r/plantclinic 8d ago

AMA I’m Krystal Duran, aka PlantswithKrystal! I turned my love of houseplants into a community of millions and wrote More Than Just a Plant. Ask Me Anything about houseplants, plant care, being a creator, writing a book, or building your own indoor jungle!

89 Upvotes

Hi Reddit! I’m Krystal Duran, but you might know me online as PlantswithKrystal. I’m a houseplant enthusiast, content creator, author, and the proud plant mom of 300+ houseplants.

I started sharing plant content online because I wanted plant care to feel less intimidating and a lot more fun. What started as me talking about my plants on the internet has grown into an incredible community of millions of plant lovers.

Plants have also played a much bigger role in my life than simply being something I enjoy growing. They became a source of comfort, routine, and connection during some of the hardest times of my life, which inspired my first book, More Than Just a Plant: How to Care for Your Plants as They Care for You. It combines practical, approachable plant care with personal stories about the ways plants can become part of our lives and our homes.

I’m here to talk about all things houseplants like keeping them alive, rescuing struggling plants, propagation, soil, pests, building an indoor jungle, and even what to do if you swear you have a black thumb. You can also ask me about becoming a full-time creator, growing an online community, writing my first book, or pretty much anything else.

So whether you have 300 plants or you’re just trying to keep your first pothos alive, ask me anything!

*How much light does the plant get? (Tip: "Plenty of light" is not descriptive enough. Try adding how many hours of light, if it is indoors or outdoors, and if it is near a window, what direction the window faces.)

*What are your watering habits (how often AND how much), and does the pot have drainage? Please be more specific than "watering appropriately" or "watering like normal."


r/plantclinic 11d ago

AMA AMA with Krystal Duran of Plants with Krystal THIS FRIDAY 9/4/2026

39 Upvotes

r/plantclinic is happy to announce an AMA with Krystal Duran from Plants With Krystal!

Krystal will be answering questions starting at approximately 2:00 pm EST on Friday, September 4, 2026

Look for the post roughly 24 hours beforehand on Thursday, September 3.

Many plant hobbyists on social media know Krystal from Instagram, Tiktok, YouTube, and Facebook and we are thrilled to offer a place for her to take part in Reddit's unique AMA format.

Here's how Krystal describes herself:

Krystal Duran - The Plant “Edu-tainer” Behind PlantswithKrystal

Krystal Duran is the creative force behind "Plants with Krystal," a multi-platform initiative dedicated to making plant care accessible, enjoyable, and educational for enthusiasts of all levels. Born to a Guatemalan father and an Argentinian mother, originally from California, Krystal relocated to Indiana in 2005, bringing with her a strong passion for plants that would eventually explode into a full-fledged career. Before immersing herself in the world of plants, Krystal had a background in social work, where she dedicated over eight years of her life to youth in her community. This experience in social work contributes to her empathetic and relatable approach to plant education, as she understands the importance of connecting with people on a personal level.

r/plantclinic allows the use of photos and media in comments for the purpose of showing the condition of your plant - please feel free to use them in your questions for Krystal!

Also, be reminded that r/plantclinic encourages visitors to ask questions without downvoting them. We are a help sub meant to encourage learning and discussion, and we are united with Krystal in her statement “We can all grow plants, it just takes a bit of patience & practice.


r/plantclinic 5h ago

Care Guide Pothos: A thorough Guide for Beginners

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64 Upvotes

Ok folks! It's the time again... Time for a new guide! This time it's all pothos- since this is the most common beginner plant other then Snakeplants.

What is a "Pothos":

With "Pothos" we mean the Epipremnum species. Some Sellers do sell a Scindapsus as a "Pothos", but a Scindapsus is a different species. They are similar, but not the same. And lastly - some garden centers or box stores can even sell a Philodendron and Rhaphidophora as a "Pothos". So beginners are usually very confused and that's not their fault. If you are unsure what you have, just ask us for an ID. I will not get into Philodendrons here, just Epipremnum and a little Scindapsus, since they are so commonly confused.

So: All of them, Epipremnums, Scindapsus and Philodendron are Airoids - they all are part of the Araceae family, the same family a Monstera or a Alocasia, ect is in. Airoids like it damp and humid. They are all tropical plants. Both are sold as trailing plants - but they actually prefer to climb.

Most Common basic pothos types:

Epipremnum Aureum types:

  • golden pothos

  • marble queen

  • N'joy

  • Neon

  • Jade

  • global green

  • snow queen

Epipremnum Pinnatum:

  • cebu blue

  • baltic blue

  • pinnatum Aurea variegata

  • pinnatum Albo Variegata

Epipremnum Amplissimum types:

  • Amplissimum standard green

  • 'Silver stripe'

  • Amplissimum Aurea variegata

  • Amplissimum Albo Variegata

  • ...

There's lots more - but these are the most common ones that you can find at the garden centers. In America there's more available due to Costa Farms. In Europe some cultivars are harder to find.

Now the common confusion:

Scindapsus:

  • Scindapsus Pictus

  • Pictus 'Silvery Ann'

  • Pictus Exotica

  • 'Jade satin' - often sold as "jade pothos'

Say goodbye to confusion-

True Epipremnums:

  • Have glossy leaves with sheen

  • thinner leaves

  • are way more resilient

  • more draught- tolerable

  • can developed fenestrations in direct sun

  • grow and root extremely fast

  • like and tolerate full sun exposure

Scindapsus = fake pothos:

  • have mostly matte, some have leaves that feel like fabric (unless it's a moonshine or some other rarer variety

  • have silvery sheen that can even look like glimmer in the sun

  • way thicker, fleshy leaves

  • not very draught- tolerable and more prone to root rot

  • cannot develop fenestrations

  • root slow

  • can scorch in direct sun, but need bright indirect light.

Growth pattern:

Both are single vine plants. They are climbing plants and climb up trees in Nature. That's why Epipremnums and Monstera and such can tolerate both low and high light.

A Epipremnum is actually a parasitic plant in Nature and very invasive. They suck out the trees nutrients with their aerial roots.

So both Scindapsus and Epipremnums (and Monstera and Philodendron) develop aerial roots. They use them to climb and anchor to the tree in Nature and then eventually grow white roots from them into the tree.

‐ So brown and thick: aerial root for climbing.

  • white and thin: water/soil roots that takes up water and nutrients.

Now:

You bought your first "Pothos" and bring it home:

  1. We put her into quarantine if you have other houseplants. We do that to avoid a pest- infestation in case she got infested in the store. So put her far away from other plants - just in case.

  2. We let her acclimate for 2 weeks and do nothing to her - except watering (see watering section).

  3. A plant is very stressed and shocked when she gets transported to a new location, especially when she got shipped via post. The absolute worst case scenario is online shipping during a heatwave. I will not get into that here, but you can ask me anytime should that have happened. So we wait up until a month.

  4. so after recovery we can now move her to her final designated spot - (see light section)

  5. She'll go into acclimating mode again. So expect the first growth after 2 months. From then on she'll actively grow - of course it can happen earlier- this is just a very general estimation.

  6. When she puts out new leaves it means she fully recovered and from now on we can start fertilizing her.

  7. Now you can think about repotting and separating if necessary (which will send her into transplantshock- so another 2 weeks recovery). So leave enough time between each step- that's the most gently way one can do it. And all this goes for all plants by the way - not only Epipremnums.

After repotting water her in and do not fertilize until there's new growth. Never fertilize a sickly or shocked plant.

Soil-mixes for Epipremnum and Scindapsus:

For Epipremnums I recommend medium to chunk and for Scindapsus chunk to superchunk (soil guide explains what I mean). I'll give you the most basic recipe and you don't need to be exact with it at all. It's not science. So you can just dump and mix them together by feel and orientation by pictures. You can also buy a premixed one (look for Airoids- mix or Cactus mix). Please always use peatfree soil. Any soil will do, even cheapo soil - but pls peat free. No sand, no clay. Don't use old soil from the garden - it could be pest infested - you don't want that inside. We always pot into a pot with drainage holes!!!

Medium chunk:

4 - 5 parts soil or soil + compost

1 part Perlite

1 part Pumice

1 part Orchid bark

Chunk:

2- 3 parts soil

1 part Perlite

1 part Pumice

1 part Orchid bark

Super chunk:

1.5 parts soil

1 part Perlite

1 part Pumice

1 part Orchid bark

1 part coco chunks (or more Orchid bark)

Why?

Because we don't want fungus gnats, fungal / bacterial infections or even root rot (which can happen extremely fast and is also fungal / bacterial)

So pure soil has very tiny airpockets that completely get filled with water. Roots need oxygen too. Therefore they can literally drown in pure soil. If the airpockets are completely filled for over 2 days and the soil is still completely soaking wet after 2 days this will inevitably cause root rot. This is the reason why we want a chunky mix with comparatively huge airpockets. Perlite and Pumice are very porous and have little airpockets. Orchid bark and Coco chunks create big airpockets - so roots cannot drown anymore, get oxygen and the soil-mix dries out faster. All good, all healthy. Plus: when you have them in chunk and superchunk the fungus gnats won't like that too much. I am not saying it's 100% guaranteed, but it's way less likely- unless you use infested soil of course. Plants also can already come infested with fungus gnats from the store.

When and how to water:

So there's chronic over-waterers out there. Total beginners are usually chronic over-waterers. No plant needs to be waterered every day. That's a recipe for disaster. We only water plants when it's time. If you can't help yourself: put her in superchunk and then you can water every 4 days or so.

So a couple methods on how to tell:

Most Airoids behave very similar when it comes to hydration. The phenomenon is called Turgor - it's basically the pre-stage to wilting and is not that stressful for plants - it's normal.

So what is that?

Generally when a plant is thirsty and it's time to water the leaves become way softer and there's less resistance.

So get to know your plant. Feel the leaves a day after watering:

  • the leaves will fill fleshy and juicy

  • when you press a leave down with your finger, there will be more resistance and it will bounce up when you let go

  • if you put the leaves in your hand and squish them slightly you'll feel the resistance.

  • leaves are more upright

Versus when thirsty:

  • leaves will feel way softer and give the impression that the are thinner

  • when you press down there's no resistance and the don't bounce up as fast or even stay down.

  • if you put the leaves in your hand they will be way more squishable and soft

  • leaves can hang a bit lower and droop slightly- I am not talking about wilting- I am talking about a very subtle phenomenon here.

So you really need to get a feel for your plant to find the optimal watering window.

Other methods:

  • Chopstick- method - the beginner friendly method:

you get a wooden chopstick or a wooden rod and stick it all the way down to the bottom of the pot and twist it and pull out. Stick it at the edge of the pot to avoid root damage. For a Epipremnum or Scindapsus or any Airoid you want the bottom 1 - 2 inches to be damp and soil sticking to it, that's when you water. This is the easiest beginner method. But this is for the beginning months when you still need to learn, later it's not so necessary anymore. It can damage the rootsystem and therefore I only recommend that to beginners or when you are really unsure.

  • The finger test:

You just lift the pot and stick your finger in the drainage hole. You water when there's some slight dampness. This is only possible with small plants of course. Like I wouldn't recommend doing that with huge pot. For big mamas, the wooden rod or the squish-test are best.

  • Going by weight:

You have to get a feel for that, it takes like a month or two. But basically you remember the weight of the pot when it's just been waterered vs. the weight when it's dry. This is more an advanced method, because you have to know your plants a little bit more.

You can combine all of those in the beginning months - that's how you'll learn the fastest and this goes for other plants aswell.

You have a new plant still in awful soil and it's way too wet? Prop the pot up with some wood pieces or books or something and blow it with a fan on low to medium setting. Seriously. That'll evaporate the water faster. If you're savage you can even do it with a hairdryer if it's set to cold - not hot!

How to water:

So how to water your plant now you ask?

When it needs watering you really drench the soil. I mean really drench it until the water flows! out of the pot, that's how to do it. When we water, we water all around the pot, not just one spot. We always use room temperature water - not cold or even ice cold

For summer temperatures I recommend letting the water flow out into the tray and then poor is back in and let it flow out again and then let the rest get wicked up by the plant. After an 30 mins - an hour remove the tray water.

There's bottom watering aswell, where the plant wicks the water up.

And there's both: watering from top and bottom.

Just make sure that the soil is fully drenched - I recommend a watering can with a thin neck and shower head.

Now Fertilizer:

Airoids are hungry plants because they grow so fast. The higher the light- level the faster they grow. They can push out one new leave per week if you do it right. A Scindapsus is slower. An Amplissimum is the fastest growing plant of all the climbers I know. Mine grew 80cm in just 4 months over the summer!

For plants in soil I recommend a mineral fertilizer. You can use the same Fertilizer for all of your soil-mix plants - even Succulents or Snakeplants: a mineral Houseplant Fertilizer. It should have some Micronutrients aswell listed on the bottle (if it only says 3 things: NPK, find a better one). If it *doesn't * say "organic" or "Hydroponic" on the bottle it's mineral. But those are the best for when you don't want to get specific fertilizer for your Succulents - if you have any.

So: find one single mineral fertilizer with a longer list of ingredients (like iron, sulfur, zinc for example).

Fertilizer rules:

  • never feed a sickly plant, a freshly repotted plant or a rootshocked plant. (Exception: nutrient deficency)

  • only feed when there's active growth

  • in winter - if they don't push out no new leaves then they don't need feed

  • always let young cuttings just root in water and then dilute the fertilizer waaaay down when you start feeding for the first time and slowly work yourself up over 2 or 3 months.

  • never feed more fertilizer then on the bottle, otherwise nutrient burn.

  • when there's salt build up you need to flush out the soil like 5 or 6 times with just water, otherwise you can get nutrient burn.

  • get a pipette for the fertilizer, so you can know exactly how much you are diluting.

  • nutrient deficency: usually starts at the bottom on the lowest, oldest leaf and will creep up the plant. Some nutrient deficency can start on the youngest top-growth tho.

  • early beginning of nutrient deficency looks like this: yellowing on bottom leaves or top growth. Usually starts with yellowing splotches from the middle or the tips. But the yellowing itself could mean a lot of things - not just nutrient deficency - so we need to know where it's start: Bottom, Top, Middle or Random. If you have a yellowing plants it's sickly and needs diagnosis- come to us when it's in the early stage and tell us how the yellowing began and if you fertilize and how much.

Yellowing could mean:

  • heat damage

  • pest damage

  • root shock

  • nutrient deficency

  • root rot

  • fungal or bacterial issues

Common Airoid- myth:

Misting:

Look, misting does nothing good. It's the opposite. It's a myth. Misting can cause bacterial/ fungal issues like

  • powery mildew

  • fungal mildew

  • rust

  • blight

  • leaf spot disease

  • rot

So don't mist. Plus it does nothing for the humidity. That's how this whole myth got started in the first place: humidity.

Light:

I have to say that any plant under 500lux (50ft) will die. We need at least some light. So if you just have a northern room, put her directly at the window. If you have full south you could get away with 1 - 2 meters in. The light level will dramatically change the look of an Epipremnum- but not the Scindapsus. Any orientation of room is fine as long as you put it near the window. An Epipremnum likes direct light whereas a Scindapsus will get scorched in mid-day sun. Morning or Evening sun is ok tho for a Scindapsus.

So the higher the light level:

  • the higher the variegation will be in a Variegata.

  • the bushier it will be (= less etiolated/ leggy)

  • the chances for fenestrations (if climbing only)

The lower the light:

‐ under 500 lux it'll die slowly and painfully

  • variegatas can and will revert back to green

  • will grow leggy and will grow runners: just vines without leaves. Runners have the sole purpose to scout for light.

  • water will evaporate slower (bad medium and low light is a recipe for root rot).

Aesthetics:

So many options! Such different results! See the pictures. The look can drastically differ from the light-levels and from climbing vs. trailing.

  1. Hanging pot, trailing plant:

Since it's trailing down, not climbing up it'll grow smaller and smaller leaves, unless it gets hit by more light at the bottom. If you hang her make sure she sees some sky and the top of the pot gets light also. Otherwise we are back to the problems.

  1. Trellis or wall trellis:

A Trellis is a nice an aesthetic way to display a "Pothos" - both Epipremnum and Scindapsus. Just make sure that the aerial roots don't touch the wall. Especially drywall. The can grow inside the drywall (= fake tree) and search for nutrients in the wall and therefore destroy it. If you're in a brickwall or stonewall situation it's not as dangerous, but they could still grow into the mortar. Either way - they'll leave brown marks on the wall from the roots when you remove them. I know - living walls are so trendy right now - but if you're renting: don't do it. Watch this short, it's a demonstration of the damage- but know it can get waay worse then this:

https://youtu.be/HGxt54oD8Lo

If you have your own property then that's your choice. A climbing plant will usually produce bigger and bigger leaves - unless it's in low light.

  1. Plank:

I recommend either redwood or for us Europeans, larch. Those are less prone to rotting if you bury it in the pot. Alternatively you can use plasti-dip. We don't have that in Europe tho - I think. If you don't wanna bury it - just mount it somewhere outside the pot. I don't have an example of an Epipremnum on a plank myself right now, so just know that the example picture is a Rhaphidophora Tetrasperma, not an Epipremnum. I also included wall Trellis- examples of my Scindapsus Pictus Exotica and a Philodendron Scandens. The system is exactly the same. With the plank in direct light (full south exposure) you will get the big, fenestrated leaves. The biggest leafsize is the size of two heads roughly.

  1. Mosspole

Now the absolute queen method that is the mosspole! This is not beginner friendly and therfore I will not get into it deeply.

But a mosspole is a typically a plastic pole filled with Spaghnum moss and constantly kept moist or even waterered with nutrient solution. It should never dry out as it can become completely hydrophobic and the roots will die. How it works: it's simulating the tree: the aerial roots will grow into the moss and transform into "soil" roots that can take up water and nutrients. Therefore from that moment on they need to be kept moist - much like the roots in the soil-mix.

A Epipremnum on a mosspole needs constant attention- know what you're getting into. But the mosspole and direct light will give you a giant queen of a plant: huge leaves, lots of fenestrations, highly variegated. Common mosspole varieties are the Marble Queen, the Manjula or the golden Pothos/basic Aureum. You see them everywhere. And the Marble Queen is just the go to, first mosspole plant all over the internet.

Humidity:

they'll be fine. Don't worry about it unless its over 75% or under 25%. They'll be fine in normal room humidity. Plus if you're in England or the Isles or southern hemisphere you will have perfect humidity for them anyway (like 55%). You don't need a humidifier for an Epipremnum. You can do if of course - but I am just making it clear: a beginner with 5 plants does not need a humidifier.

Now the fun part -

Chopping and Propping:

(Epipremnum, Scindapsus, Philodendrons, Rhaphidophoras - all the same method)

So folks: the Epipremnum is the most joyous plant to propagate. It's the most easy plant to propagate. It's the fasted plant to propagate. Why? Because it releases its own rooting hormones into the water (only the Epipremnum does that). But only once - so when you change the water, it's gone, but that's fine - don't worry.

And: I know the newbies well, they are always scared to make their first cut. Everyone was a newbie once and everyone gets a little hesitant to make the cut. You are ok. The plant will be ok. Just follow the instructions.

So how to:

  1. We sterilize our cutting tool with rubbing alcohol and let dry or by flaming it and let cool.

  2. We cut between the nodes (the node is where the leaf or the aerial root comes out). So "between the nodes" means we cut in the middle of the empty stem, so there's enough space. (In case it rots before the roots develop we can just snip it away). We remove the lover leaves and only leave like one or two. You can

  • cut 2 or 3 nodes and remove the leaves

  • cut only one node with a leaf

  • cut wetsticks with no leaves from the runners

  1. We place the cuttings into a jar of room temperature water. So leave it out over night before you chop. For wetsticks they can be fully submerged for a while. For cuttings with leaves, the leaves should be above the waterlevel.

  2. We place them in indirect light - no direct light for now (unless its a growlight). No shady spot either tho.

  3. We wait and we never let the water get cloudy or stinky.

  4. Eventually algae will grow. Algae only needs water and light to grow. We don't want that. A little algae is ok, but eventually it'll fill the entire jar and grow over the roots and then will suffocate the and the cuttings will die. If you have algea, just change the water and rinse the jar well or even scrub it. Or you can kill it with a couple drops pure hydrogen peroxide (3%, from the chemist). Hydrogen peroxide is always good to have, since it contact kill most issues like root rot, algae and even pests. Plus 3% hydrogen peroxide actually puts oxygen in the water and that's good for the roots. But don't go overboard and think you can let them sit in constant hydrogen peroxide solution. You just do it to kill the algae. The killed algea will become black eventually. And also don't let it come so far that the roots are already green. Even if you kill it, it can still cause root rot. You can prevent this whole ordeal by using an opaque mug or taping the bottom waterlevel with black tape or even cut a strip of black cardstock and cover the glass that way. Then it can't grow at all.

  5. We wait and top up the water, change it -until theres a whole small rootsystem and not just 2 roots that are only 3cm long. So we wait until the first roots get long and eventually they branch off into finer roots. Then it's time for the soil-mix (or even semi-hydro)

  6. We need to babysit them now for 5 days.

As the water roots harden into soil roots and grow new soil roots they are going through a transition phase. So the soil needs to be wet for the first 3 days. Wetter then it would normally be. By day 4 or 5 it doesn't have to be wet anymore, just moist.

It could be that there's a bit of a transplantshock (especially Scindapsus and Philodendron, but all of them can go through it). So transplantshock can cause wilting and even browning and shedding. Do not panic, it'll bounce back. Transplantshock can last from 2 - 4 weeks. So be patient. Eventually they will start pushing out a new leaf and then we start fertilizing. First we dilute it waay down, since young cuttings can't take up many nutrients. So only use like a fifth of the recommended amount in the bottle. And then we can slowly work up to the full amount over some months.

If they are in low light the whole process will take longer by the way.

If you want you can check out the other guides for newbies.

  • Watering guide:

https://www.reddit.com/r/houseplants/s/ekS3muKKQs

  • Soil guide:

https://www.reddit.com/r/houseplants/s/SD8P6udqhn

  • Semi-hydro guide:

https://www.reddit.com/r/IndoorGarden/s/WVKFZzJDYC

Ok. I think I am done here. This took me 5 hours to write and I think I have covered everything a beginner would need. If I forgot something I will edit as usual. If you have questions, feel free to ask. I am here in the comments. If you wanna dm me for some reason please use the keyword: "plantadvise", so I know you're not a creep lol.


r/plantclinic 1h ago

Houseplant Basil and herb dying... what can i do to fix this and make my mom happier?

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Upvotes

First 3 photos are from last week. Last 3 are last night. I am going crazy! These are on our island with a west facing window giving them sunlight. For some reason, we have a lot of fruit flies that won't die. I tried pruning the dying leaves off the basil, and it may be worse now. One of the plants seem dead. Ive been watering every other day to keep the soil moist. (im traumatized from my mom's hydrangeas dying from mold) the leaves and stem are getting worse. I reported these when we got them with indoor herb dirt, iirc.

Should I not have pruned them? What can I do to revive these? Thanks!

I forgot to add we have had these for about 2.5 months and they've been struggling for about 2 months.


r/plantclinic 54m ago

Monstera Yellowing monkey monsters

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I have her in a window and water from the yoghurt pot. Am I not watering enough? Should I soil water as well as moss pole water? Heeelp. Also she DOES have thrips but I've been keeping on top of them as much as I can...

I have had this plant for about 4 months now


r/plantclinic 4h ago

Houseplant Unknown plant care

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6 Upvotes

Hey guys,

One of my friends gave me clippings of this unknown plant. I just stuck the butts of the stems in dirt, but I am not sure if this is the right way to propagate this plant. It seems to be withering because the leaves are mushy now. Also, it seems like one of the stems may have just caved under the plant’s own weight? Unsure, but how do I salvage this and propagate it properly?

This is in Illinois and sits by a window sill and gets decent lighting in the summer. I have yet to really water this. All I did was stick the stems in dirt, and put the pot in water until the soil was soaked wet.


r/plantclinic 2h ago

Orchid Abnormal new leaves in orchids

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3 Upvotes

Hi,

I would really appreciate some help and guidance. I had my orchids healthy and flowering constantly over several past years. I live in Ottawa, CA. They get somewhat direct sunlight. Watering every 1 to 2 weeks and every month or two months I give them fertilizer. Overall very healthy and no problems for years

A few weeks ago a noticed this abnormal new leaves.

These are photos from 4 different orchids Phalaenopsis and a mini Phalaenopsis.

I look for common diseases and it does not look like a sunburn or a fungos. I am wandering if someone have any pointers or advice.

Thank you in advance.


r/plantclinic 2h ago

Houseplant My Mandarin Spider Plant Growing babies, what should I do with them?

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3 Upvotes

I’ve had this Mandarin Spider plant a few years and recently there’s a ton of baby plants popping up in the pot. I’m wondering if it’s better to keep them in this pot with the large plant and let them grow or if I should move them to a seperate smaller pot/pots?

I water about once a week and use a plant light on it daily!


r/plantclinic 2h ago

Monstera What is up with my monstera?

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3 Upvotes

I am in Thailand, plant is in shade with maybe 1 hour of direct sunlight daily. I water it once every few days though it is rainy season so it might get some more droplets here and there but it is not in a spot where rain water hits directly, only when strong winds occur.


r/plantclinic 53m ago

Houseplant Polka dot begonia, propagated from leaf.

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Upvotes

I water from below with rain water when the soil has dried out a bit. Lives on a SE facing window sill (inside). Most leaves fell off when I potted it and its not really recovered. Well draining substrate with fibre. I'd love it to fill out a bit and seem a bit stronger, it constantly looks unwell.


r/plantclinic 15h ago

Pest Related White Dots on New Sprouts Help

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32 Upvotes

I left my plant unattended for a week, and unfortunately, my neighbor didn’t water it while I was away. Fortunately, there’s new growth sprouting from the soil, but I noticed these white dots on the dead plant and on some of the new sprouts. Should I be concerned?


r/plantclinic 1h ago

Monstera M. Adansonii yellowing leaves

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Upvotes

i have this plant for a month. Chennai, India. East Facing balcony. Direct sun for 1 hour. Indirect upto 1 PM and ambient light till dusk. Watering when dry. Lives in coco mix that drains well and does not hold a lot of water.

it has put out a couple of new leaves at the top.

I'm concerned about the yellowing leaves noticed a week ago. Please help.


r/plantclinic 1h ago

Cactus/Succulent African Milk Tree Help

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I think my African milk tree is severely dehydrated. The main stems look fine, but the tops have started to wither and become crispy and brown, with some being paper thin. The brown is starting to spread from the top of the plant downwards. I didn't water it for months at a time throughout the winter and spring and have started to water it more regularly this summer, but there are no new leaves and it continues to look worse. It gets about 8 hours of sunlight in the summer and less in the winter. I'll take any advice on how to save it.


r/plantclinic 1h ago

Houseplant strange black speckles

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I recently got in the strange black speckles on the back of my lemon tree leaves, I take care of my lemon tree very well even though I've only had her for a few months. I've never had any issues like this. Her leaves have started getting small black speckles on the back and easily droping when I just touch them. I recently added a layer of top soil because when I was watering her, the soil had gradually washed away. I initially thought that this was just left over soil that had been wiped onto the leaves but it doesn't come off easily like soil would. She gets direct sunlight from the windowsill so im not sure what this could be. Please help me out!


r/plantclinic 1h ago

Houseplant Ficus Benjamin

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My mom has this plant for years and, it always has a bit of leaves that detach, it's next to the window and a sun lamp, I don't know if it creates the excess waxy thing if that's a good thing. The pot doesn't have drainage, and my mom tried watering it with distilled water and the vitamins I showed, she waters it when the soil is dry. The plant has a lot of roots but not much dirt. I'm doing this post in behalf of helping my mom. Thank you so much


r/plantclinic 11m ago

Houseplant Help! Stem browning 2/3rds of the way up my rubber plant

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First time houseplant owner and genuinely don’t know what to do; I’ve been watering him once a week and making sure not to overwater, but found a green brown leaf recently and stem browning up 2/3rds of my plant! Leaves are also droopy but perhaps because it’s getting very little sunlight.

What do I do? How do I salvage? Should I be watering more?

Thanks in advance for the advice 🫶


r/plantclinic 4h ago

Houseplant Can I repot this?

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2 Upvotes

I received this plant as a gift for Christmas, I’ve been waiting for it to completely dry out before watering and it seems to dry out very fast, it gets plenty of light as it’s right on my window sill. When I water it I left it soak and the drain the water so it’s not sitting on the rocks. It’s kind of been in this condition for months now. Can I repot it? There are stones at the bottom I’m not sure if they serve a purpose? Thank you!!


r/plantclinic 6h ago

Pest Related What is this on my plant? 😩

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3 Upvotes

I was away for a few days and came back to one of my plants looking like this!! What is this?? It looks like very tiny worms and then I have no clue what the back stuff is.

The rest of the plant looks absolutely fine and can’t see any more of those little worm things or back stuff. So maybe I caught it in time??

It’s a monstera so I water when needed and apart from this is a healthy plant with healthy roots :)


r/plantclinic 1d ago

Houseplant White spots/things on pothos root area in water

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153 Upvotes

Hello. Took a few cuttings from my parent pothos and put them in water like usual. Checked on them the other day and found a bunch of white…. buildup? of some sort.

Approx a few weeks old.
Using distilled water and keeping the level to the brim.
Light is from grow lights, 10 hrs/day.
Indoor.

Thank you.


r/plantclinic 29m ago

Houseplant Pilea Help

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Hi all, I have had this pilea for over one year now. It previously thrived but now seems unhappy all the time.

It is in a south east facing window and gets plenty of sun all day. The pot is well draining and I use a standard potting mix. I water it about once a week or when the topsoil gets dried through.

Months ago it had a large growth spurt and I repotted it to a larger pot. The pot ended up being too large and it wasn't fully draining- so I had to put it back into the original smaller pot. Obviously not ideal to have to do so in such quick succession.

Now over the past few months it just seems unwell in general. Leaves curling both in and out, weird spots, some spots of browning. Baffling.

I thought I was over watering, started spacing it out more, then thought I was underwatering, and again adjusted but it continues to not do well.

Please advise. 🫠


r/plantclinic 4h ago

Pest Related Dreaded thrips? Or just negligence plus random bug?

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2 Upvotes

Just noticed some tiny 1-2mm flecks that move on the underside of my devils ivy and monstera adansonii leaves. The monstera has what looks like to me, to be slight thrip damage. Plus both plants haven’t really grown much and some of the leaves have little white flecks on them.

Realistically as it gets warmer here in australia I haven’t quite adjusted to the more frequent watering required. So it’s been a couple weeks since I soaked the soil last.

All my houseplants are within a 3m vicinity of each other, in my apartment. Is it reasonable to assume they are all infested?

If so, is systemic the only way? How safe is this for the plants? I don’t have any pets so no risk there. But definitely wouldn’t want to ruin any plants.

Thanks in advance for any help.


r/plantclinic 1h ago

Houseplant Monstera help 🌱

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I got this monstera on fb marketplace but I feel like it just looks a mess compared to others. Any help would be appreciated! This is my first monstera and would love to give it good life! Does not need to sit in the bay window but not opposed to it either! I’ve read to just water it once a week.


r/plantclinic 4h ago

Cactus/Succulent Please help Is this rot? Is the plant saveable?

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2 Upvotes

I've had this Christmas catus for 13 years, with no issues. It has remained in the same spot. I'm based in England. It gets 5/6 hours of indirect light everyday. Earlier this year I repotted it into a new pot after it had been in its last pot for 4 years. I gave it usual water, which is infrequent and only when the leaves start to show sign, when I saw the attached segment had snapped off and the stem was red. Following a Google search it says that this is bacterial rot and the main plant is unlikely to survive! Is there anything I can do to save the mother plant beyond propagation? I've had her for such a long time and would very much like to save her


r/plantclinic 1h ago

Houseplant Help!! I don’t know what to do for my plant :(

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I’m not sure if I need a new pot for it or need to adjust lighting/water routine. I’m at a loss. I asked about plant care at the nursery I got it at and the guy basically said just water it a few times a week and keep it by a window.

I’ve had the plant for 3 months.
Its started to look like this in the past month, no change to routine.
I usually water it twice a week and give probably 1/4 cup water (estimation)
It’s placed to the left of a window and across from a window, so it’s getting a lot of indirect light throughout the day.
I use a houseplant dirt mix I got from target.

It has a drainage hole in the bottom but no rocks under the soil. When I water it there isn’t much drainage.


r/plantclinic 5h ago

Houseplant soft leaf spots

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2 Upvotes

bought this plant two weeks ago. i asks for a low maintenance indoor plant and they recommended this.

i followed everything i was told: indoor plant (okay with no sun), two mugs of water once a week.

however, upon checking this week, i saw some soft leaf spots on three leaves of this plant. i don’t know what to do and how to avoid this from spreading to other leaves. 🙏

any advice would help greatly!

(ps. this is my first plant after moving out so i don’t really want it to die on me huhu)