Viewing post #2760682 by 7wonders

purpleinopp said: If the soil surface has gotten really dry, spritzing before watering can be a way to prep the soil to start absorbing water again.

I do a lot of spritzing for hanging plants over winter. Add too much and they drip on the floor. Putting a plate or bowl under there catches any drips, but the splashing makes that a last-resort safety feature for me.

It can be tricky to water after repotting. If a gush of water is applied, the soil gets instantly compacted and washes out of the pot. Spritzing the first few times, if you have the patience, can get the particles locked in place so when you do water, the bits don't move. As said, this is such a small amount of water per trigger pull. You'll need to sit or stand there squeezing the trigger a bunch of times until a significant amount of water has been applied.

Agree from the new pic of it in the past, it's a PL, not A. modestum.

If a dead leaf or stalk is hindering your enjoyment, definitely remove it. But otherwise, I don't think the plant cares, assuming it's not from an anomaly like bacteria or fungus. My theory is somewhat the other way, that plants absorb the moisture and whatever else from the dying leaf and then to the plant, it's like a hair that falls off of a human head, or an eyelash, it's just not part of the person anymore.

Trust me, it took quite a while with the spray bottle yesterday! I just took my time and my hand was wore out from pulling the trigger once it was saturated.

I'm sure I will be ridiculed for posting the soil I used, but here it is. It was in the dead of winter and my only options were really what I could find at walmart. The ground was frozen and I wasn't about to go dig up dirt and bring it inside. I also presumed that this was a good choice, but there is probably more premium soil that can be purchased from Lowes or Tractor Supply, etc... Admittedly, I'm just ignorant about it all. As I mentioned before, my dad has always grown flowers and plants, but it's really new to me. As an aside, I am attaching an old picture of my grandfather's garden and some other plants of my dads. The orchids are from this year, but the other pictures are older.

As far as the dried out leaves; I like your theory! I would feel bad cutting them anyway since they are still babies even though the leaves have dried. I feel like I've worked so hard bringing it back to life that I don't want to hurt it by cutting them. I know it doesn't really hurt the plant, but that's just how I "feel" about it.