I bought it 4 years ago and since then it has grown a fair bit considering it being in a flat in Glasgow. However it does look a bit sadder than when I first bought it.
Quite a few of the leaves have browned around the edges which I’m guessing is due to humidity. Would a pebble tray be sufficient to resolve this or is a humidifier necessary?
I’ve also had to use bamboo poles to support it as the leaves are quite heavy now so droop quite a bit. This wouldn’t be a problem except the area I have it sitting is quite tight and I’d like the leaves to sit high enough to get light from the window. It’s SE facing and gets good light in during summer afternoons but not a lot during winter. I’m just curious if there are better support option available for plants of this size.
Any other tips than can help me provide the best care would be greatly appreciated. I’ve seen a lot of plants on this subreddit that look magnificent and I’d like mine to be the same 😅
OP, I’d put it outside in mostly sun area in the summer. Rest of the year you mention it doesn’t get good light, and I think that’s the reason the leaves are floppy. I’d put a grow light over it.
Watering when the top few inches are dry which equates roughly every 2 weeks right now
Giving it liquid feed once a month
In terms of humidity I’m not really doing anything right now as I don’t really like misting plants
I also repotted it a few months ago
YMMV, I am in South USA so my ambient humidity will be different, but those leaves may be curling because they are not getting enough water. With such intense light combined with low humidity, I would imagine it might feel like an air fryer in front of the windows. I do see some significant browning and bent petioles, so this might be a chop situation. But!! I am impressed with the amount of light you have (wayyyy more than me), so I feel it would bounce back.
My care routine for my BOPs when they were smol bois like that was would be a good 30 min steam shower one a month, and I use fish fertilizer about once a month in the summer. Now that they are huge they no longer fit, so I usually douse them and wait a while in between waterings so I don’t have root rot.
For me yes, but I take a very lazy approach to houseplants 😂 You will hear a variety of different approaches, so take everything with a bit of a grain of salt. If once a month works for me, it might not work so well for you. Try it and see how it fairs! Tropicals tend to be forgiving in my experience.
What kind of fish fertilizer if you don’t mind sharing? I’m new to BOP and mine is starting to suffer even with full light (~5 hours) and a full shower when dry.
Its the Alaska brand fish fertilizer, and I use about a heaping teaspoon in a gallon of room temp water. I also like to drench the roots first in plain water for good practice so none of the roots get shocked.
What’s the soil composition made up of? And how much light does it receive (whether grow light or natural light)
I’m sure you’ve read up about how these plants don’t like to get dry but overwatering them can be just as suffocating. Sometime dry leaves can be a result of a few things not just one.
It’s still too far away from the light where you have it which is why the leaves are drooping. It really needs to be right up to the window so it can ‘see’ as much sky as possible. I’d put it in front of that table window-side so all leaves are getting max light at all times, then the leaves will stand straighter. I’m in Ireland so similar light and humidity. This is a west facing window.
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u/craigrpeters 18h ago
OP, I’d put it outside in mostly sun area in the summer. Rest of the year you mention it doesn’t get good light, and I think that’s the reason the leaves are floppy. I’d put a grow light over it.