Plants are dying ...

[Lexlynn]

I finally got my dragon ledges and reported my pothos and all was well and happy. Mercedes cage looked great I was super happy we made a homemade drainage system that works wonders. And boom another issue. My pothos is literally dying. From what I’ve read it’s impossible to kill it well.... it’s definitely got root rot. I took the bottom drainage thing off and water poured out??? How do y’all prevent this in your plants with a mister? I have a mister go off every 3 hours for a minute from 7-11Pm - humidity has been our biggest issue the new plants help a lot but still have to mist continuously. And a fogger at night 12-6 AM. There’s a lot of water just sitting in our pots and constantly soaking them and I know they need to dry out between waterings how is that possible with a mister and a crap ton of water in the enclosure 24/7 between mister and fogger???

 

[Mendez]

Is it necessary for you to use the "bottom drainage thing" on your pothos plant pot? If you are using soil, then it is much healthier for the water to flow through the soil instead of building up bacteria or being waterlogged. Many of plants, which are not as resilient as pothos, do fine with constant mistings at night as long as the water can freely drain from the pot. If your pots don't have a hole in the bottom, you should either drill a hole or buy a pot with a hole.

 

[Lexlynn]

Is it necessary for you to use the "bottom drainage thing" on your pothos plant pot? If you are using soil, then it is much healthier for the water to flow through the soil instead of building up bacteria or being waterlogged. Many of plants, which are not as resilient as pothos, do fine with constant mistings at night as long as the water can freely drain from the pot. If your pots don't have a hole in the bottom, you should either drill a hole or buy a pot with a hole.

I’ll try that then my two other plants don’t have that thing I was just worried soil would just fall through but I removed it and definitely doesn’t seem like it will. I’m gonna try to revive my poor pothos

 

[Mendez]

Nice! Pothos usually come back semi-fast. If the soil starts to fall through, you can always take out the plant and soil, then put rocks in the bottom to create a drainage layer that will keep the soil in while letting the water drain out. Though if you do create a drainage layer, use small to medium sized rocks but not gravel. Someone on the forums stated that gravel counterintuitively holds water in. I'll try to find that info.

 

[ERKleRose]

If you’re worried about soil falling through, use fine screen mesh or some weed barrier fabric to line the bottom of the pots over the drainage holes.

 

[Lexlynn]

Nice! Pothos usually come back semi-fast. If the soil starts to fall through, you can always take out the plant and soil, then put rocks in the bottom to create a drainage layer that will keep the soil in while letting the water drain out. Though if you do create a drainage layer, use small to medium sized rocks but not gravel. Someone on the forums stated that gravel counterintuitively holds water in. I'll try to find that info.

That’s a great idea !!! Thank you so much I’m going to repot them tomorrow ill try the rock thing too

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

I have no idea what "the bottom drainage thing" is or may be, but I agree it sounds like a drainage problem. All my pots (except the pitcher plant, which hangs and has drainage holes) are on the enclosure floor, and the misting water never seems to get down that far; we have to water the plants by hand once a week or so.

Shorter misting sessions may help, as may a layer of river pebbles on top of the soil—mist water that lands on the pebbles doesn't all drain down through. If that doesn't help enough, a barrier over the soil may help.

 

[NAUSEATE]

@Lexlynn I recently listened to Bill Strands podcast episode on plant care where he brought on Bonnie Person. You might find some useful information if you have time to listen. Here is a link to the episode

 

[Arpretty]

I was routinely replacing dying plants, particularly schefflera and hibiscus! One major issue for me was I didn’t have an LED light or plant light. With drainage, I drilled holes in the bottoms of my pots for extra drainage opportunity and I also used the screen method as mentioned above. Hot glue or aquarium sealant worked for me to affix the screen. Just bought rolled screen from Lowe’s and cut to size. I had a Reptibreeze though and no mounted plants, so I also drilled corresponding holes on the bottom of the cage panel under the pots...

Recently listened to an episode about plants on the chameleon academy podcast as well and that was helpful, as also mentioned above.

 

[MissSkittles]

Your plants have to have some drainage holes in their pots. I’ve always used a few stones in the bottom to help with drainage and retaining the soil.

 

[Flick boy]

Yeah as mentioned holes at the bottom weed block fine gravel /hydro coir for drainage see where your mister nozzles are hitting maybe adjust

 

[NAUSEATE]

@Arpretty I've used these in my potted garden and have worked great. I widen all drain holes in pots to avoid waterlogging, but soil washes out easier because of the hole size. Pack of 100 for $7 on amazon

@Lexlynn another thing to try is adding perlite to your soil mix to help with drainage. You will have to add large pebbles as a top layer to avoid your chameleon from ingesting any perlite.

 

[Flick boy]

Hi what is your cham and what is your humidity seems like alot of misting humidity can fluctuate does not have to be consistent i wouldn't go adding perlite.@Arpretty

 

[Arpretty]

@Arpretty I've used these in my potted garden and have worked great. I widen all drain holes in pots to avoid waterlogging, but soil washes out easier because of the hole size. Pack of 100 for $7 on amazon View attachment 288184

@Lexlynn another thing to try is adding perlite to your soil mix to help with drainage. You will have to add large pebbles as a top layer to avoid your chameleon from ingesting any perlite.

I imagine this would work great in tandem with rocks/pebbles at the bottom of the pot