Proper watering of enclosure plants

[Lpsouth1978]

I need thought and assistance with my plants in my enclosure. Most of the plants are doing quite well and seem to be growing nicely. The trouble is with the plants closest to the misting nozzles, mainly one of my pothos. While most of the plants seem to be getting a good amount of water, these are getting too much and the leaves are turning yellow and falling off. What can I do to reduce the amount they are getting? Can I put something over the pot to deflect water away? What do you all do? Please help, Pics are always helpful!

 

[nightanole]

I put a ton of gravel as drainage at the bottom for all my in cage pots.You want gravel to be about an inch higher than the overflow lip of the pot. The roots can grow into the gravel, but they wont be sitting in stagnant water, and it wont be keeping the dirt over wet.

And since you want pics...

 

[Beman]

I use the clay hydroballs in the bottom of all my pots. I have not seen pothos not happy with water in mine. I am wondering if it is a water issue or lighting issue. They could be sitting too close to the lights? Maybe post a picture of the enclosure.

 

[Lpsouth1978]

I use the clay hydroballs in the bottom of all my pots. I have not seen pothos not happy with water in mine. I am wondering if it is a water issue or lighting issue. They could be sitting too close to the lights? Maybe post a picture of the enclosure.

Could be i suppose. It is a bit higher in the enclosure, but so is another pothos and is doing fine. I saw that yellowing leaves is typically a sign of too much water. I don't have a picture available at the moment, but I will try to get one.

 

[nightanole]

I use the clay hydroballs in the bottom of all my pots. I have not seen pothos not happy with water in mine. I am wondering if it is a water issue or lighting issue. They could be sitting too close to the lights? Maybe post a picture of the enclosure.

My pothos literally live in the water catch basins, they have no dirt. So you might be on to something with the lighting. In other news my friend has BETAS with a floating potho and the betas nom nom the roots, and the potho keeps the nitrogen and poop down in the water

 

[ashdavisa]

Pothos can certainly live in water, but issues arise when soil is introduced to that soggy environment! It suffocates the roots and promotes fungal growth, ultimately resulting in root rot. Sometimes drainage alone isn't enough if the plant is repeatedly watered before the soil is able to dry, so you may consider switching to sphagnum moss or clay pebbles as a planting medium if that's the case

Fortunately pothos are forgiving!

 

[Lpsouth1978]

Thank you all for the help. I will get a current photo uploaded this evening. I went ahead and ordered some expanded clay balls to repot in. Hopefully that will eliminate the issues of over watering anything. Hopefully there is no issue with the lights, as I am not sure how I would go about fixing it. I guess I will cross that bridge if/when I reach it.

When I re-pot the Pothos, should I rinse the dirt off the roots and use only the clay in the pot? Or do I leave some dirt and put clay at the bottom of the pot? Or, does it really matter which way I choose to do it?

 

[Beman]

Thank you all for the help. I will get a current photo uploaded this evening. I went ahead and ordered some expanded clay balls to repot in. Hopefully that will eliminate the issues of over watering anything. Hopefully there is no issue with the lights, as I am not sure how I would go about fixing it. I guess I will cross that bridge if/when I reach it.

When I re-pot the Pothos, should I rinse the dirt off the roots and use only the clay in the pot? Or do I leave some dirt and put clay at the bottom of the pot? Or, does it really matter which way I choose to do it?

I have about an inch at the bottom of the pot and soil in the top. This allows it to drain off the excess water.

 

[Lpsouth1978]

As promised, here are a few pics of the enclosure and the plants in question.

Pic #1 - Entire enclosure. I have 2 x Yu Mei 6500K LED pool bulbs, one front (also basking bulb) the other back. I also have a 24" Reptisun 5.0 T5HO that sits across the middle of the enclosure between the plant bulbs.

Pic#2 & 3 - the problem pant. It is the lower one in the front of the enclosure. The one higher up in the back is doing great! You can see a few of the leaves that are now bright yellow. They seem to turn yellow and then fall off.

Pic #4 - The pothos at the top rear of enclosure. This one is showing no signs of trouble.

 

[ashdavisa]

Hmmm it doesn't look like a lighting thing (unless it was recently introduced from a different environment & is adjusting), it looks like either a moisture or nutrient issue.

Either way, it's probably worth repotting in fresh soil with a thick layer of clay pebbles in the bottom (I'd make it as deep as the plant's root ball will allow, maybe 1/3 or the pot depending on how root-bound it is) and maybe poke some extra drainage holes!

 

[Beman]

As promised, here are a few pics of the enclosure and the plants in question.

Pic #1 - Entire enclosure. I have 2 x Yu Mei 6500K LED pool bulbs, one front (also basking bulb) the other back. I also have a 24" Reptisun 5.0 T5HO that sits across the middle of the enclosure between the plant bulbs.

View attachment 270942


Pic#2 & 3 - the problem pant. It is the lower one in the front of the enclosure. The one higher up in the back is doing great! You can see a few of the leaves that are now bright yellow. They seem to turn yellow and then fall off.

View attachment 270943
View attachment 270944


Pic #4 - The pothos at the top rear of enclosure. This one is showing no signs of trouble.View attachment 270945

Your plants look very healthy to me. Even with the soil and clay ball drainage layer I have I get a few leaves here and there that will yellow. I just go in and take those out. I thought you had like a plant that was totally dying off but they look really good even the one that your worried about.