Please help save my house plants 🥺🪴🌿

[brunettenorthern91]

Inherited these (Spike and Bruce) from an uncle when he emigrated to Greece.

Bruce is in a very bad way and I came home today to about 5 leaves lost. He did have a lot of leaf rot Uncle had cut off when we got him…. Help?!

I think the acceleration is my husband saying he would do the weekly watering (one whole small can for Spike once a week, about a third for Bruce) and when I asked yesterday if he was remembering he said he never said he’d take it over…. I have seen him watering them, just don’t believe there was an schedule to it.

I’ll buy products if I have to, they’re lovely plants!

when mine need TLC I put them in the bathroom and don’t water them. The humidity helps them.

is the soil damp? Have they been over watered?

Does spike get sun where he is?
mine only get a splash of water weekly, if the soil is dry

@FatherFrostySpike is next to some big bi fold doors. We did have him back towards a staircase but thought he didn’t like that?

if I’m honest I watered them after finding all the leaves and didn’t even check if they were damp, I’m just certain my husband hasn’t watered them. Could it be over watering?!

My sister (plant expert) says too much water and too much or too little light are the worst culprits for houseplants. We moved a couple of hours away from the conservatory windows and they are much happier. They just get enough water to dampen the soil when it's completely dry.
As a pp said, our very happiest plant is in the bathroom.
Overwatering is the most likely culprit, I'd say.

Whereabouts in the country are you? If it’s warm enough, would you consider putting them outside in the warmest hours of the day, so they benefit from the sun and wind? I’m doing this with lots of my house plants (tradescantia, Aeonium, begonia luxurians, black colocasia) and they seem very happy. You can check online what is the minimum temperature for your specific plants.

I would also recommend writing down a schedule (by season) for watering, feeding and spraying the leaves. Many plants have higher needs for water and fertilising in spring and summer, so it may be that you need to make some adjustments right now.

Is Bruce’s pot big enough? He looks like a big boy, does he have a large root system that takes up the whole pot? Maybe the solution is to repot in a larger pot, refresh his compost, add perlite/sand/grit for drainage, wash the leaves to help with photosynthesis, and feed every two weeks with a houseplant feed (eg Babybio).

Theres a guy from Sheffield who has loads of YouTube videos on every kind of houseplant, you may find relevant advice there too. His handle is @ sheffieldmadeplants.

Fiddle leaf figs like lots of filtered light - but not direct sun. They cant really survive in a spot without lots of light. They are ideally suited to a window that is sheltered from direct sun by a tree or foliage. In Summer they can be outdoors if it is warm enough. They are very tricky plants to get right. They will also die from too much water but the light thing is really the one you want to tackle. Dont water again now for a few weeks. Good luck!

It’s probably one of the following:
•over watering
•under watering
• in a draught
•not enough light

Overwatering can produce the same symptoms as underwatering, so do always check whether they need it or not. Get into the habit of picking the pot up and gauging how heavy it is. That's better than sticking your finger in and feeling the soil, because it can be bone dry on top and waterlogged at the bottom.

I managed to kill my fairly large fiddle leaf through lack of water - all the leaves fell off leaving just a crispy stem. I cut the stem off and put the pot in the bathroom just in case…

lo and behold - a few weeks later I saw little specks of green and I now have a small plant with many leaves!

bathroom is my plant hospital 🤣

I use Planta to keep my indoor plants alive—it sends reminders for watering, feeding, misting, and even when to move them around based on light. I used to overwater everything, but now things are actually surviving. It also tells you what your plant needs based on type and where it is in your home, which helped loads with figuring out why some looked sad.

I’d repot to a bigger pot 🪴

I have a poorly spike too so following with interest

The best thing I have bought for mine is a moisture meter. They are really cheap. Plants do need a short period of time dry between watering.

I have a plant like spike and I took it outside last weekend. I added more compost and gave it a light shower with the hose to wash the leaves. I brought it back indoors the next day and its leaves are now bright green and looks healthier.

I would suggest repotting too.