I think Bridget is dead

[Ginfizz2]

I decided during lock down I needed to add some greenery to my flat and that it may have some sort of positive impact on my overall well being. Anyway trundled off to sainsburys and I bought Bridget. I bought her a beautiful pot and placed her in a corner in my bedroom which would provide her with some sunlight. I regularly watered her but despite my efforts at keeping her alive it looks like she’s dying??? What do I do?? To top it off I read an article about how great succulents are at filtering the air so I then bought a selection. Jeffery also looks like he’s had enough. Any avid green fingered experts who can help??

@SeaEagleFeather dusts the leaves so the plant can photosynthesise better and leaves em lovely and shiny.

Most plants with smooth leaves seem to like a banana wipe, and you can eat the banana!

This happened with one of our succulents. I noticed it was dying and thought - maybe I’ll repot it, the roots might be cramped.
Nope. I lifted it out and it was dripping wet in the bottom. No drainage and more water than it could drink. I left the plant and its soil ball out of the pot to dry out but it was too late 😟 a lot of the pretty pots don’t have drainage so need to be super careful with watering!

More light and less water, I'd say.

Death by overwatering probably.😕
Succulents only need watering about every 3-4 weeks this time of year, maybe fortnightly during a hot summer. They like a lot of sunlight too.😎

There is a great app called Planta which tells you for each of your plants how to keep them, when to water, mist, feed etc.

[quote Fairybatman]@SeaEagleFeather dusts the leaves so the plant can photosynthesise better and leaves em lovely and shiny.

Most plants with smooth leaves seem to like a banana wipe, and you can eat the banana![/quote]
Wow, thanks.

You can easily grow greffey again but taking a stem and pushing it back into the soil if all his lower leaves fall off.

A Christmas cactus or aloe vera would be impossible to kill btw. I water mine about twice a year when they resemble a shrivelled prune

My mother had an enormous peace lily which I took into my office. Audrey just grew and grew. I performed surgery and repotted and we had Audrey and Audrey 2. Once more they outgrew their pots and have since been joined by Seymour and Vera. I’m terrified of them dying as they are part of the staff now but sometimes they get very droopy looking or the ends of their leaves discolour. They are becoming a full time bloody job!! Any peace lily experts out there?

Ashamed I have to admit, that I am currently using many of these tips on my new large plant, which I managed to over water.
In my defence, as I said, I grew up watching mumm watering plants every week, 2x a week in a summer.

(That's how I knee to put it in a bathtub to drain properly😂)

LOTS of light, very little water. I have a friend who is a genius with succulents. I asked her how she did it. She watches world weather on her computer, and when it rains, or gets extra moisture where the plants originated, she waters that plant lightly. Her comment, "When God waters HIS, I water MINE!"

Put it on a few layers of kitchen roll under the pots to soak up excess water.

Plants do not thrive in this house. The ones I manage to keep happy the cat eats. In fact the cat eats them all. The only one she hasn't chowed down on is a cactus I was given about 11 years ago. I've moved house with the thing about 7 times and I rarely water it because I forget it exists for long periods of time. The other plants I've careful chosen out as pretty but not toxic to cats? Munched.

@Eckhart

LTP = Leave The Plant

@TwoLeftSocksWithHoles

I was hoping that was what you meant

My self-employed gardener partner reckons supermarket plants aren't ideal, as they're forced grown and it can be a shock for them.

I use a pot with hole in it to check if I over watered it. Flat dishes or trays under it get full if it's had a drowning.

My OH puts something in water everyonce in a while. Sends it daft. From Ikea. Was supposed to be for bonzai but tree died so I use it for lily.

I have over 50 plants in the house and this year, they all appear to be doing well. However there are some plants i can't get on with such as ivy and rose.
As far as watering is concerned, I go around after I've watered them all which takes at least 15 mnutes, back to the beginning and pour out any excess water.
This photo is just the small loo. I don't have curtains or blinds in there or in the kitchen as there is no room !

Yep just ignore them for a few weeks. Your thread made me remember that my plants not been watered for weeks. They all seem ok

Jeffrey is too low down in his pot. You need to raise him up a bit so maybe repot in a slightly larger pot, but not with him so sunken down as he is at the moment. Is it a Jade plant? I've got one and it sits on a table right by the window so gets lots of light and is comfortably raised up in its pot. Right beside my gigantic Aloe Vera, which is thriving due to benevolent neglect.

Jeffrey doesn't need sunshine, but he does need light. My Jeffery lives on the south facing conservatory window sill - hot at the surface of the sun in the summer and arctic in the winter - and he has a drink every 6-8 weeks.

My Bridget is watered once a fortnight. I would remove dead growth, repot in fresh compost, then make sure she gets enough light. Mine is in the warm living room, away from direct sunlight. If not enough light she'll shoot up too tall.

Good luck.

Banj0girl - you’re like a cat woman. But with plants!

My Steve is definitely dead, he's some form of succulent and I'm normally ok with them so I've no idea what happened to him.

Unfortunately Umbrella plants are one of the worst ones to overwater, they really hate it.

I had a big Umbrella some years ago. It was left behind in a flat I rented. It looked very dusty so I took it into the shower and soaked it all over and right through. About 90% of the leaves fell off, I was sure it had to be dead. But I couldn't be arsed to get rid of it and slowly eventually it started sprouting new leaves and did recover. I don't have Umbrella's now, they're too finicking and I never know how much is too much.

I'm crap with succulents too, they always die. I neglect them but after a couple of months think surely they must need some water now. I give them a fair splash under the tap and that buggers them up.

From cat plant woman - I'm sure that many years ago, I had an Umbrella plant that had to sit in water.

Hoping for an update on bridget/Jeffery's health and general welfare