I bought a wandering jew from Lowe's, and it's no wonder it was on sale. I don't like to buy houseplants at full price - I can usually find them on sale and just a bit scuffed up. Well, this one was particularly bad. Why did I buy it? Because I knew this was a plant that wants to live! VERY BADLY! It's one of the easier houseplants to care for, and I though it'd maybe been under-watered and then the staff poured on a ton because the soil was soaked. I took it home and let it dry out for a bit.
The plant continued to do worse. It looked like a fungal disease was wreaking havoc on the poor thing, so I sprayed some organic fungicide on it.
It still got worse. Not knowing what else to do and believing fully that compost will cure anything, I splatted a handful of compost right on top of the plant. Amazingly, it's doing better! I'm seeing new growth and more vigor in the existing leaves and stems. So, it's true - compost will cure a lot of problems. I suspect the compost helped in this case because of the beneficial fungus and bacteria, and I think giving more soil contact with the barely-alive-but-still-alive leaves and stems helped immensely.
Here's a picture of the plant now:When I see more results, I will update for better or worse. Here's to hoping for the best!
Cool! Don't ya just love the way Lowe's and
ReplyDeleteHome Depot waters them? I just bought a mature
Hoya plant and it was soaked! So I had to repot it, I use seed starter soil because it's fast
draining and can dry up the soaking soil.
Boy it was in bad shape wasn't it. I've been looking for a Wandering Jew. I got a start and have kept snipping and rooting and snipping and rooting but it still looks spread out and not bushy. Guess I need to plant them closer together since I've had no luck finding them in the stores. Guess I'll try Lowes again.
ReplyDeleteThose are such pretty plants. I bet you'll get in looking good in no time. You can find some really good deals on the plant rescues!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, that's how a lot of my house plants end up looking. Best of luck, it's a great looking plant when healthy!
ReplyDelete