#thirsty plants

[succygirl]

Extremely thirsty Pachyphytum compactum 'Little Jewel', but thirst makes them turn so red it's adorable!

[ghostlyfoliage]

Coffee plants are floppers. 😅

[ghostlyfoliage]

Some fantastic language with Calathea Zebrina's overt leaf curl. Interesting how this one also curls her new growth, unlike some other plants. I originally thought this was a response to too much light (as many succulents will kinda fold their leaves inward in response to high light) but I now suspect it's an attempt to keep moisture from transpiring through the leaves (ie. she's thirsty).

[ghostlyfoliage]

Ruellia makoyana (aka Trailing Velvet Plant or Monkey Plant) is also a flopper. They stand up really quickly too. I put her in for a drink, went out to get vaccinated (about 1hr), and came back to her looking right as rain.

[ghostlyfoliage]

Today on Thirsty Plants, I present a thirsty Rhaphidora tetrasperma (aka Ginny or Mini Monstera).

I've had this plant for almost a year and it's been in complete stasis all winter. I did recently give it and my Micans their own lights and of course increased their water needs. This is a decline after one instance of wilting and the soil not retaining enough moisture after watering (I had it in terracotta, lol... It went from needing water once a month to suddenly once a week and I wasn't watering it enough).

These are signs that have slow recovery. The stems will eventually fill out, but two of the lower leaves have started to crisp and are total gonners - this plant has started the process of cannibalizing them for moisture to protect new growth. Like Monstera deliciouso, these wilted leaves are unlikely to recover fully, including the one shown. They will probably remain floppy, though many of them will remain on the plant provided the underwatering doesn't continue.

But, with a switch to a glazed pot and raising the humidity in the house, it should be fine in the long run... and if it's happy, it'll take off soon and make a lot of new growth (maybe I'll get lucky and it'll activate those budding nodes it's been sitting in since I bought it).

[ghostlyfoliage]

If anyone wants a list of dramatic, flopping houseplants that look like they're dying when they're thirsty but bounce right back after a good drink:

Fittonia (Nerve Plants, Polkadot Plants)

Spathiphyllum (Peace Lilies)

Pilea

Cyclamen

Vining Philodendron (esp Micans and soft-leaf varieties)

Oxalis (Shamrocks)

Ruellia makoyana (Trailing Velvet Plant)

Rex Begonia (esp Escargot and soft-leaf varieties, but they all flop pretty dramatically)

Strobilanthes dyerianus (Persian Shield)

Avocados

Coffee plants

Macodes petola (Lightning Jewel Orchid)

Fiddleleaf Fig (only new growth)

[ghostlyfoliage]

While not as overt as some other plants (at least for this cultivar, since they kinda run the gamut when it comes to variations of the leaves), Avocados are floppers for sure.

I'm not sure this one was as much thirsty as pissed off that some of it's roots were dry (it was pretty well bound and had begun to escape).

[ghostlyfoliage]

Apparently Alocasias curl when they're thirsty. Notice how the leaves curl down, specifically from the center vein? (Hint: the new growth isn't really doing it)

It's subtle, but the leaves start to almost curve up a little from the center vein when well hydrated.

I decided I'm going to try to do a series on early-stage under-watering... so I'm gonna do more photo sets like this with before and after of thirsty plants. I've found this is the easiest way to figure out how to water a plant... though some have such poor language that a photo probably wouldn't illustrate my point (looking at you, FiddleLeaf Fig). My hope is that this will help people identify when their plants are thirsty.

Every new plant I get, I try to let it dry out till it reacts. Sometimes this doesn't work out super well for me cus sometimes the reaction is acclimation, but it's still a technique I've come to rely on for figuring out how to water.