Tree Philodendron Rescue Help

[SydneyGee]

Hello, about two months ago I was given a tree philo that was in poor shape. It consistently lost all of its leaves down to two from over watering and lack of light. It was kept in a dark place and watered where the soiled stayed soggy for long periods. When I brought it home, after about three weeks, it grew 4 new leaves but the largest ones would die off. It is in the brightest room in my north facing apartment, where it gets about 9 hours of indirect sunlight.

I watered it once in the 3 weeks, and as soon as I did, leaves turned yellow and died. I repotted it completely from the old soil into fresh soil and a fresh pot, the roots were surprisingly intact, next to no mush or brown as I suspected from root rot. They were all white and thick, just not very many.

The soil was basically dry when I repotted it two weeks ago, I did not water when I repotted. Fast forward to a couple days ago, I did a watering and the oldest leaf turned yellow! I suspect it has to be from "over watering" however the soil was bone dry to the bottom when I went to water it.

Any other ideas or should I just not water until next year??

 

[cpp gardener]

It is now over-potted unless the roots filled the pot when you replanted it. Don't try to change it now, though. Just adjust your watering frequency.

Does the new pot have a drain hole or two? If not you will need to repot anyway, it needs to let extra water out the bottom.
Did you completely soak the new soil after you repotted it? If not, do it now, then wait for it to get dry down about 3" or so. In such a big pot it will be difficult to monitor the moisture level until the plant gets big enough to dry out quickly on it's own. You may lose another of those leaves before it really starts to recover, just be patient and careful with the water. Move just as close to the window as you can, or even better stick it outside in bright shade for the rest of the summer. By bright I mean no direct sun but you could read a book with sunglasses on.

Happy plant parenting and good luck!

 

[SydneyGee]

The old pot was way too large for the roots it had. This is a significantly smaller pot, and shorter, the roots are much more contained now. It does have drainage holes. I will drench it but it still gets too cold at night here (low 50's) to leave it outside and I won't remember to take it in nightly. Two of the leaves are now turning yellow. It is right next to my brightest window so hopefully it recovers.

Would it benefit from a fertilizer at this point?

Thanks!

 

[cpp gardener]

Not until it starts to show improvement.

It's hardy to the low 40s so go ahead and move it out, the increased light can only help.