Plant Problems: The Lucky Bamboo That Could

I am a fan of Ikea. I shop there as often as I can with my sister. It's a little like going to an amusement park for us, but with better food. Plus, they sell plants, fake and real in their showroom.

But, that's not where I got this heavily yellowed Lucky Bamboo.

It was in their "as is" section. They marked it down to $2 because of the yellowing. 

A well-meaning fellow shopper tried to warn me not to buy it. She claimed it was basically dying because the yellowing was from the bottom going up. I bought it anyway. 

Because I know that when you have a plant in such a bad state, then the only solution is to chop off the good part and try to root it. So, I cut this Lucky Bamboo about 2 inches above the extremely long yellowed bit, then stuck it in water hoping for the best.

It took a few weeks, but it did pop out some roots and later new leaves.

The difference is incredible. I had to cut back the right side because it was getting a little too tall. Not bad for a plant that was supposedly a goner.

Hopefully this Lucky Bamboo will continue being lucky for me.

Stay green. 

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Plant Fails: My Troubles with Orchids

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I mentioned in my grocery store plant post that I have a bit of a troubled history with orchids, specifically moth orchids (phalaenopsis) as they are plentiful in grocery stores, home stores, gift shops, and unfortunately in my list of diseased plants.

Here's my tale of orchid woe.

My first orchid was brought from Fry's grocery store. It had such nice large leaves, cute white flowers, and 50% off. How could I resist.

I named it Odette and bought a roomier pot from Amazon, and some orchid bark and Miracle grow fertilizer (which I later found out wasn't recommended, but that's a different story). Things were looking good.

Unfortunately, one day I noticed something white underneath some of those nice leaves.

Mealy bugs!

I overly panicked, went totally scorched Earth to spray them and hack them away. Next thing you know, I was Googling how to re-grow roots in orchids. RIP Odette.

My next orchid was purchased at Whole Foods Market for about $12. I named it Fiona like the movie, Shrek. It was about the same time I got an Ogre Ears Jade plant from Home Depot, and yes I did name it Shrek.

Well, Shrek and Fiona both suffered the same fate, too much Arizona Summertime heat and sun exposure.

The third orchid came from Aldi, I thought this one would be different. I learned so much from the other failures after all.

I have read that you shouldn't re-pot an orchid while they are "blooming", so I chose to wait until the flowers dropped to re-pot this one, big mistake.

They lasted 5 months. Because I waited so long, I didn't see that many of the roots were rotting. It didn't help that the poor orchid was originally potted in the tiniest plastic cup thing imaginable.

I had to cut off all the roots and several bottom leaves. And unfortunately, re-rooting efforts didn't work.

Now here's my newest victim orchid from Sprout's. Will it beat the odds and survive in my care. Only time will tell.

Wish us both luck, and stay green.

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Plant Problems: Trouble with My San Marino Radiator Plant

One of the very first plants I got years ago was a radiator plant, specifically a peperomia caperata 'Rosso'. I named it Pepper Ann, and it lived in the breakroom at work.

Despite the fact that peperomias are considered "easy" plants, Pepper Ann died a sad, sad death. A mixed of climate problems (thank you Arizona heat) and root rot claimed her. May she rest in peace.

I stayed away from all Radiator plants, not wanting to repeat the tragedy.

Until August of last year, when I saw this sweet plant at a grocery store. It's a peperomia 'San Marino'. Surely, this time would be different, right?

Well, about that...

About July, my San Marino plant started to go downhill. I tried repotting it in a smaller pot (because it was considerably smaller), and it seemed to do okay for a while. Then it got worse.

 A couple of weeks ago I found this. Where are the roots? That's right, rot is claiming another victim.

I trimmed it back and tried to stick it in water to hopefully re-root. I really doubt it will make it at this point.

But there's is still one spark of hope.

When I repotted it, I also took some healthy cuttings and started rooting them in water.

Roots started to pop out within a week, and they're are doing just fine. I'm not sure if I will pot them up or just keep growing them in water. I seem to have better luck growing Radiator plants hydroponically.

So I may have lost the battle this time, but I am winning the war.

Wish me luck, and stay green.

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