Question
I have a massangeana cane which I bought actually with one large stalk and one shorter one.  For some odd reason, the small one turned brown on the leaves and the stalk turned a smooth greenish color in some parts.  Anyway, it died and I threw it out.  But now, the large part is doing well.  It is about 4' tall from the base of the pot to the tallest leaves and is planted in a 12" diameter pot.  Since the smaller plant died and the remaining shoot is so tall, the plant looks very bare.  Is there some other plant I can put around the base of the cane that will not kill it but make the pot look fuller?  What kinds of plants do you suggest and where can I get them??  

Answer
Hi Kristin,

I assume you are thinking about growing another plant in the same pot as your Massangeana cane. There are several things to take into consideration before doing that.

The roots of your corn plant are fragile and should be disturbed as little as possible. In particular, it should not be moved into a larger pot to accommodate an additional plant. That means you would be limited to finding a plant that is rooted, but not yet in soil and could then be inserted into a relatively small hole where the dead cane was removed. Thus, you would probably have to root a cutting  in water and then insert it into the existing pot. Such a plant would have to have the same soil moisture and light requirements as your corn plant. It wopuld also have to make the transition from water roots to soil rots. If this is the route that you want to go, let me know and I will tell you some plants that might work.

A better solution, in my opinion, would be to use a smaller plant that can be kept in its own pot and placed on the surface of the corn plant soil. By keeping them in separate pots, you avoid the soil moisture compatibility problem because each can be watered on its own as-needed schedule. In addition, this avoids the problem of disturbing the fragile corn plant roots. In this case, any low light plant that is small enough to sit on top of the corn plant pot would work well. You could use one or more 6" Chinese evergreens or 6" Pothos. The former would add some height and the latter would drape over the edge of the pot. You could also purchase a 6" corn plant and set that on top of the soil. If you add some Spanish moss around the smaller pots, it will add a nice finishing touch and cover up the smaller pots so it looks like they are all planted together.

The plants that I mentioned are commonly available at most places that sell indoor plants.

Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions.
   
Regards,
Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC

You can E-mail me directly at: [email protected]

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