On 05/03/15 15:40, Tough Guy no. 1265 wrote:

Uh.... the council's free compost. I thought all compost was pretty much the same, and only a few plants needed some additives.

Can anybody identify the plant and ascertain if it needs something special? I guess I could then get some litmus paper and correct the acidity if necessary.

looks like a Calathea to me. Doesn't need anything special, just decent
compost.

The Council's free compost is something I avoid, as it is not possible
to say what is in it. If someone dumps a load of soil treated with a
persistent weedkiller in their wheelie bin or at their local tip, that
could well find its way into /your/ flowerpot. The chances are very low,
but even a minimal risk is a risk if you have a very special plant.

--

Jeff

On Thu, 05 Mar 2015 19:01:28 -0000, Spider wrote:

On 05/03/2015 13:41, Tough Guy no. 1265 wrote:
On Thu, 05 Mar 2015 12:43:54 -0000, Spider wrote:

On 02/03/2015 23:54, Tough Guy no. 1265 wrote:
I have a houseplant which I moved into a larger pot (as it was consuming
the water very rapidly, it had outgrown the small pot). As soon as I
did this, the leaves have shrivelled up. AFAIK I'm not over or under
watering it, and there are no signs of beasties. What's wrong with it?

Could you have over-potted it (to save potting it on next time, perhaps)
which would mean the excess compost would be holding too much moisture,

I didn't know that was possible. Surely in the wild outside, plants
have infinite pot size.

I increased the pot volume by probably double.

or failed to bring the new compost to room temperature so that the roots
had a thermal shock?

I didn't know they were as bad as goldfish! I did the repotting
indoors, but I had brought the compost from outside shortly beforehand.
Mind you the new compost is only on the edges, the roots are in the old
compost which was at room temperature. Wouldn't it get just as much
thermal shock when I put cold water in it to water it?



I've been trying to find out what your plant is and the nearest I can
get to it is Calathea rufibarba. There is a good pic at the link below.

http://www.wellgrowhorti.com/Picture...0Rufibarba.jpg

As far as I can tell (*if* this is indeed your plant), it shouldn't need
a special compost type. It is tropical though, so I've no idea how
you've got away with watering it with cold water for so long. Tepid
water would be better. It can tolerate some bright light, folding its
leaves if it's too bright, but prefers a slightly shadier spot.
The fact that you have over-potted it (just the next size pot up would
have been better) in chilly compost *and* compounded that by giving it a
cold drink is quite enough to make it feel poorly. Then to stick the
poor thing in a bright window above a radiator before its roots have had
chance to recover, was simply adding insult to injury.

The reason over-potting is so different to the wild situation (with
boundless soil) is that the pot holds on to water in a way that the
ground rarely does, so the potted plant is left sitting in a soggy sump,
usually meaning that the roots can't breathe.

It would probably help if you could pot your plant down one size, but
certainly watering with tepid water would be much kinder, as would
keeping it somewhere slightly shadier (not dark) until it recovers.

Hoping the id is a match and, if so, that this has been some help.

That looks exactly like it.

I've never head of anyone warming water up for plants before! Must be just a few that are that fussy.

It's Winter in Scotland, and shit weather, so I doubt it's getting too much bright light.

--
When a man steals your wife, there is no better revenge than to let him keep her.

It's interesting to know that a radiator can cause that damage. I have had plants on the windowsill above the radiator and thought they might benefit from the extra heat, but they began to shrivel quite quickly and the radiator could well have been the reason why.

On 05/03/2015 20:54, Tough Guy no. 1265 wrote:
On Thu, 05 Mar 2015 19:01:28 -0000, Spider wrote:

On 05/03/2015 13:41, Tough Guy no. 1265 wrote:
On Thu, 05 Mar 2015 12:43:54 -0000, Spider wrote:

On 02/03/2015 23:54, Tough Guy no. 1265 wrote:
I have a houseplant which I moved into a larger pot (as it was
consuming
the water very rapidly, it had outgrown the small pot). As soon as I
did this, the leaves have shrivelled up. AFAIK I'm not over or under
watering it, and there are no signs of beasties. What's wrong with
it?

Could you have over-potted it (to save potting it on next time,
perhaps)
which would mean the excess compost would be holding too much moisture,

I didn't know that was possible. Surely in the wild outside, plants
have infinite pot size.

I increased the pot volume by probably double.

or failed to bring the new compost to room temperature so that the
roots
had a thermal shock?

I didn't know they were as bad as goldfish! I did the repotting
indoors, but I had brought the compost from outside shortly beforehand.
Mind you the new compost is only on the edges, the roots are in the old
compost which was at room temperature. Wouldn't it get just as much
thermal shock when I put cold water in it to water it?



I've been trying to find out what your plant is and the nearest I can
get to it is Calathea rufibarba. There is a good pic at the link below.

http://www.wellgrowhorti.com/Picture...0Rufibarba.jpg


As far as I can tell (*if* this is indeed your plant), it shouldn't need
a special compost type. It is tropical though, so I've no idea how
you've got away with watering it with cold water for so long. Tepid
water would be better. It can tolerate some bright light, folding its
leaves if it's too bright, but prefers a slightly shadier spot.
The fact that you have over-potted it (just the next size pot up would
have been better) in chilly compost *and* compounded that by giving it a
cold drink is quite enough to make it feel poorly. Then to stick the
poor thing in a bright window above a radiator before its roots have had
chance to recover, was simply adding insult to injury.

The reason over-potting is so different to the wild situation (with
boundless soil) is that the pot holds on to water in a way that the
ground rarely does, so the potted plant is left sitting in a soggy sump,
usually meaning that the roots can't breathe.

It would probably help if you could pot your plant down one size, but
certainly watering with tepid water would be much kinder, as would
keeping it somewhere slightly shadier (not dark) until it recovers.

Hoping the id is a match and, if so, that this has been some help.

That looks exactly like it.

Great.

I've never head of anyone warming water up for plants before! Must be
just a few that are that fussy.

I do it all the time for my orchids. A mixer tap makes it easier, but
any hot and cold tap plus a little finger dipped in to make sure it's
not too warm:~). It's worth the extra trouble. Hope you can nurse your
Calathea back to health.

It's Winter in Scotland, and shit weather, so I doubt it's getting too
much bright light.


No, not in a normal situation, I'm sure, but your plant has just
suffered a minor trauma and would probably appreciate a shady rest until
it picks up. Good luck.
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay

On Thu, 05 Mar 2015 22:30:40 -0000, Spider wrote:

On 05/03/2015 20:54, Tough Guy no. 1265 wrote:
On Thu, 05 Mar 2015 19:01:28 -0000, Spider wrote:

On 05/03/2015 13:41, Tough Guy no. 1265 wrote:
On Thu, 05 Mar 2015 12:43:54 -0000, Spider wrote:

On 02/03/2015 23:54, Tough Guy no. 1265 wrote:
I have a houseplant which I moved into a larger pot (as it was
consuming
the water very rapidly, it had outgrown the small pot). As soon as I
did this, the leaves have shrivelled up. AFAIK I'm not over or under
watering it, and there are no signs of beasties. What's wrong with
it?

Could you have over-potted it (to save potting it on next time,
perhaps)
which would mean the excess compost would be holding too much moisture,

I didn't know that was possible. Surely in the wild outside, plants
have infinite pot size.

I increased the pot volume by probably double.

or failed to bring the new compost to room temperature so that the
roots
had a thermal shock?

I didn't know they were as bad as goldfish! I did the repotting
indoors, but I had brought the compost from outside shortly beforehand.
Mind you the new compost is only on the edges, the roots are in the old
compost which was at room temperature. Wouldn't it get just as much
thermal shock when I put cold water in it to water it?



I've been trying to find out what your plant is and the nearest I can
get to it is Calathea rufibarba. There is a good pic at the link below.

http://www.wellgrowhorti.com/Picture...0Rufibarba.jpg


As far as I can tell (*if* this is indeed your plant), it shouldn't need
a special compost type. It is tropical though, so I've no idea how
you've got away with watering it with cold water for so long. Tepid
water would be better. It can tolerate some bright light, folding its
leaves if it's too bright, but prefers a slightly shadier spot.
The fact that you have over-potted it (just the next size pot up would
have been better) in chilly compost *and* compounded that by giving it a
cold drink is quite enough to make it feel poorly. Then to stick the
poor thing in a bright window above a radiator before its roots have had
chance to recover, was simply adding insult to injury.

The reason over-potting is so different to the wild situation (with
boundless soil) is that the pot holds on to water in a way that the
ground rarely does, so the potted plant is left sitting in a soggy sump,
usually meaning that the roots can't breathe.

It would probably help if you could pot your plant down one size, but
certainly watering with tepid water would be much kinder, as would
keeping it somewhere slightly shadier (not dark) until it recovers.

Hoping the id is a match and, if so, that this has been some help.

That looks exactly like it.

Great.

I've never head of anyone warming water up for plants before! Must be
just a few that are that fussy.

I do it all the time for my orchids. A mixer tap makes it easier, but
any hot and cold tap plus a little finger dipped in to make sure it's
not too warm:~). It's worth the extra trouble. Hope you can nurse your
Calathea back to health.

It's Winter in Scotland, and shit weather, so I doubt it's getting too
much bright light.


No, not in a normal situation, I'm sure, but your plant has just
suffered a minor trauma and would probably appreciate a shady rest until
it picks up. Good luck.

I'll give it room temperature water, but I'm not sure about taking light away from it. Doesn't it need that to photosynthesise?

--
Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?
- Epicurus (341- 270 BC)

I've never head of anyone warming water up for plants before! Must be
just a few that are that fussy.

I do it all the time for my orchids. A mixer tap makes it easier, but
any hot and cold tap plus a little finger dipped in to make sure it's
not too warm:~). It's worth the extra trouble. Hope you can nurse your
Calathea back to health.

It's Winter in Scotland, and shit weather, so I doubt it's getting too
much bright light.


No, not in a normal situation, I'm sure, but your plant has just
suffered a minor trauma and would probably appreciate a shady rest until
it picks up. Good luck.


I think I would go back a couple of stages.

You said you used "Council" compost to re pot your plant.
That compost is designed to be dug into the garden or used as a mulch
around shrubs etc.
What you need is "Potting compost" this is designed for young plants or
house-plants, depends which you buy.
I would buy a good potting compost, preferably containing some peat.
Then knock your plant out of it's new pot and start again.
Looking at the picture you posted your plant has dried out a few times,
hence the brown tips to some of the leaves.
Pop it back into the old pot then get a bowl of tepid water and stand
the pot in it (up to the pot rim) for a few minutes so that the whole
root ball is wet, take it out of the water and let it drain for about 15
minutes, this will let the draining water pull air into the root ball as
it drains
Then re pot the plant into a larger pot so that you have no more than a
fingers width of new compost all round the plant, firming the compost
well around the root ball.
For your next few waterings repeat plunging into tepid water for a few
minutes and then letting it drain. This will avoid the water just
running over the old root ball and soaking away round the edge of the
pot where the compost may be more porous than the old stuff which could
result in a dry root ball,
If you are going to keep it close to the radiator then find a large
shallow container and put in about half to one inch of gravel in it,
partially fill with water and stand the plant on top of the gravel so
that the pt doesn't come into contact with the water, this will give the
plant a more moist atmosphere around it as the water below the pot
evaporates.
Alternatively you can give the plant a light spray of water once or
twice a day, with a hand held sprayer, the sort you might use to damp
the laundry before ironing.
David @ a rain free side of Swansea Bay

On 05/03/15 23:29, David Hill wrote:


I think I would go back a couple of stages.

You said you used "Council" compost to re pot your plant.
That compost is designed to be dug into the garden or used as a mulch
around shrubs etc.
What you need is "Potting compost" this is designed for young plants or
house-plants, depends which you buy.

If only it was that clear! I thought that there was only one "recycled"
compost available, but have a look he
http://veolia.co.uk/pro-grow
http://www.pro-grow.com/pro-grow-mul...-50ltr-bag/p17

Quite a few local authorities are supplying it.

--

Jeff

On 05/03/2015 22:34, Tough Guy no. 1265 wrote:
On Thu, 05 Mar 2015 22:30:40 -0000, Spider wrote:

On 05/03/2015 20:54, Tough Guy no. 1265 wrote:
On Thu, 05 Mar 2015 19:01:28 -0000, Spider wrote:

On 05/03/2015 13:41, Tough Guy no. 1265 wrote:
On Thu, 05 Mar 2015 12:43:54 -0000, Spider wrote:

On 02/03/2015 23:54, Tough Guy no. 1265 wrote:
I have a houseplant which I moved into a larger pot (as it was
consuming
the water very rapidly, it had outgrown the small pot). As soon
as I
did this, the leaves have shrivelled up. AFAIK I'm not over or
under
watering it, and there are no signs of beasties. What's wrong with
it?

Could you have over-potted it (to save potting it on next time,
perhaps)
which would mean the excess compost would be holding too much
moisture,

I didn't know that was possible. Surely in the wild outside, plants
have infinite pot size.

I increased the pot volume by probably double.

or failed to bring the new compost to room temperature so that the
roots
had a thermal shock?

I didn't know they were as bad as goldfish! I did the repotting
indoors, but I had brought the compost from outside shortly
beforehand.
Mind you the new compost is only on the edges, the roots are in the
old
compost which was at room temperature. Wouldn't it get just as much
thermal shock when I put cold water in it to water it?



I've been trying to find out what your plant is and the nearest I can
get to it is Calathea rufibarba. There is a good pic at the link
below.

http://www.wellgrowhorti.com/Picture...0Rufibarba.jpg



As far as I can tell (*if* this is indeed your plant), it shouldn't
need
a special compost type. It is tropical though, so I've no idea how
you've got away with watering it with cold water for so long. Tepid
water would be better. It can tolerate some bright light, folding its
leaves if it's too bright, but prefers a slightly shadier spot.
The fact that you have over-potted it (just the next size pot up would
have been better) in chilly compost *and* compounded that by giving
it a
cold drink is quite enough to make it feel poorly. Then to stick the
poor thing in a bright window above a radiator before its roots have
had
chance to recover, was simply adding insult to injury.

The reason over-potting is so different to the wild situation (with
boundless soil) is that the pot holds on to water in a way that the
ground rarely does, so the potted plant is left sitting in a soggy
sump,
usually meaning that the roots can't breathe.

It would probably help if you could pot your plant down one size, but
certainly watering with tepid water would be much kinder, as would
keeping it somewhere slightly shadier (not dark) until it recovers.

Hoping the id is a match and, if so, that this has been some help.

That looks exactly like it.

Great.

I've never head of anyone warming water up for plants before! Must be
just a few that are that fussy.

I do it all the time for my orchids. A mixer tap makes it easier, but
any hot and cold tap plus a little finger dipped in to make sure it's
not too warm:~). It's worth the extra trouble. Hope you can nurse your
Calathea back to health.

It's Winter in Scotland, and shit weather, so I doubt it's getting too
much bright light.


No, not in a normal situation, I'm sure, but your plant has just
suffered a minor trauma and would probably appreciate a shady rest until
it picks up. Good luck.

I'll give it room temperature water, but I'm not sure about taking light
away from it. Doesn't it need that to photosynthesise?



It certainly does need to photosynthesise, and normally your plant can
tolerate good light levels (not full summer sun), but at the moment it
would certainly appreciate partial or dappled shade and it will probably
help it recover.
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay

On Fri, 06 Mar 2015 12:30:42 -0000, Spider wrote:

On 05/03/2015 22:34, Tough Guy no. 1265 wrote:
On Thu, 05 Mar 2015 22:30:40 -0000, Spider wrote:

On 05/03/2015 20:54, Tough Guy no. 1265 wrote:
On Thu, 05 Mar 2015 19:01:28 -0000, Spider wrote:

On 05/03/2015 13:41, Tough Guy no. 1265 wrote:
On Thu, 05 Mar 2015 12:43:54 -0000, Spider wrote:

On 02/03/2015 23:54, Tough Guy no. 1265 wrote:
I have a houseplant which I moved into a larger pot (as it was
consuming
the water very rapidly, it had outgrown the small pot). As soon
as I
did this, the leaves have shrivelled up. AFAIK I'm not over or
under
watering it, and there are no signs of beasties. What's wrong with
it?

Could you have over-potted it (to save potting it on next time,
perhaps)
which would mean the excess compost would be holding too much
moisture,

I didn't know that was possible. Surely in the wild outside, plants
have infinite pot size.

I increased the pot volume by probably double.

or failed to bring the new compost to room temperature so that the
roots
had a thermal shock?

I didn't know they were as bad as goldfish! I did the repotting
indoors, but I had brought the compost from outside shortly
beforehand.
Mind you the new compost is only on the edges, the roots are in the
old
compost which was at room temperature. Wouldn't it get just as much
thermal shock when I put cold water in it to water it?



I've been trying to find out what your plant is and the nearest I can
get to it is Calathea rufibarba. There is a good pic at the link
below.

http://www.wellgrowhorti.com/Picture...0Rufibarba.jpg



As far as I can tell (*if* this is indeed your plant), it shouldn't
need
a special compost type. It is tropical though, so I've no idea how
you've got away with watering it with cold water for so long. Tepid
water would be better. It can tolerate some bright light, folding its
leaves if it's too bright, but prefers a slightly shadier spot.
The fact that you have over-potted it (just the next size pot up would
have been better) in chilly compost *and* compounded that by giving
it a
cold drink is quite enough to make it feel poorly. Then to stick the
poor thing in a bright window above a radiator before its roots have
had
chance to recover, was simply adding insult to injury.

The reason over-potting is so different to the wild situation (with
boundless soil) is that the pot holds on to water in a way that the
ground rarely does, so the potted plant is left sitting in a soggy
sump,
usually meaning that the roots can't breathe.

It would probably help if you could pot your plant down one size, but
certainly watering with tepid water would be much kinder, as would
keeping it somewhere slightly shadier (not dark) until it recovers.

Hoping the id is a match and, if so, that this has been some help.

That looks exactly like it.

Great.

I've never head of anyone warming water up for plants before! Must be
just a few that are that fussy.

I do it all the time for my orchids. A mixer tap makes it easier, but
any hot and cold tap plus a little finger dipped in to make sure it's
not too warm:~). It's worth the extra trouble. Hope you can nurse your
Calathea back to health.

It's Winter in Scotland, and shit weather, so I doubt it's getting too
much bright light.


No, not in a normal situation, I'm sure, but your plant has just
suffered a minor trauma and would probably appreciate a shady rest until
it picks up. Good luck.

I'll give it room temperature water, but I'm not sure about taking light
away from it. Doesn't it need that to photosynthesise?



It certainly does need to photosynthesise, and normally your plant can
tolerate good light levels (not full summer sun), but at the moment it
would certainly appreciate partial or dappled shade and it will probably
help it recover.

Ok, I've put it away from the window and radiator, and will give it room temperature water. Should I also spray the leaves as they are dried up?

--
The only thing that saves us from the bureaucracy is it's inefficiency -- Eugene McCarthy

On 06/03/2015 13:25, Tough Guy no. 1265 wrote:
Ok, I've put it away from the window and radiator, and will give it room
temperature water. Should I also spray the leaves as they are dried up?


Did you read my post?
David @ a springlike side of Swansea Bay

On Fri, 06 Mar 2015 07:52:45 -0000, Jeff Layman wrote:

On 05/03/15 23:29, David Hill wrote:


I think I would go back a couple of stages.

You said you used "Council" compost to re pot your plant.
That compost is designed to be dug into the garden or used as a mulch
around shrubs etc.
What you need is "Potting compost" this is designed for young plants or
house-plants, depends which you buy.

If only it was that clear! I thought that there was only one "recycled"
compost available, but have a look he
http://veolia.co.uk/pro-grow
http://www.pro-grow.com/pro-grow-mul...-50ltr-bag/p17

Quite a few local authorities are supplying it.

The stuff I got, you just help yourself (free) form a huge pile the size of two articulated lorries.

--
"You might show me a little more respect" complained the coed as she and her date were driving back from "Lover's Lookout".
"Yeah?" asked the smirking boy, "Like by doing what?"
"Well, for starters, not flying my panty hose from your radio aerial."

On Thu, 05 Mar 2015 23:29:35 -0000, David Hill wrote:


I've never head of anyone warming water up for plants before! Must be
just a few that are that fussy.

I do it all the time for my orchids. A mixer tap makes it easier, but
any hot and cold tap plus a little finger dipped in to make sure it's
not too warm:~). It's worth the extra trouble. Hope you can nurse your
Calathea back to health.

It's Winter in Scotland, and shit weather, so I doubt it's getting too
much bright light.


No, not in a normal situation, I'm sure, but your plant has just
suffered a minor trauma and would probably appreciate a shady rest until
it picks up. Good luck.


I think I would go back a couple of stages.

You said you used "Council" compost to re pot your plant.
That compost is designed to be dug into the garden or used as a mulch
around shrubs etc.
What you need is "Potting compost" this is designed for young plants or
house-plants, depends which you buy.
I would buy a good potting compost, preferably containing some peat.
Then knock your plant out of it's new pot and start again.
Looking at the picture you posted your plant has dried out a few times,
hence the brown tips to some of the leaves.
Pop it back into the old pot then get a bowl of tepid water and stand
the pot in it (up to the pot rim) for a few minutes so that the whole
root ball is wet, take it out of the water and let it drain for about 15
minutes, this will let the draining water pull air into the root ball as
it drains
Then re pot the plant into a larger pot so that you have no more than a
fingers width of new compost all round the plant, firming the compost
well around the root ball.
For your next few waterings repeat plunging into tepid water for a few
minutes and then letting it drain. This will avoid the water just
running over the old root ball and soaking away round the edge of the
pot where the compost may be more porous than the old stuff which could
result in a dry root ball,
If you are going to keep it close to the radiator then find a large
shallow container and put in about half to one inch of gravel in it,
partially fill with water and stand the plant on top of the gravel so
that the pt doesn't come into contact with the water, this will give the
plant a more moist atmosphere around it as the water below the pot
evaporates.
Alternatively you can give the plant a light spray of water once or
twice a day, with a hand held sprayer, the sort you might use to damp
the laundry before ironing.
David @ a rain free side of Swansea Bay

Thanks, I'll do that.

--
In an attempt to attract a more modern, hipper, high tech type of customer, Campbell's Alphabet Soup now comes with spell check.

On Fri, 06 Mar 2015 19:13:29 -0000, David Hill wrote:

On 06/03/2015 13:25, Tough Guy no. 1265 wrote:
Ok, I've put it away from the window and radiator, and will give it room
temperature water. Should I also spray the leaves as they are dried up?


Did you read my post?
David @ a springlike side of Swansea Bay

I have now. Someone snipped the "Tough Guy no. 1265 wrote" line, so my newsreader didn't pick up the reply.

--
In an attempt to attract a more modern, hipper, high tech type of customer, Campbell's Alphabet Soup now comes with spell check.

On Fri, 06 Mar 2015 13:25:24 -0000, "Tough Guy no. 1265"
wrote:

Ok, I've put it away from the window and radiator, and will give it room temperature water. Should I also spray the leaves as they are dried up?


The only thing that saves us from the bureaucracy is it's inefficiency -- Eugene McCarthy

but not its apostrophes, apparently.

On Fri, 06 Mar 2015 22:28:27 -0000, Fuschia wrote:

On Fri, 06 Mar 2015 13:25:24 -0000, "Tough Guy no. 1265"
wrote:

Ok, I've put it away from the window and radiator, and will give it room temperature water. Should I also spray the leaves as they are dried up?


The only thing that saves us from the bureaucracy is it's inefficiency -- Eugene McCarthy

but not its apostrophes, apparently.

Or Capital letters.

Anyway, it's logical that "it" can possess something :-P

--
Why did kamikaze pilots wear helmets?