Prayer Plant help please!

[rodriguezpoultry]

I bought a prayer plant on its last legs from Lowes.

It did great when I replanted and actually started growing several new leaves.

About 2 months later, the leaves don't reach skyward anymore and are droopy. I moved it closer to the window and it started turning brown on the edges.

I moved it away from the window as it was obvious it was doing NO good since the leaves weren't browned before. The edges of the leaves are now curling and the leaves have a "washed out" and "yellowy" look to them.

It gets watered once a day or once every two days. The soil is semi-dry to the touch before watering.

Should I repot it? I thought these were supposed to like being root bound?

Here's a photo of it as of now:

What do I do???

 

[thistlebloom]

Did you use a commercial potting soil when you repotted it? Do you have a saucer under it that collects the water?

it sounds like over watering to me, but you said the soil feels dry to the touch... what's it like if you stick your finger in up to the first joint?

I'm not a big houseplant person, so maybe someone who is will jump in here.

It seems, if I remember right, that Prayer plants don't need strong light. But first I'd check on the quality of the soil, and the watering.

 

[April Manier]

My first thought was over watering too. They like bright, indirect light. Don't repot! It's already stressed.

Do you use city water? You might try bottled spring water and allow to dry out a bit. before watering. Maybe a little fish in your water? Just a little to green it up (once) and the bottled water. I find that people tend to over think house plants. Too much water, too much light, too much food.

 

[catjac1975]

The leaves look burnt as in too much sun.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Apparently it's just one huge cluster of problems.

1. Moved it to a darker room. Immediately it started getting darker leaves.
2. Stopped watering it so much. Leaves turned brown and drooped.
3. Upon closer inspection, I see spider mites all over it. Tried soapy water. Looks like I sprayed it with acid. So after the mites didn't die but my plant kept dying...I have now sprayed it with Sevin dust mixed with water. It can't do much worse.

 

[thistlebloom]

Might I suggest you give it a thorough rinsing to get the Sevin and the soap off the leaves? Soapy water will kill insects for sure, but if left on the foliage will burn it.

Spider mites thrive in dry conditions, so a good spray of water every week or two will make your plant happy and eliminate the dust that the mites seem to love. ( I'm just glad they don't live on furniture! )

What sort of soil do you have it potted up with?

 

[897tgigvib]

Spider Mites on a houseplant


Ooooph, just about the worst thing. They do not easily die.

I have heard of predator mites to control them.
I have heard that spraying cool water with a little beer and a little milk added helps.
Spider Mites thrive when the air is dry.

When I worked at the greenhouse we generally kept the air moist accidentally and had very few problems with them. One time we tried to save a customer's spider mite infested gardenia, but it died. Spider Mites cause a plant to rapidly fail and die. We were lucky that we never had an infestation in the greenhouse, but probably because the air was moist. One time some seedlings got mildew, but that is the better part of the tradeoff.

Unless you can immediately destroy the spider mites...sorry to bear bad news...unless there is a special reason to save the plant, and if your poison does not immediately work, your plant will probably die. They really are like vampires to a plant and suck the plant's nutrients, enzymes, hormones, and water very rapidly as they breed also very rapidly.

Make certain there are no spider mites left anywhere near your plants after you get rid of their main infestation. Tiny webs give their presence away. Then keep the air more humid. The humidity risks other problems. It is a balancing act.

I would say "I hate slugs" and my boss would say with even more contempt, "I hate Spider Mites".

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

If it doesn't make it, oh well.

How odd! Everywhere I read it said that humid conditions caused the infestations. The plant looks a smidge better but I'm sure it's my imagination.

I have sole purple passion plants in the other room. Will this spread to them?!

 

[thistlebloom]

If it doesn't make it, oh well.

How odd! Everywhere I read it said that humid conditions caused the infestations. The plant looks a smidge better but I'm sure it's my imagination.

I have sole purple passion plants in the other room. Will this spread to them?!

You might want to be a little proactive with your passion plants now that you know what to look for.

To check a plant for mites, take a white sheet of paper and holding it under the plant, tap the leaves. If mites are present they will fall on the paper and look like little specks. The color is not always red, it depends on what stage of development they are in.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

That's odd? None of these were red? These were all light brown with webs on the leaves?