plantsitted at my grandmother in laws due to a long out of town stay and had not yet brought them home, and then my house burnt.

One has new shoots coming up. there are about 4 of them, and they are about 4 inches tall.
One has a few good peices, 3 I think, the longest being about 8 inches
And the last one is about the same, its got a few green old growths, but nothing is really long or big.

I will never be able to say tey are as old as the kids again. And my kids havent forgiven me yet. I keep telling them that they didnt die totally, and that the new growth is part of the old growth. But they still are mad!

That same day, I trimmed off lots of cuttings and put them in a pot for my aunt, one who has thousands of flowers but has never been able to grow an ivy. I took her the plant, (in a dummy proof watering pot) and it was huge and green and beautiful.
It sits on a table, in full sunlight and has NEVER lost a leaf. She has to trim it at least once a week to keep it from taking over her table.

And the plant I made from those 3 for the new baby is growin like a weed. Runners are at least 3 foot long.

Thank you for remembering and asking. I still have my fingers crossed on them!

Do you think that too much sun could be causing mine to die? I water once or twice a week so I know it's not too much water.

Can you post a picture and tell us a little more about the conditions your ivy is in? Depending on the size of the pot relative to the plant and where you have it, it could be too much water, too little water, too much sun, or something else entirely. Also has anything changed recently (like you repotted, changed its location, fertilized, etc). You might also consider starting your own thread so that more people will notice your question.

There's no formula or schedule that is adequate for watering. A 300 pound man walking the Sahara is going to require much more water than a sedentary 95 pound lady living in Alaska in January. The only appropriate answer for "When do I water my ........." is "When it needs it." If the soil is dry several inches down, an ivy can use some water. If it's wilted and it doesn't respond to the water, then either it has reached the point of no return or excess water caused the wilting in the first place.

These are what people call devil's ivy? Do your pots have drain holes? That is absolutely essential. As far as sun, in their natural habitat they are undergrowth and see little direct sun. I don't recall ever seeing any growing in direct sun.

I think I have figured out that mine is getting too much sun. The leaves are "burnt". They are brown and dried up even though I have made sure that they are getting enough water but not too much. Since the season has changed I never really thought about it but that part of the porch is getting a LOT more sun than it was in the spring.

I imagine you're right, because this ivy is a lot more water tolerant than most plants. When I was a boy, people would grow them in water. Yours are in soil, so just water when the soil is dry down a couple of inches, and try moving it into the shade. Maybe there is enough live growth on it for you to trim it up. If it's otherwise healthy, that is, if it's just burning from direct sunlight, it ought to bounce back quickly in this hot weather.

Could I ask how often people water their ivy's? Lately, I have noticed increased browning and have been watering twice a week...am I overdoing it? I just lost a huge ivy I had in a hanging pot that I had 10 feet back from a south window, I don't think it was getting enough light. Could they need more water in the summer? Don't mean to get off topic, chellebyerly, so glad to hear the one for the new baby is coming along and the others are doing better. Thanks.

Eileen

There is never one right answer on how frequently to water, twice a week might be too much in some situations but too little in others. The only way to know for sure how much to water is to check the moisture level regularly by sticking your finger down a couple inches into the pot, if it feels bone dry then you're not watering enough but if it feels pretty wet then you're watering too much. And yes, water needs will vary depending on the season--in winter even indoors it's typically a little cooler than it is during the summer so the plant won't go through water as quickly.