Here's another image of the whole thing, in case that helps!

Only way to know for sure is to turn it out of the pot & check the roots. Maybe a bad, peaty mix which is not allowing the plant to drink fully. Hard to tell, can't see the soil surface.

I agree, but also most kill by over loving their plants. Maybe feeding too much. They don't need much attention. The pot does look too big. I keep mine in the smallest pot they could fit in.

It looks fine to me, except that a leaf got broken. I would probably finish removing the broken tip. Six months ago, the days were so much longer, the sun was shining more (maybe, in England?,) it was warmer. Now it's cooler, much shorter days, dull gray winter skies, so no way it could grow at the same pace.

To make babies, there has to be space in the pot. Most pots are deep and narrow. Something like a turkey roasting pan would be a much more appropriately shaped planter for Sans. They want to spread sideways, with a little elbow room, not down. These babies are not coming up smushed against each other, or those in the pic I put here.

When I dug up in-ground Sans, none of the babies were pointed down. They go at a right angle to the mama every time.

If there's no elbow room, contortions are necessary, if possible, for pups to find their way out into the light. (A plant pulled from its' pot after about a year, 18 mos.)

Hi Matt,

I too think it doesn't look too bad, but then again, you've had it & are accustomed to what it usually looks like.

I reiterate it's likely a drainage / bad mix problem. From the bit I can see of the mix it IS too peaty, doesn't look porous at all.

When was the mix changed last & what kind of mix are you using? I believe the plant is too dry & is not properly taking up water.

I think if the mix were porous, the larger size pot (which I think is just fine by the way) would not matter, as drainage would be OK.

Hey Purp, I think your discussion is about growing outdoors, we're in container indoors here, I really don't think it compares, abt how the pups will roam/grow. But that's a different issue than why the plant is ailing.

Yes, I thought you'd made that point already and was getting into the slowed growth observed. There could be new pups in there, lost in a tangle. Comparing to a robust plant should be the benchmark. I can't make the sun shine more in England, but can show what the plant would look like if it did. When I bring plants inside for winter, even though the sun still shines on them for a couple hours a day, they just sit there not changing/growing, like they did for almost 2 decades before I realized they would grow fast in the sun. I also think it's relevant if the pot is so crammed full of pups/mamas/what-should-be-lengths-but-are-coils-of-rhizome, that each of its' parts is smushing the others. Like a person who's leg has gone to sleep. The circulation isn't right. If you were designed to be 8" wide but are crammed in a 6" pot, you might not be all you could be either.

Looking at the plate it usually sits on, it looks like the pot is full of tiny particles trickling out of the drain holes. Drying out would probably help a lot. Maybe take it out of the pot and sit the root ball on some newspaper, although it looks like it may be coirpeat that the Moonshine Sans I got last winter was in. In that case, it will just crumble away if you try that.

Is it just the lighting or are the leaves kind of dirty, like maybe from dust or sooty mold? (Do sans even get that?)

Try wiping off the leaves and raising the whole plant in the container so it has better air circulation around the base of the leaves.

Ahel, that got that on some plants when it rained for 2 solid months here this summer, but didn't see any on Sans although some were near a Gardenia that had it pretty bad. The leaves do have the right texture for it though, IDK either & that did go through my mind when I looked at this plant. A q-tip damp with rubbing alcohol made the leaves look good again (on the leaves of potted plants that were bugging me, mostly Thanksgiving cacti - no, I didn't spend a week cleaning the Gardenia leaves - LOL!)

Whatever it is they do to plants at growers or stores can make leaves look dull, with whitish spots/reside that won't wipe off. After being rained on a few times, it goes away, but wrong time of year for that! I thought that too when I saw it. Rubbing alcohol sometimes helps with those spots, sometimes not. I think it depends if they are hard water deposits or some kind of 'cide residue.

Sounds like a good move, Matt. If it was happy, there would have been a lot of roots. I see water, I think, in the drip saucer? Sans don't ever want to be dripping wet unless they are warm at the same time. Water sitting in the drip tray is the best way to try to kill a plant that likes to be so dry when days are shorter, colder. Pretend it's a cactus until late spring and it should be fine. Nobody can predict how long it will take that particular pot of soil to dry to the point where adding more water is appropriate, but waiting until that point is the best thing you can do. With a little plant like that, I use weight to determine dryness.

Anyone just loves to water plants often may want to consider finding an unglazed clay pot for Sans, and throwing out the drip saucers, at least for a while until you have gotten into a new groove, so to speak. Something flat that would still protect furniture from scratches/moisture rings would force you to water at a sink so overflow doesn't run all over the place, and to make sure there's no excess moisture in the pot before sitting it back in its' regular spot, because, as we've all seen, just because it finished dripping, doesn't mean it won't keep seeping water into the drain saucer. Tilting toward a drain hole after watering always causes more water to run out, if the soil was saturated to the point of excess. Try to add a hole at the outer rim of plastic pots that only have a hole in the middle. I was shocked at how much water was sitting at the bottom of pots that I was sure were finished dripping. Much more than any seeped water I've found in the drip trays of old days. Clay pots breathe well enough that overwatering is rarely an issue unless there's a really dedicated overwaterer hovering constantly, drip saucer abetting the whole thing.

In addition to the critical factor of not filling pots with mucky, soggy stuff, getting rid of those drain saucers has been a major factor in helping me to stop killing plants. No more puttering around with the watering can, little sip here,...

Matt,
Looking good. So you know. I purchased some sans in the big box stores here that haven't been watered in months. All the other tropical's are dead but the sans look good. Also pot full of roots and new offshoots. Of course many things have to be considered. Like temp. of location, moisture in the air, bright light but not direct hot sun. Every place has a different story. Your sans looks good. Good luck.
Stush

Any chance you took some pix when you unpotted Matt? Did you find NO ROOTS at all?

I was concerned when I saw water in the new drip tray too, PG. When I see a drip tray full of wet rocks (behind the Sans,) it reminds me of all of the plants I killed constantly watering soggy 'potting soil.' How are things going, Matt?