Drowning Plants

Hey guys,
I was given a basket of assorted plants from my grandmother's funeral at the end of March when I moved (end of April). I finally got to repotting them about 2 weeks later when they started looking puny (and the begonia rotted from saturated soil :( ). The soil was DRIPPING wet from a lack of drainage in the basket.
They've been repotted for a week or so, and are looking some better, but not completely. I have watered them once, but I am wondering if I should chill and let the soil dry out before I start treating them normal? I REALLY do not want to kill these guys. I have a Peace Lily, Rubber Tree, Ivy, and a Syngonium ( I don't know how to italicize that here... )

Thank you!
Deanna

I would water carefully,but don't let the Peace Lily dry out completely.

I hope you re-potted into pots with good drainage and used a well draining soil. Most packaged potting soils are pretty heavy and hold in a lot of water which causes root rot. I always add a LOTof perlite to my soil which aids in draining.

If your plants are looking a better I think there's a good chance that they will be okay. I have many, many house plants and I use a fast draining soil and let them all dry out completely before I water again, but everyones growing conditions are different so you will just need to figure out your plants needs and water accordingly. A good way to check to see if your plants need water is to stick your finger about an inch down into the soil. If the soil feels moist no water is needed, if the soil feels dry then it is time to give them a drink. Water until the water runs through the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. Empty any remaining water from the saucers so the soil doesn't soak up any of that excess, which will sit around the roots and cause rot.

Here's are links to Plant Files for your plants in case you want to read about them:

Peace Lily: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=detailed+information+for+peace+lily&btnG=Google+Search
Rubber Tree: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/718/
Syngonium(green version): http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/93772/
Syngonium (white veined): http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/54483/

I have a small variegated spider plant someone gave me... I actually planted it in a small ceramic utensil jar -- no drainage whatsoever. I water weekly, and it seems to be doing well, but it's not getting larger. The leaves are about two feet long each, but there's only about twelve of them. None have turned brown or yellow at all. It's been in the same pot for about a year.

Do I need to repot it? Should I choose a small pot like the one I have (does it like to be root bound)? I haven't done anything because it is still alive, and I have a tendency to kill plants. Someone gave me a tiny little anthurium in a tiny little pot, and I moved it to a great big pot so it would have lots of room to grow. Imagine my surprise when it died almost immediately -- within a week.

I'm so sorry -- I'm guilty of herbicide -- but I am trying to reform! I swear it! lol....

You never want to move a tiny plant into a huge pot, it's best to move up one size at a time. If it's been in the same pot for a year it would probably be a good idea to at least change out the potting mix. When you do that, look at the roots and if they're all circling around then it's best to move up to a little bit larger pot, but if they look OK then you can put it back in the same one. I would also advise getting a pot with drainage, you're lucky you haven't had problems yet but you're making your job much harder, without drainage you have to get your watering absolutely perfect or else you can end up with problems.

I think your spider plant: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1989/ would do much better in a hanging basket or other planter that has good drainage. If it is real small you probably don't want to put it in a huge pot but I would think you could start out with a 6" pot to begin with. They grow pretty fast so you will probably be surprised at how it grows and spreads and shoots out baby "spiders".

I have a feeling your anthurium was a miniature. I bought a couple of teeny little ones last year, they were in little 1" pots and so cute.

My grandma has the anthurium. It's gigantic. It's about four feet tall and wide. It covers her whole kitchen table. I saw it just today -- beautiful red blooms everwhere!! She gave me a little shooting, with a single bloom. It was in a four inch pot, and I moved it to a 12" pot. lol... I saw hers today, that whole huge thing is in a single 15" pot. It's amazing!!

I'll try a six inch basket for my spider plant. The jar it's in is probably about four and a half inches wide. what kind of soil should I use? Sandy? Clay-mixture? Wal-mart potting soil? Gravelly? I just don't want to kill my sole surviving plant!!

I use Miracle Grow potting soil but the store brand is probably cheaper and will work too. I mix a lot of perlite in my soil for everything I grow to give it good drainage. I would say use the same type of soil it's been growing in since that has worked well. Just be sure you pay careful attention to watering and don't over-water.

Whatever you do, don't use garden soil, you need to use soilless potting mix (anything that's sold in a bag and says it is for containers should be soilless, but I'd probably go for a brand name over a generic one).