I think my plant is depressed. Any help?

[Sequoia]

Hi all. . .
I have this Spider plant, it's pretty young (only a few months old), and I just got it as a gift from my mom (her plants were fruitful and multiplied ^_~ they're so cute hanging from the mommies!). The thing is, it doesn't seem very happy. It has enough water (but not too much), and enough light (but not TOO much), I've tried pruning the dead leaves off, and I've tried talking to it, but nothing seems to help it. Before it was with all it's "sisters" in my mom's house. Her house's energy also has a different feel from my dad's house (where I live). I think maybe it's depressed, it sure feels sad, and I was wondering if anyone had any tips for me on how to get it healthy again.

Also, I have a Ficus that before I moved to my dad's was a healthy tree, but now that it's been here awhile it's dropping leaves and is practically bare. It even drops new baby leaves adn I don't know what to do, it sure doesn't seem happy.

I have an Ivy that's been living here for a while, and it's pretty healthy (even though my dad forgot to water it while I was on vacation :sick: the poor thing was almost dead, we'd had a heat wave -_-;; I asked him to water it, he forgot. . . well, the ivy recovered and seems happy). It lives in my room and I'm wondering if I should move the spider plant in here? I don't think I can fit the ficus (it's pretty darn big, and has a very pretty braided trunk).

Any suggestions on how to get my plants to perk up?
Thanks!!!

~Puma Hime

[idusty88]

The only thing that I can think of is, have they been repotted in the last year, root bound maybe? or have they gotten any fertilizer recently? Houseplant spikes are OK even.

[Dria El]

I have noticed though that my spider plant likes to be 'stroked'. Whenever I'm near it, I run my fingers down the leaves. It loves it when I do that. Also, if you have city water, you might want to leave the water in a container over night before you give it to them. Most city water has chlorine, etc. in it and they hate that too. Though, some seem to be more picky about it than others.

All the ficus' I've ever owned absolutely HATED being moved. They need a deserted corner somewhere where they won't be bothered too much. Also, be VERY careful not to overwater. They hate that.

If I can think of anything else, I'll be sure to let you know. I hope this helps.

[Mairwen]

Plants could be reacting to the energy change. I had a whole houseful of plants in 1995 before I moved to another county. The county I moved to, the energies are dark (I know one Cherokee man who refuses to go there; he calls it a "dead place"), and most of my plants died. :( Give them all the TLC and positive energy that you can.

[Sunday's Child]

My plants like music... Try some music and like everyone else said give them lots of attention. I have had several Ficus Trees and everytime I moved them, they died, so I can't give you much help there. Maybe try misting it every now and then too.

[Sequoia]

hi guys!!

ooh thanks for all the tips!!

Yes, I live in a kinda big city, so the plants get tap water. . .

hmm. . . the thing about the house energies is that my mom (even though she has a green thumb) generally gives off. . . well. . . the best way I can put it is "icky" energies, she makes me and other people feel uncomfortable (if they are open to energy sensing and stuff. . . if not for some reason they're incredibly happy around her o.O; it's weird, like she's trying to force people to like her). So I don't know how that would effect my plants.

Maybe I've been overwatering my ficus, and it does prolly need a bigger pot, although I heard that they like tight ones.

I've never actually used fertalizer on plants. . . .any tips on what kind to get and how to do it? ^^;; I'm a pretty pathetic gardener, when it all comes down to it. I'm almost worse of a gardener than I am a cook! (which doesn't say much. . . . I'm a horrible cook -_-;; I have actually messed up cup-o-noodles before. . . thought that was impossible)

^__^ the ivy in my room gets lots of music (J-Pop, mostly, but she doesn't complain). It seems very happy up on my dresser mirror, it's even got new shoots and leaves and things. .. perhaps I"ll try moving the ivy in here. . .might even try lugging the ficus in here. It used to live right next to my computer, I think it liked the music. It's mostly alone in the living room. . I think it may be lonely. I try to pet it or say hi when I walk but, but. . . well, it's by itself all the time, there's hardly even any other plants in that room.

^^;; my cactus refuses to die, I love that little thing. It's about tripled in size since I got it. It weathered a whole winter outside soil because my brother's cat knocked it down but nobody noticed (**feels horrible for that**) and it was still alive, and it seems to grow every time I water it. I think I"ll lay off watering it for a while, heat wave or no heat wave. It's probably easy to over-water a cactus. But it's my little pet! ^__^ the needles are like two inches long, I love that thing! but if they prick you the spot stings for about three days. Hence why I bought leather gloves to re-pot it with ^^;;; that was fun hehe learned cloth gloves just don't cut it.

o.o;; wow I talk a lot!! ^^;;;;

~Puma Hime

[Sighing_Softly]

Spider plants absorb negative energy, and thrive in it.... any way, try "planting" a quartz crystal, witht eh point just sticking out of the soil. It works wonders!

[Sequoia]

ooh that sounds like a great idea! ^_^ I know just the crystal to use, too. thankies! Do you think this would help my ficus, too?

[Sunday's Child]

That's a great idea about the crystal, I had forgotten it.. I use to use crystals in my soil alot, really made a difference.

[Sighing_Softly]

I know, crystals are so wonderful and versatile you can do *anything* with them.. and most of those Id never think of on my own! for example, you know that having one on the car carbureta makes them up to 50% more fuel efficient? lol

And yes, crystals can help with focus, you either need to find one that resonates with the intent (melodies book Love is in the Earth is the best recognised authority on them) or program one to do just that, quartz are the easiest tp program as they have crystaline memory- cultures in the past have recorded huge amounts of information on them... crystal skulls found in the Mexican Gulf, that are over 30 thousand years old and from Atlantean times (if u believe that, I do! lol) are programed with history, information... LOL I do like to babble for the short answer look at the top of this paragraph

[Sunday's Child]

Yes, crystals are wonderful.

[Sequoia]

I love crystals ^_^
:( but for some reason one runs away from me every once ina while! they just dissapear. .. -_-;; but this tends to happen with me, and if you believe in them, I hear the faeries laughing. Sometimes I find the crystals (or whatever dissapeared) in the WEIRDEST places.
hehe and I have this itty bitty crystal, it's my "headache crystal" ^^;; I hold it when I've got a headache and it usually helps.

I also have this weird piece of driftwood. . . he fits in my right hand perfectly, and is about a foot long, and has holes in it that I just WANT to put crystals in. . . weird. -_-;; Plus he likes to complain, and he HATES it when I call him a stick LMAO

okey now that I"ve scared everyone. . . "I'm hearing voices from my piece of driftwood" "ok lady that's nice now just put on the pretty white jacket. . . " "but my plants talk too! and you're upsetting them." "look just cooperate with us, ma'am" "but but-" *psych ward guys grab Puma Hime and chuck her in the truck and drive off* "man she's batty." "no kidding."

[Lavender]

Puma, that's why you belong here with us! :D

[Sequoia]

I just noticed something about my ficus, I don't think it was like this before.
On the trunk and some of the branches are these weird little dark bumps, and if you rub them gently they come off. They're kinda' hollow-ish and have powdery stuffs inside. And on some of the branches are these tiny fuzzy-looking white spots (I couldn't tell if they bumped up or not, they were too small).
. . . is this some kind of bug? is my plant sick? help! does anyone know? I found this out when I went to give it a rub-down with a soft cloth and water (I didn't have a misting bottle so I figured it would work).
I'm at my wit's end, I love that ficus, it's like a pet to me. And it gets worse every day. It **feels** so sad and lonely and sick almost. . . almost like it's dying or something. And I try to say hi and check on it and talk to it but it feels weak almost. *sighs* I dono what to do.
Any help would be GREATLY appreciated
~Puma Hime

P.S. the spider plant seems to be doing better. . . the tips everyone gave seem to be helping it a lot. Now if only I could rescue my poor ficus. . . it's so tall! and beautiful. *sighs* it's not even responding to crystals, although I checked the crystal I put in there. Now, this was a completely unflawed crystal, no marks or cracks or cloudiness or anything. . . well, the part that had been in the soil was full of cracks and the SHAPE had changed. The top part that wasn't in the soil was still relitively cyndrilical and as smooth as before, while the part underneath was all de-formed and stuff. . . I'm not sure what to make of that.

eep tis been a long post!
Ja ne!

[Sunday's Child]

Do you know what kind of Ficus it is? It sounds as though your tree may have a virus.

[Sighing_Softly]

It sounds like the crystal has absorbed *lots* of negative energy which is why its cracking, cleanse it by leaving it in natural course sea/rock salt for a day or two and that will totaly clear the energy.. and try leaving the crystal in the sun for several (12?) housrs to charge the crystal. Through having said that, quartz resonates to the moon and can absorb the energy of the moon muhc better..

[Sequoia]

Sunday's Child~ hmm I honestly don't know what kind of ficus it is, I got it at Longs 8O
hmm. . . it's leaves are darker in the middle an dhave lighter parts around the edges, and until it got sickly it was very full and bushy and TALL (I'd say about 6 foot. . .. funny story, I carried it home two miles on my bike :D ). It's bark is usually a smooth light colour (except it's showing through green now which it didn't do before).

Sighing Softly~ hmm I havn't got acess to seasalts or anything, but I do have regular (without iodine) salt. . . would that work? I've used it before for grounding stuffs. It took about two weeks but it worked for what I needed to do.
Thanks for the tips about the sun and moon. . . that sounds like a good idea, I'm going to try that soon. All my crystals have a lot of stress in them right now, I figure I will ground them out clean and re-charge them.

well, off to play with pixels!!! (ahh, gotta love that paint shop pro crack code :D trial version goes on and on and on. . . . )

~Puma Hime

[Sequoia]

my plant is still dying, and I need help! so. . .

*BUMP!*

[Dria El]

Does your ficus have regular shaped leaves? Meaning... ovalish with a point on the end? Cus the most common ficus (that I've seen) is the ficus benjamina.

One thing about the trunk... have you tried gently washing it with a mild (and very diluted) soap and water mix? If it's some kind of bug then that should help. Be sure to rinse it well though.

And another thing... have you tried the fertilizer/plant food route? One that my dad gave me (for non-edible plants) is Miracle Grow. I use it occasionally for my non edible 'babies'. I use the powdered/crystalized kind. It says to use 1 tablespoon to 1 gallon of water (I think). I use way less than that though. Probably more like 1/3 of what they say to use.

Oh, and I just had another thought. What do the roots look like?

[Dria El]

I did a search to see what I could come up with and here's a site I thought might help.

Crossing her fingers...

http://www.ficustree.com/

[Sequoia]

I had tried the mild soap and water thing. . . it made the poor thing's bark curl. . . and the funny black dots are still there. . . I had talked to soemone at a drug store and they said it sounded maybe like a fungis of some sort, but I can't afford anything.. . also, I have no clue what the roots look like. It probably needs repotting but I havn't got a bigger pot or soil. Also, the leaves WERE normal shaped. . . now they're kind of warped, at least soem of them.

I'm going to have to bug my dad until he buys some miracle grow for the plant. . . *sighs* I'm afraid I don't have much of a green thumb.

I'm heading over to that website, thankies!

[Dria El]

Very welcome! I only hope it helps. :)

[Sunday's Child]

Puma, don't feel bad if your Ficus Tree dies, they are very finiky and hard to take care of, espically if you move them around. How are the rest of your plants?

[Sequoia]

The rest of my plants seem to be doing very well. The spider plant is happier now, I trimmed off some of the brown leaves, am watering it a bit more regularly, moved it into the sun, and I talk to it while I'm doing the dishes hehe (it now lives above the sink). I also got a pretty purple-flowered plant, and it's not dead yet! 8O The ivy plant is thrivingly happy, my cactus seems happy (although i can't get the stubborn thing to grow straight, it insists on leaning until it knocks it's own pot over -_-; even AFTER being repotted. . . gotta try that again soon), and my dad's geraniums refuse to die, which is lucky for me hehe. I don't think I have much of a green thumb, but they seem to like me well enough.

I hope my ficus doesn't die. . . if it does, I'll try to convince my dad to get me a new, baby one for my birthday. . . I love them, even though they don't seem to be easy to grow. Mine was so beautiful before I moved. . . *sigh* ah well, if it's dying now then at least it'll get to move on, ne? Maybe it'll be a redwood this time, or a cat, or a person!

. . . 8O ignore the rambling mountain lion. . . words go from mouth to keyboard in 5 seconds flat without even letting the brain know about it until it's on the screen and sent hehe

[Kiya]

Ok, here's my advice, Puma, and I hope it helps!

Your Ficus tree with the braided stem is commonly known in the UK as a weeping Fig. It is from the same family as the Rubber Plant. Is it in a draught? Near an open window or a door? They don't like being blown about! I've recently moved home, and the first thing I did (after unpacking of course!) was to re-pot! I'm sure your Dad will be kind enough to lend you the money for some compost and a new pot - or you can always promise to do loads of chores for him! You need to keep the soil damp too... they really don't like drying out and then being soaked. I water mine every couple of days in the summer, and feed it with a houseplant feed once a fortnight. Don't feed it during the winter - all plants need a rest period, or they literally exhaust themselves and die - but keep the soil damp.

The spider plant will be doing much better on the window sill I'm sure - one, because it will get lots of natural light, and two, whoever'w washing up will be looking at it (plants like to be admired, I've noticed!!)

Good luck!

[moonflower]

I got a spider plant from my fiancee's aunt a couple months ago. It was so lush and happy when she gave it to me. Our next stop after the aunt's house was my fiancee's mother's house. Unfortunatley the cats got at the plant and chewed it to bits. (They are house cats and leap on the chance to nibble green plants). I was able to rescue it in time but it was in such a sad state I was afraid it would die. I trimmed away all of the damaged leaves and snipped the hurt baby spiders off and put them in the pot next to the big one. I only use well aired out water on it. (I have some water that has been aired out for months that I use). I put water in a washed out milk jug and let it sit out of the way untill it is needed. An important thing with spider plants is only water them every 2 weeks, any more and they will be unhappy. Remember these plants originally grow in odd places (Like the crotch of a tree etc) So aren't used to the usual amount of water. Also if you keep it in a humid place (Like your bathroom) You will need to water it even less. Let it get nice and bone dry before giving it a good soak, they love that. Always trim off damaged parts and pull the brown leaves off. I also sometimes give my plants tea, usually a weak jasmine tea (no sugar of course!) that has cooled overnight. My jasmine flower loved jasmine tea. Well anyways, try these tips hopefully they will help. My plant is lush and happy again. (Im so glad, I was so upset when it got injured, I kept telling the plant how sorry I was.) Talking to them and touching them (not too much) is always beneficial for both also. (I believe so anyways.) Best of luck! :)

[loopy]

Good luck to your plants. :( I killed mine when I sang to it. :( No comments on that please. 8O

Welcome moonflower! Hope you like it here! :D:D

~beetle

[moonflower]

Thanks for the welcome! I allready like it here, ive been browsing the forum for a while now, got some neat recipies and read about plants, that made me happy. Im currently in a tiny apt with only my spider plant. (Staying with my fiancee till the 21st) I miss my garden terribly, but offering plant advice has cheered me up. :)

[Sequoia]

my spider plant scares me o.o;;; it has pretty much doubled in size, and it's so healthy and radient hehehe I finally found some plant food and fed all my plants. . .

I moved Ficus outside today. He was dropping too many leaves, and I figured maybe he needed the extra light and breeze? I fed him and watered him and stuck him ouside in the carport. He'll get direct light for a few hours a day but it's about all I can think of, I'm not allowed to keep him inside anymore.

Maybe he'll get better out there?

[Hope]

Puma,

oh I do wish you luck , I looked in my trusty dusty book of plants and the only thing it said was that when it gets so hot for a ficus, it is best to keep it in the shade not the bright sun

LUCK!

blessed be hope