beam2050
06-22-2017, 02:39 PM
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=61080&size=1
it has been 7 months since I posted this picture of 3 Sumatrana x and 3 zebrina rojo. I lost all of them. and a maureli. I lost NO other tc, just the variegated ones, NONE. :eek: now I have read posts of people who had the same problems with variegated tc's. the first ones to die, after 3 months, were the Sumatrana x plus 2 of the zebrina but the zebrinas came back. all my my tc's were wintered on the dining room table, south side of the house lots of windows and plenty of morning and afternoon light. I left the dead plants in their pots on the dining room table and after about 3 weeks the zebrina came back. then after about 2 months later the 2 that came back died again and the 3rd died about a week later.
all the tcs were treated almost identical. I used a water meter and watered when they were very dry, giving them about 1 shot glass of water each time. but every time I watered the variegated they stopped. did not do any thing for weeks at a time. over watered you say. yep BUT HOW. well after some time I dug the first zebrina that kicked the bucket out of its pot and discovered the problem.
I had planted the tc's in 6 inch pots. well while the potting soil I put in was bone dry the medium they were shipped in was very wet. they were shipped in 2 inch square pots and had no roots sticking out of the soil.
ok here is a pic taken today after I dug the last 2 up today. my potting soil is almost desert dry and these are still moist.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=61912&size=1
YOU tell me. I am thinking that my potting soil did not match theirs and mine was not sucking the water away from their medium. now when I watered I watered mainly the center while still trying to water the whole pot. even so the soil in the pot was laid flat and water might still be going to the center which was to their soil. and their potting soil while having the ability to hold water longer also took it in more readily. I am not sure I am being very clear on all this. everything I am going to say now is purely conjecture and subject to scrutiny.
anything I say from here on I believe not only applies to the variegated but would also include all tc's from most any source.
now for another pic. in this picture I broke up the left one dry and soaked the other in water for a time and then broke it up. with this I would like to simulate the first course of thinking, breaking up their medium before planting in a pot. now you might think of leaving the tc to air dry before putting it in a pot, but I do not think this is an option. the reasoning in this is any roots sticking out of their medium is going to dry out and die also. many of the tc's I have received have had the roots sticking out of the medium and some of them substantially. I have since replace the sumatrana x with 2 and both of them were approximately 14 inches in p-stem length. I have had them about 2 months and they are thriving out in the rain.
back to the pic. this again is a simulation not plants newly received from say wellspring gardens. probably all the fine roots have rooted away and there is less holding them together. the one on the right was harder to break apart. and I know with a live plant it is worse. this was unscientific but about the same amount of effort.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=61919&size=1
my NOT proven hypothesis would be to not JUST throw the plant in potting soil and water. but to put the potting soil in the pot, then water while also packing it down. water enough so that water comes out the bottom of the pot. then after it has sufficiently drained dig the pot out enough so the plant can be installed at the right level. quickly bust up the medium of the plant and set it in the pot and pack it all down again. pack down the edges of the pot so water tends to go to the outside but do not water again. do not water again for at least 2 weeks to a month, hopefully the plant has survived its ordeal and by now shows signs of growth. from there on it would be BY GUESS AND BY GOLLY. :waving:
it has been 7 months since I posted this picture of 3 Sumatrana x and 3 zebrina rojo. I lost all of them. and a maureli. I lost NO other tc, just the variegated ones, NONE. :eek: now I have read posts of people who had the same problems with variegated tc's. the first ones to die, after 3 months, were the Sumatrana x plus 2 of the zebrina but the zebrinas came back. all my my tc's were wintered on the dining room table, south side of the house lots of windows and plenty of morning and afternoon light. I left the dead plants in their pots on the dining room table and after about 3 weeks the zebrina came back. then after about 2 months later the 2 that came back died again and the 3rd died about a week later.
all the tcs were treated almost identical. I used a water meter and watered when they were very dry, giving them about 1 shot glass of water each time. but every time I watered the variegated they stopped. did not do any thing for weeks at a time. over watered you say. yep BUT HOW. well after some time I dug the first zebrina that kicked the bucket out of its pot and discovered the problem.
I had planted the tc's in 6 inch pots. well while the potting soil I put in was bone dry the medium they were shipped in was very wet. they were shipped in 2 inch square pots and had no roots sticking out of the soil.
ok here is a pic taken today after I dug the last 2 up today. my potting soil is almost desert dry and these are still moist.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=61912&size=1
YOU tell me. I am thinking that my potting soil did not match theirs and mine was not sucking the water away from their medium. now when I watered I watered mainly the center while still trying to water the whole pot. even so the soil in the pot was laid flat and water might still be going to the center which was to their soil. and their potting soil while having the ability to hold water longer also took it in more readily. I am not sure I am being very clear on all this. everything I am going to say now is purely conjecture and subject to scrutiny.
anything I say from here on I believe not only applies to the variegated but would also include all tc's from most any source.
now for another pic. in this picture I broke up the left one dry and soaked the other in water for a time and then broke it up. with this I would like to simulate the first course of thinking, breaking up their medium before planting in a pot. now you might think of leaving the tc to air dry before putting it in a pot, but I do not think this is an option. the reasoning in this is any roots sticking out of their medium is going to dry out and die also. many of the tc's I have received have had the roots sticking out of the medium and some of them substantially. I have since replace the sumatrana x with 2 and both of them were approximately 14 inches in p-stem length. I have had them about 2 months and they are thriving out in the rain.
back to the pic. this again is a simulation not plants newly received from say wellspring gardens. probably all the fine roots have rooted away and there is less holding them together. the one on the right was harder to break apart. and I know with a live plant it is worse. this was unscientific but about the same amount of effort.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=61919&size=1
my NOT proven hypothesis would be to not JUST throw the plant in potting soil and water. but to put the potting soil in the pot, then water while also packing it down. water enough so that water comes out the bottom of the pot. then after it has sufficiently drained dig the pot out enough so the plant can be installed at the right level. quickly bust up the medium of the plant and set it in the pot and pack it all down again. pack down the edges of the pot so water tends to go to the outside but do not water again. do not water again for at least 2 weeks to a month, hopefully the plant has survived its ordeal and by now shows signs of growth. from there on it would be BY GUESS AND BY GOLLY. :waving: