Welcome to my (virtualized) jungle!
Monday, December 4, 2023
Hiiii! My name is Lizzet, and for today I will be creating an encyclopedia based off my very own plants! I have been collecting plants here and there for around five years, and I have been guided by my grandmother, who used to work in a greenhouse. My plants are one of my most prized possessions,even though I have been neglecting my plants lately... I'll show y'all how to NOT be like me (leave your plants to die)! Also, I should mention some of them are cutting propagations, which basically means that they are sections that were cut off from a mother plant to create a whole new one! Isn't that cool?
To anyone currently struggling with their plants right now, hope this helps!
Ceropegia Collaricorona Subsp Collaricorona, also known as "String of Hearts"
One of my personal favorites from my collection! A gift from my grandmother, I was determined to keep it alive. A common problem with succlents, and plants in general, is overwatering.
Conditions
- Spagnum moss is ideal, but if you don't have that, you can use well-draining soil.
- light watering
- Lots of light! Succlents need light to thrive, or else they get all stretched out and leggy trying to reach for more light.
- This succlent can grow to be very long!
- It is also very easy to propagate.
Soil
What does well-draining mean? Well-draining soil is soil that does not harbor onto water for a super long time. This is the best soil for many types of plants because this way, the roots do not sit in wet soil for a very long time (this can make roots rot!). Regular potting soil you can buy at retail stores works, the one I use is from Expert Gardener, but you could also get Miracle Gro; or if you have the funds, FoxFarm is good. A struggle that can come up is that the soil is hydrophobic, which means the soil repels water. The second picture is an example of this. This is a quick fix, what I do is let the soil dry out completely and then give it a through soak. It will puddle up as in the picture, but by the time the soil dries again, it will become absorbant.
Water
I'd say to watch your watering with String of Hearts, as they are succlents. Succlents in general do not like a lot of water, as they'll become swollen with water. A common rule in the gardening world that I live by is: only watering once the soil has dried out some. You can use a chopstick to poke a hole in the soil, if the top inch or two is dry, it's time for some watering. The amount you water each time is not too important for this plant, just as long as the soil is dried out by some.
Light
They can do direct light from the sun, but their leaves can become scorched. So, you can give the plant mostly indirect light with a few hours of direct light. The difference between the two is that direct light has the plant meet the sun's rays, indirect light is when the plant is in the same room, but not necessarily in contact with the sun's rays. A common way to tell the difference is direct= the plant can see the sun and the sun can see the plant, while indirect= the plant can see the sun, but the sun cannot see the plant.
Other/Notes
Propagation is usually a simple process, however you can have a few failures before your first success, so don't be too discouraged if it doesn't work the first time! The simplest method to prop is by taking cuttings and putting them into a soil medium. I will be using the String of Hearts as an example, actually, the two in the picture were propagations from my grandmother's plant back in Mexico. Firstly, you need to identify nodes. Nodes are points on a stem from which the root comes from. If you cut a prop with no node, there is a very low chance you will have success. On the SoH, nodes are small, circular nubs that appear close to the leaves. Cut the stem to have at least one node as well as at least one leaf. You can lay the stem in a small pot of soil and sprinkle on soil to cover the node (then watering,ofc), or you could put the node into water. Try experimenting with what works!
Cymbopogon Citratus, also known as "Lemongrass"
A very nice smelling grass, I took a propagation from my parent's motherplant before the frost killed it off. I'm very glad I did so! The motherplant had stems around three feet long, it was the perfect length for me to make some tea with without taking a lot of stems. I hope to raise my current prop to a greater length!
Conditions
- Well-draining soil, can be a bit sandy
- Lots of water! However, keep the "let the soil dry out" rule in mind.
- Lots of bright light
- As stated before, it is a plant that is used to tropical conditions. Don't let that unmotivate you from taking care of one!
Soil
Lemongrass originates from the Eastern hemisphere, specifically in South-east Asia, so it is very used to tropical conditions.
Water
Light
Lemongrass THRIVES off a lot of sunlight, it grows like crazy in the summer. This year, I brought mine inside so that it wouldn't die from the winter frost.
Other/Notes
Epipremnum Aureum , also known as "Devil's Ivy" or "Golden Pothos"
My ACTUAL most prized possession. I wrote my college essay about this pothos! It is the oldest plant in my collection, it was a gift from my mother. I think this plant saved me, to be honest.
Conditions
- Go crazy
- "LSDO" Rule
- You might not even need to worry about this one
- If you are a busy person, this is the plant for you! I don't think it is physically possible to kill a pothos by doing at least the ABSOLUTE bare minimum.
Soil
I'm convinced you could throw a couple pothos props into a garbage bin and it'd still grow. In all seriousness, literally anything could work for pothos; straight water, $1 potting soil, or nothing but sand could all work. I actually used to have this pothos in sand, that was my baby plant hobbyist days in 2019. Also, the second picture shows some prettyyy dry soil. I thought I would show it as an example of around what the soil should look like before you water again.
Water
You could also leave a pothos with soil as dry as a bone for a few days and it would not budge. Trust me, I know. It's not healthy for the plant, but it wouldn't die. Just don't forget about it too much, once again, stick to the "let soil dry out" (LSDR) rule. If the leaves are yellow, it's a sign you need to cut back on the watering.
Light
It might seem like I'm making the Pothos seem invincible, and that's because in the plant world it might as well be. All plants need some sort of light to live, but the pothos can survive off the least amount of sunlight ever. But, if you don't want to torture your pothos, it actually prefers a LOT of sun. How else would I have gotten mine to be so long and pretty (it trails off for quite a bit off the picture btw)?
Other/Notes
Ficus Lyrata, also known as "Fiddle Leaf Fig"
Some plant hobbyists think this plant is the devil itself to beginners, but I believe otherwise. My Fiddle Leaf Fig is actually one of my favorite plants.
Conditions
- Well-draining soil
- Moderate watering
- LOTS.
- They can't handle change
- Red dots
Soil
Sorry guys, sand isn't gonna cut it for the FLF, it'll die so quick. The FLF is another tropical plant, originating from West Africa. The higher the quality, the better, but honestly I'm using MiracleGro for mine and it's been doing fine.
Water
Fiddle Leaf Figs don't really like having wet soil for long periods of time, they'll pitch a fit by losing 1/3 of their leaves. But they also don't like very dry soil for a long period of time, so they'll pitch another fit and lose 1/3 of their leaves again. I usually don't like watering on a set schedule, but the FLF is the only one I keep track of. I only water them on saturdays, sometimes I skip a week or two because the soil is still moist from the past week.
Light
I can understand why some people could say the Fiddle Leaf Fig is hard to take care of, as a change in its' conditions can cause it to lose even more leaves. And at this point, we've already lost 2/3 of the leaves. But, the plant is not hard to take care of once you know how to take care of it properly. FLFs need a lottt of light, perferably direct sunlight. Once you've got a good, sunny spot for your FLF, keep it there!
Other/Notes
Once you've established a set of conditions with a FLF, try not to change too much about it. Take for example my routine, I keep it in the same old pot of soil, only water on saturdays, and keep in a corner of my front porch. I did not have any fits from them! I've only changed it recently because I brought in most of plants into my room. BUT, I also had no fits, this is because the grow light I have is around the same level of light that it was receiving previously. However, I do currently struggle with another problem
FLF have this problem where if doesn't like how much water you're giving it, it'll absorb the water and hold onto it so hard that the cells in the leaves burst. It's called Edema, and it can actually happen if you overwater, AND/OR underwater it. There's really no winning with this plant, huh. The second picture shows the edema on one of the leaves, but honestly all you can do about it is wait it out till the plant gets used to your schedule. Don't forget to water it!
Fittonia Albivenis, also known as "Nerve plant"
I actually almost killed this plant, I left it in my room with no water as I left the country for three weeks. This was all that remained! It's an unintentional prop.
Conditions
- Well-draining soil
- "LSDO"
- Low light
- Dramatic!
Soil
Water
Nerve plants WILL let you know they're thirsty, I wish I had a picture on hand to show just how dramatic these plants can be. They'll literally flop over and become droopy. It might give you a heart attack thinking your plant died, but once you water it it'll be just fine.
Light
Woah! A plant that doesn't like too much light? That's right! Too much light for nerve plants can cause the leaves to scorch. Unlike the String of Hearts, who likely won't scorch too badly, the nerve plant will look like it was literally set on fire. So, nerve plants are a very good indoor plant with indirect light for a few hours.
Other/Notes
If you need clear visual signs your plant needs something, the nerve plant has your back. Water and light are the elements nerve plants react to the most, which are also the ones most people tend to struggle with. Nerve plants keep it real.
Syngonium Podophyllum, also known as "Arrowhead plant" or "American Evergreen"
Not too close with this plant, it's one of my most recent additions to my collection. I think it's pretty though!
Conditions
- Well-draining soil
- "LSDO"
- You might not need to worry about this one either
- Not too sure!
Soil
Water
Light
Like the pothos, this plant can handle very low light, but it thrives in bright light. I like to keep it near my Fiddle Leaf Fig.
Other/Notes
There's plants I love, and then there's plants that exist. This plant exists. I honestly only included it to show what happens when you forget to water your plants. You see the dry, brownish leaves near the center? That comes from a combonation of underwatering and the scorching of the weakest leaves. Even though I don't have the strongest feelings towards this plant, everyone deserves a chance at living; besides I spent money on it.
Tradescantia Zebrina, also known as "Spiderwort" or "Wandering Dude"
Look at that gorgeous foliage! How could you not love this plant? It is another absolute favorite from my collection, I had to include it.
Conditions
- Well-draining soil
- "LSDO"
- Another one you might not need to worry about
- Overwater it
Soil
Water
I'd say to keep your eye out for this plant, it drinks up water QUICK. Though I don't mind, I love to nurture it E>(pretend its a heart, I couldn't do it the other way without it messing up my code ToT).
Light
As is the case with pothos and arrowhead, spiderwort can live off low light. However, if you want it to be long with lots of leaves on the stems, bright light is the way to go.
Other/Notes
Nah I'm just kidding, please don't do that! It was a test. There's really not much special you can do to care of a spiderwort, just give it (and all your other plants) unconditional love!
I'm not sure what I'll write for tommorrow, should I do the rest of my plants? Maybe in the future I'll complete an entry for each one in my collection. I'm not sure, let me know y'all's thoughts. Feel free to start arguing in the comments.