Question
Greetings!  I have a terrible problem.  I have about six separate Pothos folaige houseplants, one is in dirt, five are in water.  I started each of the five by cutting off vines from the mother that is in dirt, and starting each that way.  Well, the ones that were in water were not growing, and after six months, I decided to buy miracle grow houseplant liquid food from the store.  I diluted the liquid food with water according to the directions, and replaced their current water with the new, food water.  After about a week, the leaves started to pucker, and about a week and a half, the whole plant began to droop.  I investigated and discovered that the water had a very strong ammonia smell to it.  So, I immediately dumped out the food/ammonia-smelling water, and replaced it with regular water once again.  The very next day, the whole plant was drooping much more so than ever before (it was a huge difference).  Now I am stuck and don't know what to do.  The roots that are in the water are covered with a black material of some sort, and the leaves are yellowing and falling off. I keep all these plants by a light of indirect sunlight. Please help...any suggestions you have would be very appreciated!  Thanks so much!

--April  

Answer
Hi April,

Thanks for the very good description that you provided.

The problem is that the fertilizer that you mixed was too concentrated for the cuttings rooted in water. The label directions are for plants growing in soil in ideal nursery conditions. In plain water there is no soil to buffer and dilute the concentration of the fertilizer. The appropriate amount of fertilizer to add to plants in water is about 1/10 to 1/20 of the recommended label rate.

The fertilizer contains ammonia (a source of nitrogen) so that accounts for the smell.

Once the damage (the roots were burned up by the excess nutrients) was done, removing the fertilizer soilution made no difference. The cuttings just continued to react to the burning up of the roots and lower stems. The leaves were affected because the plant has no way to absorb water.

If the cuttings are long enough, you may be able to cut off the lower portions of each stem until you get healthy stem tissue. You can then re-root these tip cuttings in plain water.

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]

If this information has been helpful, please remember to give me an AllExperts rating and nomination.