waterlogged plants. any tips?

[whitespyder]

I recently upgraded my veiled's cage to an 18x18x36 and had enough room to put two umbrella plants in it. a few stalks are already turning brown and drooping leaves. When I mist, theres really no way I can avoid the plant's pot and the leaves drip with water and get the soil too soaked. there is drainage at the bottom of each pot and the water tray was removed and this still hasnt solved my problem. how do you guys prevent this from happening? im sick of killing my plants!

 

[Lizardlover]

I recently upgraded my veiled's cage to an 18x18x36 and had enough room to put two umbrella plants in it. a few stalks are already turning brown and drooping leaves. When I mist, theres really no way I can avoid the plant's pot and the leaves drip with water and get the soil too soaked. there is drainage at the bottom of each pot and the water tray was removed and this still hasnt solved my problem. how do you guys prevent this from happening? im sick of killing my plants!

add some vermiculite to the soil to help aerate it, and add hydroton to the bottom of the pot to help it drain out better.

 

[Cainschams]

add some vermiculite to the soil to help aerate it, and add hydroton to the bottom of the pot to help it drain out better.

Definitely. You can always mix the dirt with sand too. This helps keep the soil a bit looser. Sheffleras will die quick in overly wet conditions. If you think its bad enough take the plant out of the dirt and trim off any dead/rotted roots then repot in dryer soil.

 

[Elizadolots]

If you repot it, make sure to put it in a terracotta or other similarly porous pot. That will help wick the moisture out into the cage where you want it.

 

[whitespyder]

thanks, these all sound like good ideas! im just a bit worried about the vermiculite since my chameleon is a recovering dirt eater (lol), but i have 1 inch of sand and river rocks covering that on the surface so fruit flies cant breed in the dirt so it shouldnt be too big of an issue.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Why not just cover the top of the pot most of the way, so as to stop the excess water from going in the soil to start with?

 

[Elizadolots]

or, instead of vermiculite, dry water crystals...they'll absorb water. I think they are okay to eat (at least my dogs have snagged them with no harm...they do have fun with them before eating them though).

 

[SliK JiM]

It might not be your fault! I had an umbrella plant die on me and I could understand why! Once I took it out, the problem became clear! You know the stuff florists use to arrange plants? They stuck one of the shoots into that and put that in the pot too! Basically, I had one living plant and one dying on they'd just stuck in to make it look bushier! It was crazy! I don't know if this is what it is in your case, but normal misting are all the water I provide, so that alone shouldn't be enough to cause water logging! Especially if you have drainage in the pots!

 

[DGray]

Um, light

Looks like your cage may not have enough light, to me. That might be the reason the lower leaves are dying.

 

[ALX]

You can put some rocks at the bottom of your pots before you put the soil and the plant. This will help the drainage.

 

[whitespyder]

Looks like your cage may not have enough light, to me. That might be the reason the lower leaves are dying.

ive been struggling to keep her temps at 81 so im using a 25 watt bulb since it gets hot in my room even with the AC on. i bought a plant light which i want to hook up soon but im afraid it will rise the temps up even more. the plants are definitely dying from too much water i think, the stalks are getting soft and brown.

Why not just cover the top of the pot most of the way, so as to stop the excess water from going in the soil to start with?

i tried this once with a paper plate but the water still drips down the stalk of the plant and soaks it. if i can angle it right it could work.

You can put some rocks at the bottom of your pots before you put the soil and the plant. This will help the drainage.

i think ill give this a try. thanks!