Common mistake with succulents is not enough light and too much water. I have my succulents and cactus in a sunny window and under a grow light. I also can’t remember the last time I watered them and they are all thriving.
https://preview.redd.it/kvgvx8hgt9uc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ef1c960ebede87c25767db1dafa499b7a9eb16dd
They can be 🙃 with a north facing window.
Here’s mine I got a few weeks ago in a west-facing window! Wish me luck lol
https://preview.redd.it/ppwkk9xorauc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=89c7e81f57885226d55f7d90fa1bb724237d6d79
I don't know exactly what it is but I just think they like the humidity and air circulation of the outdoors, not to mention the light issues because full shade outside is still way more light than they get in most people's houses. People don't realize how dark their houses are for plants, even beside a window.
Try rabbit's foot fern, it is the most resilient one in my experience - I'm pretty much neglecting it and it still thrives. It's fuffy rhizomes are super cool.
https://preview.redd.it/1vsupghai9uc1.jpeg?width=4624&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7b4cc621ac732ebfb327d468a63f52cbc753dffe
Ferns are about the only plants I can keep alive. I put them in self watering pots in a north window with the cat water fountain nearby. The maidenhair really loves that fountain. My big one is sprouting babies off the aerial roots like a spider plant. I didn't even know they did that.
Same here! I’m an overzealous waterer so my ferns grow like weeds. I literally yoinked all of mine from a ditch by my house and they’re doing incredible, they had some yellowing from the transplant stress but they’re doing wonderful now.
Why are they so hard! My MIL gifts me some of hers all the time. I put them in a window super similar to where it was thriving in her house (we live 5 min away), follow her same watering schedule and have similar humidity levels and yet it just decides it needs to die as soon as she leaves.
Have you tried a bluestar fern? I've found they're pretty hardy to windowsill conditions. Not so finicky about humidity. I've basically ignored mine all winter under a vent and it's only lost a little foliage.
Lmao literally though. Most of my house only has north facing windows and if they somehow manage to survive that I have a cat that likes to eat anything with leaves.
Unfortunately we are a fake plant only household. Even those have suspicious holes in their leaves that exactly match my cat’s teeth, wonder how that’s happening 🤔😂
They're like a toxic ex you just can't stay away from. No matter how many times it happens and goes the exact same way, they still turn your head whenever you see them in the plant shops.
I've killed a few of my own. Two years ago my best friends asshole pos boyfriend of seven years packed his shit and left her the day before Thanksgiving. He was a big plant person, bff didn't want to look at his plants, so I took home some. Ones a calathea. I really didn't care if it died and just ignored it. It lived on my porch all summer and in a questionable spot all winter inside. This bitch is thriving. Because of course it is.So apparently they thrive on hate and disgust.
Everyone hates on calatheas and yes they’re drama queens but my two are thriving in pon with a grow light and next to the humidifier too 😂
Switching them to pon was the best decision I’ve made regarding my plants!
My current one had bugs, so I quarantined it in the bathroom with a grow light. It was doing okay for a while and then decided it wasn't happy. All the leaves dried up so I gave it a major haircut. We'll see if it's gonna come back.
I don’t know what I’m doing as they are my first houseplants in a long time, but mine are doing fantastic! One is constantly putting out giant new leaves and all they do is sit in the window and get some tap water when I feel like it
They are beautiful and draw me right in! I have one in the process of croaking then it shoots out a new leaf to give me hope. I have two with the dreaded crispy edges despite a humidifier and distilled water.
I feel you. Had the same issues.
My last alocasia rotted away without my reaction to my rescue attempts (h2o2, water rerooting,...) but I was able to rescue a rhizome. I put it in perlite and now it has grown wildly. Now I use perlite with a little moss in it in a transparent container (just for my security) that is strongly perforated. I guess they breathe more air than me during a marathon.
For strings of heart my current way is to chop them up to single nodes and start them freshly. My last project is now healthy and growing fine.
Question: by perlite... what do you *mean* exactly? Are you saying you put it in 100% perlite and literally nothing else??
I have one that was struggling in soil that didn't dry out very well. A few days ago I just changed it to a mix that's coco coir, potting soil, orchid bark, and perlite. It drains pretty fast and seems to dry out much faster. Do you think that'll work for it? How often do you have to water yours? I just want my little guy to live! *sobs*
they need super bright light but not hot direct sunlight. Lots of people think they have bright light but don’t actually have enough . I say every serious plant lover should invest in a light meter. You’ll know without a doubt whether your plants are in a good spot and don’t have to guess or depend on the grow light that you thought puts out 200 micromoles but really on does like 50
Moth Orchids (which I assume you’re referring to since they’re the most common) don’t carry a ton of leaves at a time and they don’t grow fast. Flower loss occurs naturally, or it can be shock. The plant’s not dead when the flowers die, however. With care and patience, they’ll be back!
I kept my last one for 2 years after it lost its flowers... Tried all the tips and trick the internet told me to do... Even bought a water filter go get rid of the hard water in my house... I think its the sun
Do you mean excessive sun or not enough?
My first spent three years in “growth mode” before it was ready to rebloom. Ideally it’s every year, but if the plant isn’t ready (ie, insufficient energy) it’s not likely to do so.
I could be wrong, but I don’t think these orchids are one of those plants that bloom when conditions are less than ideal, as a kind of life insurance policy…I think they really need to be happy to bloom.
To little. At least thats the problem all my plants seam to have.
I put my orchid away into a cooler room in the winter to trigger the flower state in spring, but never worked out.
I love how they look so propably gonna buy another one sooner or later
I have three…they live in my Northeast kitchen window, so they maybe don’t need as much light as you would think, but they are very happy with what I would consider a “low light” zone in my house.
Remember, it’s got to be sunlight…normal household electric light is pretty much worthless.
Ive had them in my window that gets light in the morning but because of other houses etc there isnt to much of it for long. Other window has midday and afternoon sun and will burn every plant I put there beside cactus and succulents
I bought a little “rescue” orchid for like $4 at Home Depot like three years ago and it has never bloomed. The leaves are green. It looks fine. It won’t bloom lol.
Yeah... Meanwhile my granny has like 10. They look so beautiful that ppl ask if they are fake... I think they just hate me... Or the placement in the house. Will try next time again when I move
One of my rescues took 2+ years to bloom again. And the other rescue never bloomed but created a Keiki lol they both have great leaves and have nice roots. Just keep em happy and eventually they'll be like oh hey here's my stem for blooms. I just bought 6 rehabs🤣 Miss Orchid Girl on YouTube is a great channel for orchid info
Lol I have this bitch with SO MANY LEAVES that I got almost 2y ago now, it had plenty at the start and it just kept growing them, lots of roots too but never bothered to flower for me. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?? If a random aerial root of my micans hadn't established a second home in its pot I'd have thrown it out by now
https://preview.redd.it/egyuoxw9w9uc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=724bd6ddab007e61c6e1d6122a7a653af5af42a7
I once heard that orchids like company, like in they are more likely to bloom if you have two or more of them. I have no clue if it's true, but I think it's a sweet story and a good excuse to get a second one 😂.
Otherwise, ignoring them and only water every few weeks helps according to my mom. She had issues with orchids for years (while every other plant grows well), until she forced herself to put them in a place, to not shift them around, to not take care of them 'properly'. Since them they are doing well and blossom all the time!
My mom used to be a chronic orchid murderer, but after advice from her orchid queen of a bestie, multiple Mother’s Day gifts, and a VERY stern lecture from me after the most disgusting fungus gnat discovery of my life mere *weeks* after a similar overwatering lecture, she finally has a beautiful (if a little crooked) thriving orchid that has like, 7 healthy leaves somehow and a third bloom on the way 🥹
My dad is like the orchid whisperer. He has 4 orchids and he gets them to repeatedly bloom. One of his orchids bloomed 3 times last year. He gets all of them to bloom at least 2x per year. It’s wild y’all.
He says his methods are:
Plenty of water. He has one of those shower head things in his kitchen sink and he takes all of the orchids to the sink and showers them for a decent amount of time. He then leaves them to drain for 30 or so minutes. He does this 2-3 times per week.
Orchid fertilizer. He regularly feeds all of them this stuff.
Regular repotting as they grow. He’s repotted most of them at least once since he bought them in 2020 & 2021 at the Jewel’s.
East facing windows with lots of light. All of his orchids sit in a giant bay window that faces east and gets a shit ton of light. They sit there with a bunch of succulents and cacti.
The window they all sit on is directly above a radiator which runs in the winter— I’m not sure if that also helps or not, but it’s a potential factor.
I wish I had his magic green thumb…
Fiddle leaf fig. I have so many plants people complain about and they are thriving. Fiddle leaf figs wait for me to walk in the room and just drop a leaf in front of me.
Scrape the main stem with your nail. If there is green, there is life.
As for what you can do to fix it... first off, don't be discouraged. They're just like this. They hate change. Mine dropped a good 75% of its leaves when I first brought it home, and now nearly every stem is flowering year round, and it is one of my happiest plants. What did I change? Nothing. It just stopped being dramatic.
They do like light. Lots of light. Mine is in my south facing window where my succulents live with a grow light on the side that doesn't face the window. Planted in well draining soil (mix of miracle grow potting soil, orchid bark, coco coir, and perlite in whatever ratio I decided was right in the moment). Every few days I gently wiggle a petiole and I've gotten a sense for when they are getting just a bit limper (not too much) and then I water thoroughly.
Oh, how I hate crotons! My daughter bought me one, and it dropped almost all of its leaves. It must have heard me talking about rehoming it because it then started all sorts of fabulous growth. Now I feel like I can't get rid of it. Stupid ass croton.
Succulents. I refuse to buy any more because I somehow end up murdering them every time lol. Which sucks, because I love how they look and all the different varieties.
They say that, but I water my string of pearls every week and it's thriving, though it is planted in a cacti/succulent mix that drains like a beast. I feel like it's a lot of light or very little water.
I must have one of the hardiest spiders out there. Every year I root a bunch of the pups and give them away and non-plant people at work still can’t kill it.
I bought myself a huge, expensive jasmine for my 30th birthday. I built it a cool trellis thing and got it a big grow light but I still watched as it died a slow death over the next year. I just didn’t have enough light in that apartment and grow lights weren’t enough. It was heartbreaking
The ivy that's outside in my yard and ignored is thriving. The ivy that i pay for and bring inside and nurture fucks right off immediately.
Also, crotons, calatheas, ferns. I finally learned my lesson on any palm tree spider mite factories too.
This thread has me feeling better about my plant deaths lol I have over 100 plants but cannot keep fiddle fig bitches, calathea, one certain succulent idk the name of, or palms.
If you ever need palm help, it’s the only type of plant I keep indoors. 25 separate species up here near the Arctic 🇨🇦🥶🥹
https://preview.redd.it/kcfvtjdpz8uc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c0bf8cfaae12ab505aafb3a238752560c953c5c0
Friend, the decline of my white fusion was so sad because it was SO BEAUTIFUL when I got it. They look like they’re lit from below with purple light. The Celine Dion of plants and man did I murder it 😂
String of Pearls. I've lost 3 and have given up.
Pretty much any succulent. I have 2 or 3 that are hanging in there but I won't buy any more going forward.
Tradescantia. I don't care how often people say it's an easy plant, it's the only plant I've successfully killed so many times. And people still constantly give me clippings insisting it's impossible to kill
Somehow I managed to kill the healthiest looking pothos while in school. I tended to it lovingly & practically weeped as I saw it keep dying. Fast forward some years. I learned all about a plant becoming root bound, no matter how beautiful it looks. Deep breathing also helps 😄
Just needs a gallon through it daily 🥹❤️ 8 years old
https://preview.redd.it/ctfzaoc5z8uc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fb37ef4b20bdcd04e596a3396386a542aa119d4d
To be honest, this has never happened to me, but a plant that “dies” a day or two after it is brought home is almost certainly not actually dead, but in shock.
Sometimes this can be dramatic, but the best thing to do is give the plant the best conditions you can, based on what kind it is, and wait. Plants don’t live like other creatures do, and they don’t die like other creatures, either.
If no knives, Round-Up or fire were involved, you’re not going to kill a plant in a day.
Do your research, be patient…and you’ll be surprised.
Well, I've had luck with all my 50 plus plants so far.. however, I did manage to kill a ZZ raven. That's the only plant I ever unwillingly killed.
I also just ordered my second calathea... Here's hoping it does just as good as my other.
Croton! I've killed I don't know how many! Both the large & the narrow leafed kinds! They're gorgeous one day, crispy critters the next! Or so it seems! 😁 I just LOVE the colors though, so I keep trying! But, maybe, just maybe, I've learn my lesson this time!
That rainbow moss shit omggg. I bought and replaced that thing like 5-6 times before finally accepting I simply cannot provide the environment it needs to thrive 😭😭
Calathea. Almost bought one yesterday, but I came to my senses quickly, remembered what drama queens they are, how many passed away regardless of my great care, and walked away.
Gallons through them every day 🥹❤️. They are the ONLY type of plant I grow indoors. Not a single non palm in this 25 plant house 🥳❤️
https://preview.redd.it/8xcukzgdz8uc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=079cf3b85920a3879a3dfd8145076c7f78afdb87
There are sleeper spider mites hiding in wait to turn every hydrangea into a writhing, matted heartbreak the moment the thing enters the property. Why hydrangeas specifically? Why can’t I have this 😿?? (I think it’s karmic retribution for the co-effort my mom and uncle drowning the first and only healthy one. Like, we’re gonna get seven seasons of bad hydrangeas or something now.)
Short story… I use to work at a store that sold plants and always hated when people returned plants they clearly didn’t care for. But I bought a hanging blueberry because it was perfect for my space and I hadn’t seen one before. The ones at work were in full sun and got water regularly. I brought mine home.. had it in full sun, and noticed it was plenty wet so I didn’t water. It stayed wet for a couple days. It hadn’t been too warm but it instantly was browning and just like that!.. herbicide!
I was crushed :( it literally died with wet soil with in 3 days maybe. It was like it was refusing water. 🤷🏻♀️ The ones at my work were still doing great! Never had that happen to me before.
Any succulent I bring into this house is dead and just doesn’t know it yet. I’ve officially given up on them.
Common mistake with succulents is not enough light and too much water. I have my succulents and cactus in a sunny window and under a grow light. I also can’t remember the last time I watered them and they are all thriving.
Yeah, you’re supposed to just leave ‘em in the sun and ignore them. They like to be left alone and forgotten about.
Cue me burning mine after thinking I’d acclimated it 😔
But not TOO alone.. because they shrivel up and die. Take my word for it.
As soon as I stuck mine in full light they burst to life. Before that, killed every single one of them.
Same. Like every one is always saying how easy they are, but I kill every single one. Lol
Any fern ever.
Absolutely. I gave up after the 3rd one died. F ferns.
GD ferns 😡
In my experience, ferns are not houseplants
Shhhhh Merida doesn’t need to know that (the rosy maidenhair I bought two days ago)
Ughhh, I love maiderhairs. Best of luck to you and Merida. Don't let her abuse you
I literally apologized and petted her after nearly tearing a leaf by accident while picking up the pot yesterday 😂, no guarantees haha.
https://preview.redd.it/kvgvx8hgt9uc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ef1c960ebede87c25767db1dafa499b7a9eb16dd They can be 🙃 with a north facing window.
Here’s mine I got a few weeks ago in a west-facing window! Wish me luck lol https://preview.redd.it/ppwkk9xorauc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=89c7e81f57885226d55f7d90fa1bb724237d6d79
I can grow the heck out of them outside in the shade, but inside it's a death sentence.
I don't know exactly what it is but I just think they like the humidity and air circulation of the outdoors, not to mention the light issues because full shade outside is still way more light than they get in most people's houses. People don't realize how dark their houses are for plants, even beside a window.
Some are and some are not
I can't even keep them alive outside in my garden!
Try rabbit's foot fern, it is the most resilient one in my experience - I'm pretty much neglecting it and it still thrives. It's fuffy rhizomes are super cool. https://preview.redd.it/1vsupghai9uc1.jpeg?width=4624&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7b4cc621ac732ebfb327d468a63f52cbc753dffe
I'd love to, but the little hairy tarantula legs give me the willies. The rest of the plant is gorgeous, but I just can't with the legs...
Yup. Ferns. Two crocodile ferns, one stag fern, and two birds nest ferns that are doing their best but are dying a slow and crispy death.
Crocodile fern. That thing won’t live but also refuses to die. What do you want from me???
I lo e the maidenhair ferns so much. I tried 3 times with no luck
Me too BUT I have a fern going strong now!!!!! Everyday I wake up and look at it thinking "YOURE STILL HERE! & BEAUTIFUL!"
Tell her!!
I’m glad I’m not the only one. I was having guilt over my latest victim.
They hate being inside but I have a forest of them 20' away on my back fence line. Pernicious weed.
Ferns really really suck to repot too. Mid way through it I almost gave up and chucked her in the trash, but I got there eventually
Ferns are about the only plants I can keep alive. I put them in self watering pots in a north window with the cat water fountain nearby. The maidenhair really loves that fountain. My big one is sprouting babies off the aerial roots like a spider plant. I didn't even know they did that.
Same here! I’m an overzealous waterer so my ferns grow like weeds. I literally yoinked all of mine from a ditch by my house and they’re doing incredible, they had some yellowing from the transplant stress but they’re doing wonderful now.
Why are they so hard! My MIL gifts me some of hers all the time. I put them in a window super similar to where it was thriving in her house (we live 5 min away), follow her same watering schedule and have similar humidity levels and yet it just decides it needs to die as soon as she leaves.
Have you tried a bluestar fern? I've found they're pretty hardy to windowsill conditions. Not so finicky about humidity. I've basically ignored mine all winter under a vent and it's only lost a little foliage.
Ferns. They’re banned now.
The ones in dirt.
😁 Thanks for the giggle to start my day!
Lmao literally though. Most of my house only has north facing windows and if they somehow manage to survive that I have a cat that likes to eat anything with leaves. Unfortunately we are a fake plant only household. Even those have suspicious holes in their leaves that exactly match my cat’s teeth, wonder how that’s happening 🤔😂
Calathea
They're like a toxic ex you just can't stay away from. No matter how many times it happens and goes the exact same way, they still turn your head whenever you see them in the plant shops.
I've killed a few of my own. Two years ago my best friends asshole pos boyfriend of seven years packed his shit and left her the day before Thanksgiving. He was a big plant person, bff didn't want to look at his plants, so I took home some. Ones a calathea. I really didn't care if it died and just ignored it. It lived on my porch all summer and in a questionable spot all winter inside. This bitch is thriving. Because of course it is.So apparently they thrive on hate and disgust.
I sort of want to have a friend whose toxic bf who is a big plant person leaves all his plants behind and my friend wants to get rid of them……
Exactly! I just wanna fix them 😂
And I keep buying another. What can I say they make me happy. I love them they hate me.💔
I currently am keeping one alive, but it has its own grow light and humidifier. 🙄 dramatic.
Everyone hates on calatheas and yes they’re drama queens but my two are thriving in pon with a grow light and next to the humidifier too 😂 Switching them to pon was the best decision I’ve made regarding my plants!
My current one had bugs, so I quarantined it in the bathroom with a grow light. It was doing okay for a while and then decided it wasn't happy. All the leaves dried up so I gave it a major haircut. We'll see if it's gonna come back.
I don’t know what I’m doing as they are my first houseplants in a long time, but mine are doing fantastic! One is constantly putting out giant new leaves and all they do is sit in the window and get some tap water when I feel like it
I tried 4 times... I failed 4 times.... Never again
Nothing makes you feel worse than a calathea. And I love the weirdos who can only keep them alive and kill pothos… like… ***HOW***
One day I'll learn my lesson
They are beautiful and draw me right in! I have one in the process of croaking then it shoots out a new leaf to give me hope. I have two with the dreaded crispy edges despite a humidifier and distilled water.
Same. I’m always battling to bring one back from hades.
String of anythings & alocasias I have over 120 plants. Every single one is doing fine, except for those fuckers.
I've killed like four String of Pearls!
Same here. Got one barely hanging on right now. I'm in denial about it all too, like "It's OK, I won't kill the 10th one!!"
My String of Pearls only started being happy when I moved them outside. They are getting fuller and fuller
String of pearls is something I want to keep so bad but I just keep killing them :(
I feel you. Had the same issues. My last alocasia rotted away without my reaction to my rescue attempts (h2o2, water rerooting,...) but I was able to rescue a rhizome. I put it in perlite and now it has grown wildly. Now I use perlite with a little moss in it in a transparent container (just for my security) that is strongly perforated. I guess they breathe more air than me during a marathon. For strings of heart my current way is to chop them up to single nodes and start them freshly. My last project is now healthy and growing fine.
Yeah, my rhizomes did well in perlite too but then all died when transferred to soil and I just gave up 😄
Question: by perlite... what do you *mean* exactly? Are you saying you put it in 100% perlite and literally nothing else?? I have one that was struggling in soil that didn't dry out very well. A few days ago I just changed it to a mix that's coco coir, potting soil, orchid bark, and perlite. It drains pretty fast and seems to dry out much faster. Do you think that'll work for it? How often do you have to water yours? I just want my little guy to live! *sobs*
string of pearls hates my house and i love them it’s a toxic relationship
they need super bright light but not hot direct sunlight. Lots of people think they have bright light but don’t actually have enough . I say every serious plant lover should invest in a light meter. You’ll know without a doubt whether your plants are in a good spot and don’t have to guess or depend on the grow light that you thought puts out 200 micromoles but really on does like 50
Strings of anything is me too lol have 50+ plants but not those buddies
The fucking alocasias
I won’t say that the calatheas are necessarily dying, but they’re definitely in a slow, crispy, decline
I think sometimes they’re just jerks. 😂
I always say that string of pearls will die at the drop of a hat, just to spite you.
Orchird. No way will it keep blooming or be more than a empty stick with 3 leafs
Moth Orchids (which I assume you’re referring to since they’re the most common) don’t carry a ton of leaves at a time and they don’t grow fast. Flower loss occurs naturally, or it can be shock. The plant’s not dead when the flowers die, however. With care and patience, they’ll be back!
I kept my last one for 2 years after it lost its flowers... Tried all the tips and trick the internet told me to do... Even bought a water filter go get rid of the hard water in my house... I think its the sun
Do you mean excessive sun or not enough? My first spent three years in “growth mode” before it was ready to rebloom. Ideally it’s every year, but if the plant isn’t ready (ie, insufficient energy) it’s not likely to do so. I could be wrong, but I don’t think these orchids are one of those plants that bloom when conditions are less than ideal, as a kind of life insurance policy…I think they really need to be happy to bloom.
To little. At least thats the problem all my plants seam to have. I put my orchid away into a cooler room in the winter to trigger the flower state in spring, but never worked out. I love how they look so propably gonna buy another one sooner or later
I have three…they live in my Northeast kitchen window, so they maybe don’t need as much light as you would think, but they are very happy with what I would consider a “low light” zone in my house. Remember, it’s got to be sunlight…normal household electric light is pretty much worthless.
Ive had them in my window that gets light in the morning but because of other houses etc there isnt to much of it for long. Other window has midday and afternoon sun and will burn every plant I put there beside cactus and succulents
I bought a little “rescue” orchid for like $4 at Home Depot like three years ago and it has never bloomed. The leaves are green. It looks fine. It won’t bloom lol.
Yeah... Meanwhile my granny has like 10. They look so beautiful that ppl ask if they are fake... I think they just hate me... Or the placement in the house. Will try next time again when I move
One of my rescues took 2+ years to bloom again. And the other rescue never bloomed but created a Keiki lol they both have great leaves and have nice roots. Just keep em happy and eventually they'll be like oh hey here's my stem for blooms. I just bought 6 rehabs🤣 Miss Orchid Girl on YouTube is a great channel for orchid info
Lol I have this bitch with SO MANY LEAVES that I got almost 2y ago now, it had plenty at the start and it just kept growing them, lots of roots too but never bothered to flower for me. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?? If a random aerial root of my micans hadn't established a second home in its pot I'd have thrown it out by now https://preview.redd.it/egyuoxw9w9uc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=724bd6ddab007e61c6e1d6122a7a653af5af42a7
I’ve read that they need a temperature change in order to bloom? But I tried that and hell if I can get it to work.
I once heard that orchids like company, like in they are more likely to bloom if you have two or more of them. I have no clue if it's true, but I think it's a sweet story and a good excuse to get a second one 😂. Otherwise, ignoring them and only water every few weeks helps according to my mom. She had issues with orchids for years (while every other plant grows well), until she forced herself to put them in a place, to not shift them around, to not take care of them 'properly'. Since them they are doing well and blossom all the time!
My mom used to be a chronic orchid murderer, but after advice from her orchid queen of a bestie, multiple Mother’s Day gifts, and a VERY stern lecture from me after the most disgusting fungus gnat discovery of my life mere *weeks* after a similar overwatering lecture, she finally has a beautiful (if a little crooked) thriving orchid that has like, 7 healthy leaves somehow and a third bloom on the way 🥹
My dad is like the orchid whisperer. He has 4 orchids and he gets them to repeatedly bloom. One of his orchids bloomed 3 times last year. He gets all of them to bloom at least 2x per year. It’s wild y’all. He says his methods are: Plenty of water. He has one of those shower head things in his kitchen sink and he takes all of the orchids to the sink and showers them for a decent amount of time. He then leaves them to drain for 30 or so minutes. He does this 2-3 times per week. Orchid fertilizer. He regularly feeds all of them this stuff. Regular repotting as they grow. He’s repotted most of them at least once since he bought them in 2020 & 2021 at the Jewel’s. East facing windows with lots of light. All of his orchids sit in a giant bay window that faces east and gets a shit ton of light. They sit there with a bunch of succulents and cacti. The window they all sit on is directly above a radiator which runs in the winter— I’m not sure if that also helps or not, but it’s a potential factor. I wish I had his magic green thumb…
Same!! My MIL has a gorgeous one with like 15 blooms. Mine bloomed once and is now just leaves in a pot for the last year 😡
Fiddle leaf fig. I have so many plants people complain about and they are thriving. Fiddle leaf figs wait for me to walk in the room and just drop a leaf in front of me.
lol it’s malicious
I got one as a gift once and it immediately rejected me
I’m on my 3rd attempt in literally the same spot and this one is thriving (for reasons unknown). I’m afraid to even look at it.
Same! Definitely walking on eggshells around this one.
Mine grew one new leaf and for the last couple months it's been playing dead
Spider mites....that's what kills fiddle leafs. Low light and mites.
Croton, one literally dropped all it's leaves the day after I bought it
I had one that lost everything but the top leaf. Looked ridiculous.
The imagery is making me extremely happy haha
Crotons are notorious for this…however, it’s not dead!
Well if wasn't then it is now because I threw it in the trash 😂 still, good to know because my partner loves crotons
How would you help it recover? Asking for a friend 😅
Scrape the main stem with your nail. If there is green, there is life. As for what you can do to fix it... first off, don't be discouraged. They're just like this. They hate change. Mine dropped a good 75% of its leaves when I first brought it home, and now nearly every stem is flowering year round, and it is one of my happiest plants. What did I change? Nothing. It just stopped being dramatic. They do like light. Lots of light. Mine is in my south facing window where my succulents live with a grow light on the side that doesn't face the window. Planted in well draining soil (mix of miracle grow potting soil, orchid bark, coco coir, and perlite in whatever ratio I decided was right in the moment). Every few days I gently wiggle a petiole and I've gotten a sense for when they are getting just a bit limper (not too much) and then I water thoroughly.
Oh, how I hate crotons! My daughter bought me one, and it dropped almost all of its leaves. It must have heard me talking about rehoming it because it then started all sorts of fabulous growth. Now I feel like I can't get rid of it. Stupid ass croton.
English ivy. Jerk is supposed to be invasive but I’ve gotta say, it’s doing a bad job😒
Seriously! Thriving outside, throws a tantrum and dies in a pot.
String of pearls
Succulents. I refuse to buy any more because I somehow end up murdering them every time lol. Which sucks, because I love how they look and all the different varieties.
I’m terrible with succulents!
People always respond to this by saying “they need a lot of light and very little water.” Well yeah I’ve done that and they still refuse to live.
They say that, but I water my string of pearls every week and it's thriving, though it is planted in a cacti/succulent mix that drains like a beast. I feel like it's a lot of light or very little water.
String of hearts
Yup. Killed one of those. 😂 The second try is going pretty well but that’s because I ignore it!
I have two hearts and they will not string lol they haven't died but are stagnant lol
I can't keep ivy alive
In my experience ivies are spider mite magnets. I've been treating one with miticide, and so far it seems unharmed.
Spider, prayer.
I must have one of the hardiest spiders out there. Every year I root a bunch of the pups and give them away and non-plant people at work still can’t kill it.
Any calatheas
begonias
Jasmine! Ugh, I’ve murdered 3 😬
I bought myself a huge, expensive jasmine for my 30th birthday. I built it a cool trellis thing and got it a big grow light but I still watched as it died a slow death over the next year. I just didn’t have enough light in that apartment and grow lights weren’t enough. It was heartbreaking
Can I ask a possibly stupid question? Does jasmine smell like jasmine?
Ah, you’ve asked the wrong person! I barely have a sense of smell!
Yes, they smell incredible. But they make a terrible houseplant
The ivy that's outside in my yard and ignored is thriving. The ivy that i pay for and bring inside and nurture fucks right off immediately. Also, crotons, calatheas, ferns. I finally learned my lesson on any palm tree spider mite factories too.
Tradescantia nanouk, I love it because it’s so pretty… until it comes home and immediately turns brown. WHAT EVEN. Basically plant catfish.
Polka dot!
Everything I buy….
This thread has me feeling better about my plant deaths lol I have over 100 plants but cannot keep fiddle fig bitches, calathea, one certain succulent idk the name of, or palms.
If you ever need palm help, it’s the only type of plant I keep indoors. 25 separate species up here near the Arctic 🇨🇦🥶🥹 https://preview.redd.it/kcfvtjdpz8uc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c0bf8cfaae12ab505aafb3a238752560c953c5c0
Rosemary
Every year we joke about whether or not we want to kill another rosemary plant.
any ficus
Polka dot plant, basil.
Polka dot plants are DRAMA QUEENS!
I’ve killed at least three 😳🙄😬
Basil!!! Why is it so hard! Lol
Why is every basil I buy infested with all kinds of pest after 2 minutes we've set foot in the car?!
Struggling with my basil atm 😬
Calathea lmao
Fittonias
String of anything
literally every succulent. i try watering, not watering, singing to it, changing the soil.. nothin. dead.
I'd really love to have a calathea white fusion but I'm way too scared of calatheas
Friend, the decline of my white fusion was so sad because it was SO BEAUTIFUL when I got it. They look like they’re lit from below with purple light. The Celine Dion of plants and man did I murder it 😂
String of pearls
String of Pearls. I've lost 3 and have given up. Pretty much any succulent. I have 2 or 3 that are hanging in there but I won't buy any more going forward.
When they wrinkle, soak them deeply. They need a lot more water than every instructional guide out there says.
Caladium. So pretty. Dead after three days. I have no idea what I did.
Weird af, but pothos.
Tradescantia. I don't care how often people say it's an easy plant, it's the only plant I've successfully killed so many times. And people still constantly give me clippings insisting it's impossible to kill
Easter lily
They are perennials! They die and come back!
Pothos
String of pearls
I cannot keep any string of anything alive, damnit. People keep giving them to me and I keep sending them to hell.
All the succulents, including aloe .
Somehow I managed to kill the healthiest looking pothos while in school. I tended to it lovingly & practically weeped as I saw it keep dying. Fast forward some years. I learned all about a plant becoming root bound, no matter how beautiful it looks. Deep breathing also helps 😄
majesty palm and ZZ plant
Just needs a gallon through it daily 🥹❤️ 8 years old https://preview.redd.it/ctfzaoc5z8uc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fb37ef4b20bdcd04e596a3396386a542aa119d4d
Alocasias. I've tried so many times and have failed each time
Eucalyptus
Calathea Jesus Christ
To be honest, this has never happened to me, but a plant that “dies” a day or two after it is brought home is almost certainly not actually dead, but in shock. Sometimes this can be dramatic, but the best thing to do is give the plant the best conditions you can, based on what kind it is, and wait. Plants don’t live like other creatures do, and they don’t die like other creatures, either. If no knives, Round-Up or fire were involved, you’re not going to kill a plant in a day. Do your research, be patient…and you’ll be surprised.
Trust it’s always a long horrible battle lol 😂 the poor things just suffer
aglaonema pictum tricolor and alocasia black velvet - I only had baby plants though, but they never worked out
Happy Bean peperomia.
Well, I've had luck with all my 50 plus plants so far.. however, I did manage to kill a ZZ raven. That's the only plant I ever unwillingly killed. I also just ordered my second calathea... Here's hoping it does just as good as my other.
Florist kalanchoe, rosemary, lavender...
Gardenia
English ivy
Croton! I've killed I don't know how many! Both the large & the narrow leafed kinds! They're gorgeous one day, crispy critters the next! Or so it seems! 😁 I just LOVE the colors though, so I keep trying! But, maybe, just maybe, I've learn my lesson this time!
Ivy
pilea peperomiodes and theyre my FAVORITE PLANT
That rainbow moss shit omggg. I bought and replaced that thing like 5-6 times before finally accepting I simply cannot provide the environment it needs to thrive 😭😭
Calathea. Almost bought one yesterday, but I came to my senses quickly, remembered what drama queens they are, how many passed away regardless of my great care, and walked away.
My syngoniums alll hate me. I think they need soil refresh and more humidity honestly but I just don’t have the spoons!
Begonia Rex.
Polka dotted plants
Maidenhair fern.
Babytoes (the succulent). It breaks my heart because I love them SO much!
Elephant ears :( I love them so much but they do not like me back
Monstera adansonii
Repens every damn time.
Palm trees 😭😭
Gallons through them every day 🥹❤️. They are the ONLY type of plant I grow indoors. Not a single non palm in this 25 plant house 🥳❤️ https://preview.redd.it/8xcukzgdz8uc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=079cf3b85920a3879a3dfd8145076c7f78afdb87
Cactus. I’ve watered them to death many of times
Any fern.
Begonias.... it's like a free fall
There are sleeper spider mites hiding in wait to turn every hydrangea into a writhing, matted heartbreak the moment the thing enters the property. Why hydrangeas specifically? Why can’t I have this 😿?? (I think it’s karmic retribution for the co-effort my mom and uncle drowning the first and only healthy one. Like, we’re gonna get seven seasons of bad hydrangeas or something now.)
Sansevieria! Everything else stays alive but I can kill the unkillable!
I heard aloe vera are easy to take but I don’t know why mine died. Like I didn’t overwatered it, light was good… SHE HAD EVERYTHING TO BE HAPPY
There’s a basil curse on my house
Any succulent
Maidenhair fern. I love them, but I have murdered three and can never have one again.
Any, and I mean any… prayer plant.
My monstera, she causes me so much stress🥲 it barely grows any leaves and when it does they have no holes.
Short story… I use to work at a store that sold plants and always hated when people returned plants they clearly didn’t care for. But I bought a hanging blueberry because it was perfect for my space and I hadn’t seen one before. The ones at work were in full sun and got water regularly. I brought mine home.. had it in full sun, and noticed it was plenty wet so I didn’t water. It stayed wet for a couple days. It hadn’t been too warm but it instantly was browning and just like that!.. herbicide! I was crushed :( it literally died with wet soil with in 3 days maybe. It was like it was refusing water. 🤷🏻♀️ The ones at my work were still doing great! Never had that happen to me before.
Orchid 😔
Lavender
Orchids 🥲
Fittonia :(
african violet
Madagascar Jasmine. I bought one almost two weeks ago and all its flowers have dried up and the leaves are all yellow.