# Plant help and identification



## Venom1080 (Jul 28, 2017)

Friend gave me these two plants. Don't know much about plants, know actually Extremely little. So any basic plant knowledge is appreciated.
Anyway, kibda want to keep these two alive. Friend said they were just labeled as "tropical"..

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## Venom1080 (Jul 28, 2017)

@spotropaicsav  any info to help this noob out?


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## schmiggle (Jul 28, 2017)

You're certainly not making our lives any easier by having two fairly non-descript plants.  The first appears to be a bird's nest fern, here's some care info:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/birds-nest-fern/birds-nest-fern-care.html
It's an epiphyte, so it will appreciate airy soil. Luckily for you, it sounds like it's not too hard.

The second one has no characteristics I can search on, so I can't give you much info. I will try to do a more thorough search later. Start with bright, indirect light. If it gets burned, move it somewhere darker. If it grows at a snail's pace, starts to look "leggy," with longer stem lengths between leaves, or the leaves become super dark, move it to brighter light. Both plants probably like but do not require high humidity, and both probably like a "normal" amount of watering. It looks like you might need to repot the bottom one soon; when you do, I'd suggest a loamy mix. I can get into possible soil problems if/when you need to repot.

The truth is, though, that most plants sold randomly in stores are pretty easy and not demanding ("most" being the crucial qualifier in this case).

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## Venom1080 (Jul 28, 2017)

schmiggle said:


> You're certainly not making our lives any easier by having two fairly non-descript plants.  The first appears to be a bird's nest fern, here's some care info:
> https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/birds-nest-fern/birds-nest-fern-care.html
> It's an epiphyte, so it will appreciate airy soil. Luckily for you, it sounds like it's not too hard.
> 
> ...


Haha sorry. Thanks alot for the info! I was texting my friend for more info a little while ago and he said he bought both with my low light room in mind. So I'm assuming he means both are okay in low light. 
What do you mean by airy soil? Anyway to know if what I have is alright? 
Also, what is a normal amount of watering? Like weekly? Every other day? 
Thanks again.


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## spotropaicsav (Jul 29, 2017)

Venom1080 said:


> @spotropaicsav  any info to help this noob out?


I was about to tag shmigglethey look healthy, you could call them salad and side dish...

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## spotropaicsav (Jul 29, 2017)

Venom1080 said:


> Haha sorry. Thanks alot for the info! I was texting my friend for more info a little while ago and he said he bought both with my low light room in mind. So I'm assuming he means both are okay in low light.
> What do you mean by airy soil? Anyway to know if what I have is alright?
> Also, what is a normal amount of watering? Like weekly? Every other day?
> Thanks again.


@Venom1080
Do both pots have a hole at the bottom to allow the soil to drain? I would recommend that no matter the species. You probably understand this intuitively but, if repotting use a fresh mix, to ensure no potential parasites attacking roots- had a bad repotting experience myself before

Disclaimer -I am not an expert

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## schmiggle (Jul 29, 2017)

An airy soil mix is exactly what it sounds like--the pieces are relatively large, so the spaces between them are too and the soil has more air. Epiphytes are adapted to having lots of air on their roots.

You'll have to experiment on watering, and it's largely dependent on what soil mix you're using, but usually I'd say wait until the soil is mostly dry (but not bone dry) and then water. Eventually you'll figure out how often that means for watering. The fern likes being "evenly moist," and the other plant probably does too. They're tropical plants, it rains a lot in most of the tropics, and these don't look particularly xerophytic. 

I'm not sure how your friend decided these were low light, but I definitely would imagine the fern likes something middle-bright like most epiphytes. Epiphytes tend to adopt that habit because it allows them to get closer to the sun, rather than remaining on the gloomy forest floor. This is not universal advice--some epiphytic orchids prefer shade--but it's a good place to start. If your light's not too hot, the plants won't really care how bright it is--burns happen from radiation, not straight up brightness. They won't necessarily be able to utilize all the light energy--shade plants usually can't--but they won't mind.

Let me echo @spotropaicsav by saying that it is SUPER important to have a drainage hole, unless you have one of those watering pots (which I still don't trust, but one has worked great for my mother). Otherwise you'll get a layer of waterlogged soil at the bottom of the pot, which is basically begging for root for. It's also a fairly good metric of how much to water--when water comes out of the hole, stop.


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## Venom1080 (Jul 29, 2017)

schmiggle said:


> An airy soil mix is exactly what it sounds like--the pieces are relatively large, so the spaces between them are too and the soil has more air. Epiphytes are adapted to having lots of air on their roots.
> 
> You'll have to experiment on watering, and it's largely dependent on what soil mix you're using, but usually I'd say wait until the soil is mostly dry (but not bone dry) and then water. Eventually you'll figure out how often that means for watering. The fern likes being "evenly moist," and the other plant probably does too. They're tropical plants, it rains a lot in most of the tropics, and these don't look particularly xerophytic.
> 
> ...


Alright, great. I can move the fern up onto the window sill if that's better for it. I'll keep that watering advice in mind. 

@spotropaicsav   they are in smaller pots with holes in the bottom of them, then inside a a ceramic pot so water doesn't go onto my desk when watering. That's a drainage layer, right?


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## spotropaicsav (Jul 29, 2017)

Venom1080 said:


> Alright, great. I can move the fern up onto the window sill if that's better for it. I'll keep that watering advice in mind.
> 
> @spotropaicsav   they are in smaller pots with holes in the bottom of them, then inside a a ceramic pot so water doesn't go onto my desk when watering. That's a drainage layer, right?


Sort of the pot within a pot method it seems you are describing? That is one way to do it, so water wont leak out and damage whatever surface you have the plants on. I tend to be heavy handed with watering, and dont notice when the second pot is waterlogged, which still causes the roots to sit in too much water. So I dont do it this way, but I know it works for many people. I water mine over a sink, or I also use little plant coasters so I can see how much water they are getting.

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## Venom1080 (Sep 4, 2017)

Alright... So I'm not sure I'm doing a good job with these two. Both have had a couple leaves yellow and fall off. And the taller unidentified one has started drooping. 

Am I watering enough? I wait till the soil feels dry on top, then pour some water in.. I think I'll start trying what was suggested above and watch for water coming out the bottom then stopping.

I lifted the plants pots out of the second one and noticed a a bit of water pooling in it. I imagine I should dump that out? 

Both plants sit on my windowsill during the day and get whatd I say is a medium amount of light..
	

		
			
		

		
	




@schmiggle @spotropaicsav


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## spotropaicsav (Sep 5, 2017)

I wouldn't worry too much at this point. Your plan sounds good, a couple of yellow leaves is to be expected after this amount of time.

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## schmiggle (Sep 5, 2017)

Plant leaves eventually senesce and die, particularly when they get overshaded by new growth (which appears to be the case here). The taller one might need a bit more water, but to me it just looks like droopy new growth, which is to be expected (new growth on certain plants often takes a little while to stiffen up). They both look like they're getting a healthy amount of light--the leaves aren't extremely dark or light. I'd dump out the extra water, as you suggest.
I'm not sure if these are your first house plants, but if so, I will say the following. Plants, like invertebrates, usually like neglect. In the wild, they're used to staying in one place with fairly constant conditions. It's therefore easy to overcare for them. I pampered my first cephalotus for a while, and couldn't figure out why it wasn't growing. I moved it to higher light in different parts of the day, I altered the watering schedule, etc. Well, I went on a vacation for a while, and when I came back, lo and behold, it had grown. Not a lot, but more than when I kept moving it around (and slow growth is perfectly respectable for a cephalotus). One always wants to pamper the new things, but doing so often just makes them unhappy.

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## Venom1080 (Sep 5, 2017)

schmiggle said:


> Plant leaves eventually senesce and die, particularly when they get overshaded by new growth (which appears to be the case here). The taller one might need a bit more water, but to me it just looks like droopy new growth, which is to be expected (new growth on certain plants often takes a little while to stiffen up). They both look like they're getting a healthy amount of light--the leaves aren't extremely dark or light. I'd dump out the extra water, as you suggest.
> I'm not sure if these are your first house plants, but if so, I will say the following. Plants, like invertebrates, usually like neglect. In the wild, they're used to staying in one place with fairly constant conditions. It's therefore easy to overcare for them. I pampered my first cephalotus for a while, and couldn't figure out why it wasn't growing. I moved it to higher light in different parts of the day, I altered the watering schedule, etc. Well, I went on a vacation for a while, and when I came back, lo and behold, it had grown. Not a lot, but more than when I kept moving it around (and slow growth is perfectly respectable for a cephalotus). One always wants to pamper the new things, but doing so often just makes them unhappy.


Well, second and third. Thanks alot.

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