Tag: indoor plant

Rotting Fishbone Cactus

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My fishbone cactus is growing new sprouts but also rotting at the same time. I knew I needed to cut off the rotten stems but I didn’t know why this was happening. So I asked about this problem through a houseplant website.

A person said that if the cactus is experiencing cold temperature, they start to rot. Also water penetrating an open wound on the plant can cause rotting.

I put the fishbone cactus on a windowsill during the winter with the window open. I think that’s probably why it’s experiencing rotting. So my plant is stressed from the cold.

To save the rotten cactus, I cut all the rotten stems and took the plant out form the old soil and repot it with new soil.

It was growing one-sided so I also changed the positions to look even.

Soil Moisture Meter/Plant Water Monitor

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I bought XLUX Soil Moisture Meter from Amazon a few days ago.

It was always confusing to check the soil with my finger or a wooden stick. This product will help me a lot because it shows the level of moisture beneath the surface.

It’s really easy to use.

1.Insert the probe of the meter to the plants’ root level.
2.Note the moisture level in the dial which has ten scales.
3.Remove the probe from soil and wipe clean after each use.

It shows the moisture level from 1 to 10 (1-3 dry, 4-7 moist, 8-10 wet)

I checked my plants with this. It’s the Calathea Orbifolia plant which was watered in the morning.

It’s the Scots Pine tree and I watered this yesterday.

It’s the Phlebodium Aureum plant. It likes moisture at all times so I watered this plant after checking this meter which is showing a level of 3.

I really like this product. It’s so clear to read and makes caring for plants so much easier.

Making drain holes on pots

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The plant pots I currently have didn’t have holes on the bottom. I knew it wasn’t good for my plants but I just used it thinking it would be okay if I watered them carefully. After killing a few plants, I realised that there’s a reason why people say holes at the bottom of the container is critical. It allows water in the soil to drain freely so that it can prevent root rot. There’s only a few plants that can tolerate stagnant water. So I made holes under the pots for my plants.

I tried to drill it but it seemed like it would take hours to make a hole.

I used a glue gun and it was easier! I did it for the Phlebodium Aureum and Calathea Orbifolia plants. I think I will do the same thing for the rest of the pots.

I could have put smaller pots, which already have holes, into the white pot with no holes, but I didn’t have the small pots and didn’t want to buy new ones. So I made some holes. Also I don’t like using pots with holes on them since I don’t like pot saucers.

Anyway I will think about the design of the pots and saucers some other day. I’m just caring for the plants for now.

Unkillable Plant: Planting Lithop Seeds

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I’ve fallen for succulent plants especially Lithop, Gibbaeum, Lapidaria margaretae and Conophytum which have unique shapes. They looks so gorgeous. I wanted to buy fully grown Lithops (living stone Plant) online but I couldn’t find a good one. So I bought a Lithop kit for £13.50 from Ohh Deer.

A lot of people say Lithop is an unkillable plant. Lithops can store water for months so it doesn’t need regular watering and much care. I just need to water them only when the soil is thoroughly dry.

The kit contains

-1 x Packet of living stone seeds.
-Instructions and tips included.
-Starter growing pots.
-Natural coconut husk compost discs.
-Wooden plant markers.

It’s just a short introduction. It doesn’t explain how to use the compost discs so I just poured water on the discs and mixed it with a wooden stick.

Apparently, the correct way to use the compost disc is to put it in luke-warm water and let it soak but I think it’s all the same. Add some water and wait until it’s fully expanded.

These are Lithop seeds. When I opened the packet, I thought it was empty but realised that the dust looking particles are the seeds.

There are around 11 seeds.

I carefully put the seeds on the soaked soil. I’m not even sure whether I put the seeds in properly or not. It’s too small to check.

I covered the pots like in the picture. They will germinate in around two to 12 weeks.

It’s time to wait (again) !

Plants Update

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Yesterday morning, I got an email from Patch saying that my order is on the way and will be delivered on Saturday, 27th of March! I didn’t expect the plants to come in this week because when I checked the order status a few days ago, the estimated delivery date changed from 6-8 days to 14-18 days (I ordered the plants last Saturday, 10th of March). So I gave up expecting it to be delivered soon. Anyway, It was too good to be true. I got an another email from Patch in the afternoon saying that there’s some problem at their packing facility in the Netherlands so they temporarily close the facility for a few days which meant there will be a delay in delivering. They said they couldn’t be certain how long the delay will be. I was so disappointed.

On Saturday morning, I was woken up by a door bell. Somehow it was Patch! So I was waiting for the delivery man to go because they do non-contact delivery. I wanted to open the door so quick but I waited. I didn’t want to make an awkward situation but he kept ringing the door bell so I opened the door, said hi and I got my plants!

Here are the additions to my family

This is Lucky Heart / Love Heart plant (Botanical name: Hoya kerri). It’s so small and so lovely!

I didn’t expect it to be this small. It was surprisingly small and cute. I changed the pot to a slightly bigger one so it can grow well.

This is Zanzibar Gem (Zz plant). I bought the 60-70 cm one. It’s the tallest plant in my house XD

This is Phlebodium Aureum. I’m in love with this plant. It’s beautiful.

This is Calathea Orbifolia (Prayer Plant). It’s unique and beautiful plant but I’m a bit disappointed with the quality of the plant. It’s my forth order form Patch and the plants I received today had the worst quality out of all previous orders. Phlebodium aureum and Calathea Orbifolia have brown-ish leaves and there are weird marks on leaves as you can see from the picture. Also It looks vulnerable.

Anyway, I will study these plants to grow them well. I don’t want to be a pro plant killer this time.