Your result
Fixable at homeMost likely: underwatering
What is going on
Peat-based potting soil repels water once it dries out completely. When that happens, water runs down the gap between the soil and the pot wall and straight out the bottom, so the pot feels watered and the roots stay dry. A plant in that state can be watered every week and still be starving for water.
Do this first
Soak the whole pot from the bottom instead of watering from the top.
- 1 Set the pot in a sink or bucket with a few inches of room-temperature water.
- 2 Leave it twenty to thirty minutes, until the surface of the soil looks dark and damp.
- 3 Lift it out and let it drain fully. Never leave it standing in water after that.
- 4 From then on, water until it runs out of the drainage hole, and check with a finger rather than a schedule.
How you will know it worked: Leaves that were limp should firm up within a day. Tips that already went crisp will not turn green again, so judge the fix by the new growth, not the old leaves.
Still stuck, or not sure this is it?
A quiz cannot see the roots or the room. A virtual consult is $65 and starts with your photos, or a full house call is a flat $185 anywhere from Sarasota to Port Charlotte.
If someone you know waters faithfully and their plant still looks thirsty, this is why.
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Other possible diagnoses
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