Hi, I'm James - an avid indoor plant lover and pun enthusiast. I'm here to share simple advice and tips to plant parents out there on what I've learnt to achieve better indoor plant growth. Watch this space! 🌱
Ah, now I see everything I've been doing to make it thrive was killing it faster 😂 just moved it to a different spot so hopefully it'll do better now. Thanks for the helpful tips!
@@ooopticnerveee 😅😅😅 I wonder what you were doing to attempt to make it thrive was killing it faster! No worries, hopefully it adapts well and thrives in its new place - all the best and hope it helped ☺️🍀
@@simpleplanty Haha, I put it in my brightest, hottest, indoor space AND supplemented with a grow light when it started looking worse. Surely it will recover faster without such nonsense 😁
@@ooopticnerveee ok that definitely was too much 😂 you probably just needed to stop the grow light and could probably do fine in the bright spot. All the best with it ☺️🍀
Great vid.... There are lots of items I didn't know as I've had mine for years, but those mealy bugs are a pain, and I finally got rid of them... neem oil spray at least 3X per week and wipe the leaves and trunk with a regular wet paper towel or wet cloth every day to remove all the lil white bugs
@@donedwards1956 thanks so much Don! It’s crazy how attracted to BOP’s mealy bugs are - everyone who I know who has one, has had to fight off mealy bugs 😂 lucky it’s treatable with repeated care! Thanks for sharing ☺️
My golden pothos, gets showers in my shower to clean its leaves. Im in a mediteranean climate with no rain half the year. All my plants seem to like getting cleaner!
Hi from Melbourne, Australia. This was a good video. My mum gave me a happy plant and she says that when it blooms flower it is considered good luck in your home or business.
@@ubehappy395 hello neighbour!! I gifted my friend one and it bloomed as well - as your mum said, it’s considered good luck if they do. I haven’t even managed to get mine to bloom 😂 lucky you!
i know this video is like 3 years old lol, but i appreciate the kind way that you convey information! so many videos now are condescending or hurtful to people getting into plants for the first time. this was genuine and informative and i have lot better idea of how to stake my new monstera!
@@dandyindyandy I really appreciate the feedback and I’m so glad that it helped!! That’s such a shame to hear about hurtful or condescending comments - I’ve seen first hand around some of the plant pages and it’s really discouraging 😣 but there are plenty of people in the plant community who are supportive and happy to help! Thanks so much for reaching out, hearing that it helped in someone out there really makes my day. All the best with staking / just make sure you find a sturdy one ☺️🍀
Wouldn't recommend bottom feeding. It may help a little, but I often see them coming out of the holes at the bottom of my pots. They don't necessarily thing they have to feed and lay eggs on the surface.
My BOP is now 6 feet tall. There are 2 clusters of parallel plants. One of the plants is enormous and heavy while the other one is upright but quite happy alongside its plantmate. I think I might repot. It’s been 4 years. One side is leaning about 30 degrees. How to stake it when repotting?
@@lynndelevan3049 sounds like they’re doing well and I can imagine it looking so majestic and beautiful being 6 feet tall! Nice work! I have actually had the exact same problem where they are sitting parallel where one is leaning quite a bit and have tried to readjust - to be honest, it was such a tedious job to try to move them because the root ball was so mature and intertwined when I tried to repot. You certainly could attempt to do so, but you’ll probably find it a pretty difficult (but not impossible task) to do. I did find that when I did try to readjust it, they ended up just naturally moving back to where it felt better for them and I did cause a little bit of damage on my attempt (but not to worry, it’ll always grow back). Just make sure you have someone to help you when you do repot ☺️ hope that makes sense!
I bought a draceana cheap locally a few weeks ago, say, 4 weeks ago. It has 4 stems in one pot however, it seems one stem has long ago died as it is quite black. It was generally healthy with beautiful variegation but did have a few small brown tips, that's all. I brought it home and put it in my windowless bathroom and have watered it once with filtered tap water (Brita filter, not knowing how sensitive it was to tap water). Since then, it has continued to have yellow leaves (smaller leaves at the bottom) as well as leaves dotted with brown/yellow tips and brown and yellow spots throughout. I've not watered it at all since. Help! What can I do to save it? I've now moved it to my fairly dark living room but it has 2 windows which a lot of light comes in but it's not getting happier.
@@lanaone5516 hiya! Could you tell me how much time between waterings initially when you had it in the windowless bathroom? As much as they do ok in low light, if there’s no light then sounds a little problematic. For now you’ve already moved it to a place with more light so it’ll just need some time and patience to adapt - I would make sure the next time that you water it, that it is indeed in need by checking the soil with your finger and wait until it’s dry before you do so. Hope that helps!
@@simpleplanty Thanks for your reply :) I only watered it once, probably 1.5 weeks after I bought it and haven't watered since (probably about 3 weeks now). It's mainly the smaller bottom leaves that are yellowing but the brown spots are in the leaves mid way. The top leaves of each stump seem pretty happy and green? No brown tips there. I was thinking I will just repot now that it's Spring basically in Sydney, and get better draining soil and remove the dead stump if I can. I'll make sure to have a regular watering schedule too. Any suggestions to help it not die? Thank you x
@@lanaone5516 oh you’re in Sydney! It’s also winter and since you just got it it’s also acclimating - so give it some time, spring is almost here too ☺️ you definitely can prune down those leaves and 1.5 weeks in between doesn’t sound too frequent and fine at all high level. I think right now it just needs some time acclimating to the new spot that you’ve put it, so keep up the maintenance and less is probably more at this stage to keep it happy. 😊
@@simpleplanty Thank you 🙏 There are just so many new yellow leaves each day, should I remove them? Should I remove the ones with brown spots? If I remove a lot of the yellow ones, it will look pretty naked. Do you think I should repot once it is a bit warmer or just stop worrying for now? Thank you thank you!
@@lanaone5516 you can safely prune the yellow ones off since there’s not much point keeping them so that it can divert its energy somewhere else (such as growing new leaves). Could you describe a bit more on the browning? I probably would wait a couple more weeks before repotting to give it the best chance during spring, since that’s when the plant is its strongest ☺️
I have mine in front of a window that doesnt get direct sun. But gets pretty bright. I water it every monday. I spray the leaves with a spray bottle. I dont use anything extra ever. And it grows like crazy.
@@Tommy2Txmes sounds like it is thriving 🤩 I tend not to spray my leaves, as sometimes leaving residual can cause bacterial spread but a light spritz sounds fine and seems like it is happy, so I wouldn’t change a thing ☺️
@@simpleplanty Yeah i had it in front of a window that i think got too hot and sunny because i live in arizona. The tips started yellowing. So i moved it to a different window that doesnt get direct sun. I usually spray it lightly and wipe the leaves down every now and then. But i found once a week watering works good for mine. Thinking about trying to propagate. A little scared to try. Lol
@@Tommy2Txmes sounds perfect actually! Spraying them and wiping it down is even better - dust usually accumulates on the leaves so you’re doing your plant a huge favor by wiping it down so that it can absorb those sun rays 🤩 don’t be afraid to experiment with propogation - you got this! If it fails, you still have your mother plant 😉
@@redlexi45 hello! I feel like putting a monstera plant in a circular cage will be a little restrictive for the leaves to grow out - unless it’s positioned ‘behind’, that would be better. But am really referring to specifically a monstera here, some other plant types could potentially do well in them. Hope that makes sense! ☺️🍀
@@antheech8853 hey there! I assume you mean your aerial roots? I generally leave mine and just tuck them back into the top of the soil of the pot (and totally get what you mean by them going crazy and unruly) - you definitely could trim some without causing major damage to your plant but I prefer to leave them (and if anything, some tend to even employ methods such as aerial layering to promote root growth to support overall growth of the plant). Hope that helps! 🍀
Thankyou so much! Definitely rewarding to see them grow - I certainly replanted into a larger sized pot, as a general rule I go for about 1-2 sizes up; monsteras grow pretty rapidly so you’re better off going the 2nd size up from your current pot - just make sure you have enough space in your home for it to grow 😂 mine has gotten to the point where I’ve gotten one of the biggest size growers pot you can get (ie 30mm circumference), but has happily stayed in the same pot for over a year now ☺️ hopefully that helps! Note; you don’t want to go way too large at the beginning, because too much space could cause overwatering which will present itself problems. All the best ☺️
Thanks so much for the feedback Carol! I don’t mean to plug another video of mine, but I do have one that shows you the differences between a moss pole, trellis, etc: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kwAxVn0a3AQ.htmlsi=RU3UXA0auygYiUmO You might find this one useful too. Hope that helps! ☺️
Thanks so much for the feedback Carol! I don’t mean to plug another video of mine, but I do have one that shows you the differences between a moss pole, trellis, etc: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kwAxVn0a3AQ.htmlsi=RU3UXA0auygYiUmO You might find this one useful too. Hope that helps! ☺️
Same! We’ve come a long way since I got mine for $29.95 at my local supermarket. It has about 5 leaves with new growth coming in. I’m sad that the new leaf has a brown spot. Is my grow light burning it?
omg $29.95 is such a steal 🥺🥺 mine was $500 during covid times! Are the brown spots appearing on the variegation (ie the white/yellow parts) - that is a common sign of too much light so I do wonder how long you are keeping the grow light on for!
Hi Cecilia - no worries, I have done similar to my plants where I’ve moved them outdoors; they’ll just take a bit of time and patience to acclimate to the new environment. Bird of paradise love full sun, but if they weren’t used to it, the leaves could potentially burn if you transition this too quickly. Hope that helps!
That’s a great tip! I’ve tried that too - actually did it once when I went overseas for 1 week and I grouped them all together against the balcony door and kept the bug zapper on - came back to a cemetery of gnats on the floor 😅
I'm so happy I found this!!! Thank you for reassurance that my happy plant is kinda okay if browning. I definitely had him in too much sunlight though. I just subscribed and about to watch more of your videos.
No worries, I’m glad you found it useful and thankyou so much for subscribing! My tips have browned over time but they have gotten better - doesn’t necessarily mean your plant is dying hehe they’re pretty sturdy plants and even after weeks of neglect mine has still held on pretty fine! Hope that helps ☺️🍀
I'm a Hort. My smart female indoor pot plant nerds tell me they use a combo of bottom saucer water and on the top of the pot they carefully make holes into the media with there fingers. Here they use a small plastic container to pour water into the finger holes which prevents the top layer from staying moist.
Great idea - and in my case, stabbing the top layer of soil with a chopstick 😂😂😂 I guess if you don’t mind getting your fingers dirty, that’s all good too! Thanks for sharing ☺️
hey there - unfortunately yellow/brown spots cannot be reversed, so you could cut it if you wish - don’t worry, if anything, cutting it off will allow your plant to redirect its energy to new growth, so you will eventually get new leaves ☺️ hope that helps!
Hi my plant is dying and I've had it for years. O think it's the shock of all the moving we have done. It started growing again but now it's dying again so not sure why? Can you please advise 🙏🏼
Hi Samantha - transport shock can definitely contribute to the appearance of its health diminishing. How long ago did you move? Also, have you repot the plant into new soil in the past couple of years? A repot gives your plants a refresh of nutrients it needs to continue to be healthy ☺️
We haven’t spoken in a long time but I was looking up videos of how to stake my monstera and came across this vid. Such a small world. Hope you’re doing well James.
Long time no see and great to hear from you Raymond!!! I’ve not actually uploaded content in so long - but hopefully this video helps 😂 definitely stake your plant, there are so many benefits! Hope it helps ☺️
I average about 1.5-2 weeks between watering ☺️ will depend on your climate and substrate but it has been a little colder lately in Sydney! Hope that helps
@@cammiforeman no worries, glad I could help. Do you mean misting directly on the plant? I generally would not recommend it and feel like it’s the biggest misconception - usually if there’s residual on leaves this can cause more problems than do good. In general misting only raises the humidity very temporarily (unless you have it on all day, etc.)
Also, the Thai is pretty easy in my experience, I’ve actually recently put her outside (it’s currently autumn and humidity is no way near 43%) and the temperatures have been going down to 14 degrees overnight, yet she is still producing a large healthy leaf right now!
Hey hey! I am currently using a mix of a bunch of products that I’ve bought from my local hardware store. It’s a blend of orchid mix, indoor potting mix with perlite and charcoal added. I’ve actually just purchased another brand by the Plant Runner that is called ‘Aroid Mix’ that contains a blend of orchid bark, perlite, coco peat, charcoal and compost which looks like an amazing mix for my future repot (but it’s basically the same as doing it myself but with a premium price tag 😂). In general, adding some drainage into your mixes is highly recommended for aroids such as the monstera ☺️ hopefully that helps!
Oh and also, I wouldn’t say one is ‘better’ than the other and it’s by matter of preference; terracotta pots tend to dry out faster (essentially better drainage) which means you’ll generally have to be watering more frequently so your plant babies aren’t so thirsty - as for plastic pots, I use these for most if not all of my plants (just from an ease and aesthetic purpose). Hope that makes sense!
