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jenaeliz

Overwatering? Or Purging?

7 years ago

Hi!


I have a Ctenanthe here that I have had for about a year. I got it from my local garden store and was mislabeled and therefore not cared for properly. It has been in pretty good shape since I have brought it home (after lots of research and care!).


Fast forward to now, I have noticed that one by one, the leaves are turning yellow and dying. One at a time. I have snipped quite a few so far and am starting to worry. It sits in indirect light, so not too much. It also gets a decent amount of humidity, and I only water it about once a week or so depending on soil. I did reach into the soil to see how moist it was and further down the pot it does get a bit moist but not too wet.


could I have overwatered at some point ( there were a few times the last few weeks i didnt check the soil before watering)? Also, do these types of plants "renew" them selves or "purge" old leaves? I ask this because I have had lots of new growth come in underneath that look great.


I have attached some images below. I dont currently have any super yellow leaves as I have snipped them off as they come, but I do have a few that are starting to yellow and trend that way.


Any suggestions are appreciated!






Jena

Comments (5)

  • 7 years ago



  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    they send new shoots from rhizome: these form new clusters. after a season the leaves start yellowing and dying. so basically the old cluster dies and new ones replace it.

    it's better to keep 3-5 clusters together, not dividing. otherwise the plant is not full enough to look good. you can expect to get 1 new cluster per dying old one. but once you have at least 3 in the same pot growing - then the plant really takes off and looks full .

    so, cut off the yellow leaves and when the last one in the cluster yellows cut 'the stump' low at rhizome level to keep it neat.

    otherwise the plant looks good. as it matures you should get larger leaves on longer petioles.

  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    This one has been more seasonally affected than other plants for me. Amazing growth in summer but almost dormant in winter. So taking it home from the nursery and putting it lower light, not even in front of a window, has probably told it it's time to rest. I would crank the light way up. Mine seemed to do far better last winter when I put a table lamp with 2 ea 100w LED bulbs behind it, even though it is right in a huge west window. I water this one at about every 5 days in summer and maybe 7-11 days in winter, but every set of roots is different of course. :)

  • 6 years ago

    Hi guys!!! So it def was purging and I have all kinds of new shoots coming up after I cut off the yellowing leaves.

    New problem though....

    It was in such a large pot that overwatering was just too easy to do so I repotted it into a smaller pot. Not too small, but not so big the soil won’t dry out either. I did this yesterday and I came home from work today to find the leaves all curled up.

    Is he stressed and just mad at me or am I killing him? I did water him a little bit but not a whole lot.

  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    tent it under plastic to increase humidity - the leaves should uncurl. If not, then it needs a bit more water.

    jenaeliz thanked petrushka (7b)