The other month I asked for some help choosing plants for my boyfriend's birthday. Many thanks for all the suggestions! I decided to go for a Philodendron Plowmanii and a Jewel Orchid. They came as unpotted plants, so I just wanted to check that I've potted them correctly.
I put some clay pebbles at the bottom and then filled the rest with multi use compost. I made some little holes in the soil and gently placed the plants in, then covered up their roots.
Will they be ok like that, until next week when I can gift them? How much water should I give them?
Thanks for your help :)
That sounds like it should last the week to me. Could be wise to have your boyfriend repot them when you give them to him - my only concern about using multi-use compost is that it likely won’t dry out quick enough and could lead to root rot. Usually it’s good to mix some perlite or other substance into the soil to allow it to dry out faster. In terms of watering, you really just don’t want to let the soil dry out. Don’t keep it soaked, because that will make the roots rot, but also don’t let it dry fully, because then the leaves may start to brown & die off. Hopefully that isn’t too confusing… Good luck!
Thanks for this! So should I stick my finger in the soil to test the moisture level? Do you know how much light I should give these plants?
Sorry it took me so long to respond - yes, yes you should! Usually I keep it dry up to 1-1.5 knuckles if that makes sense. About 1-2 inches or so.
I’d just set them in any window for now - especially if they’ll be moving soon to wherever your boyfriend puts them, it shouldn’t matter too much as long as they get some.
Putting clay pebbles on the bottoms does nothing bedside creating water retention over them; I also did that for may years but i saw a positive change when I stopped! Regular compost is usually too dense as a substrate try to mix it with some perilte to increase water drainage! Hope this was useful to you!
I recommend Sheffield made plants youtube channel, it is really enlightening!
Thanks for this! I think I'll leave them as they are for the time being, and suggest a perlite mix once I gift them (don't want to disturb them too much in a short space of time). I'll check that channel out!