House Plants Poorly !
man in a shed
Posts: 93
Hi all , about 2 weeks ago I refreshed my plants with coco coir (I think that's what it's called) my plants/compost were infested with tiny bugs , I emptied the old compost and shook all the bugs out off the roots and put new coir in (had to hydrate it) and put gravel on surface(internet advice) now they are looking sad and one as died ! what have I done ? thx .
I think the bugs were Sciarid Flies
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I don't think that the dried coir blocks (that you soak in water) contain any nutrients. Maybe add a drop of baby bio to the water when they next need a drink.
No expert...just my best guess.
Thx Kitty , the coir wasn't blocks it was loose from Wilkos 100% peat free with slow release fertiliser (same thing I suppose) I did give them baby bio a couple of days ago i'll wait and see if it helps .
If you shook all the soil off the roots you will have broken or damaged the tiny root hairs that import water from the soil. It will take time for them to regrow and until then your plants will have difficulty taking up water.
The cyclamen is not dead, just thirsty, as it can't access the water efficiently. It needs to be somewhere cool and shady, they don't enjoy heat or bright sun. The leaves may recover or it may lose some, but they will regrow eventually. It looks to me though as if you may have replanted it a little too deeply. The solid corm needs to be at or only partly below soil level, as if the leaf and flower stalks are sitting in damp soil they will rot. You need to lift it very slightly, so the edge of the corm is level with the gravel
Thx Buttercup , good points , I did wonder about the cyclamen . Thx a lot .
Just lifted the cyclamen and the solid corm has turned to mush , another lesson learned .