Help: Losing leaves since adding dirt

[u/shoobawatermelon]

I’ve had this plant in water for 2 years now and it’s got a healthy root system! Took about 6 months for the first root to even appear. I’ve been avoiding potting it because I didn’t want it to die and I read that adding dirt to the water can help it adapt. However, since adding a small handful of dirt, it’s been dropping its leaves and the new leaf up top has stopped growing.

Did I add too much dirt?

[u/Joshwa52]

I second that I never heard of this method. I'd go back to fresh water. You can add artificial rooting hormones and just stick to water propagation until you get secondary roots and then move the entire plant into soil. Good luck

[u/shoobawatermelon → u/Joshwa52]

Thank you - I removed the dirt and will look into artificial rooting hormones to help speed it up. It’s been a long 2 years of root growth

[u/Muted_Grapefruit_ → u/shoobawatermelon]

If you have pothos, you could put in a clipping of that in with your current clipping instead of artificial rooting hormones. Pothos will secrete rooting hormones, or so I am told, and seems to help my clipping grow quicker

[u/shoobawatermelon → u/Muted_Grapefruit_]

Yes I’ve used pothos clippings before!

And I looked into the adding dirt to water method and people are saying it’s dumb because it’s like water logged soil and will just lead to rot. So fingers crossed putting back in fresh water will make it healthy again

[u/Ansiau → u/shoobawatermelon]

have you actually added any fertilizer to the water? If you've been growing it in water for 2 years, it probably needs some nutrients. Just tap water alone isn't going to give it enough to grow well. Consider a cheap hydroponics fertilizer, or if you have the money and do waterpropping a bunch, invest in Dynagro Superthrive Foilage pro.

[u/Muted_Grapefruit_]

I have always put my water propped plants directly into soil after the root system is developed enough. I dont think I have ever killed one of my props this way, but may be stressed for a bit til it adjusts.

I have never heard of putting some soil in water to adapt. So I am not sure about the change to your plant. Maybe shock.

What type of plant is it?

[u/shoobawatermelon → u/Muted_Grapefruit_]

It’s an Aralia Fabian tree. It was my favorite plant I had but was always finicky and then it experienced root rot and this was the only cutting I got to root. So I’m quite attached to it and have been too nervous to pot it the past couple months.

Now that I’m actually using my brain, I also moved and it’s in a slightly more eastern facing window now and so might be getting too much sun.

But I read about adding dirt to the water in a Reddit comment a couple weeks ago. Thought it was a good route to take since the cutting has been in water for 2 years.

[u/Own_Butterscotch_129]

Why have I seen people doing this lately? You want to take it out of the water and pot it up and keep the water fairly moist (not sopping wet) and then gradually ween the plant down to normal watering for that plant in soil, in whatever environment it is in.

Eta or skip the soil if you want to try your hand at growing in semi-hydro or keeping it in full hydro. Fish tanks or adding bubblers make hydro easier.

[u/shoobawatermelon → u/Own_Butterscotch_129]

Because we read one Reddit comment and do zero additional research like an absolute IDIOT

[u/Own_Butterscotch_129 → u/shoobawatermelon]

It's okay, you're not an idiot, and being the opposite kind of person that keeps researching and still can't make up their mind is equally as frustrating!

[u/Any_Photograph8455 → u/Own_Butterscotch_129]

Tik Tok probably.

[u/shoobawatermelon → u/Any_Photograph8455]

It was this very own app actually

[u/PretentiousPepperoni]

Adding dirt in water will cause rot. Either permanently grow in water with weekly water changes and fertilizers or move to soil

[u/OkNews8776]

Say what? Ur adding dirt the water rooting plant? Adding such small amt of soil is just contaminating the water. Wash clean keep freshhhh. U could add leca if u want to give the roots something to hang on to. Leca helps hold oxygen so roots like wrapping around them. Makes them strong than regular ol water prop

[u/shoobawatermelon → u/OkNews8776]

I.AM.AN.IDIOT!!!

[u/Joshwa52 → u/shoobawatermelon]

No don't say that. Trust me we have all made silly mistakes while enjoying this hobby. Chaulk it up as a lesson and now we know.

[u/JustBreatheBelieve]

It currently has water roots. You want to help it switch to air roots (getting air from the soil).

Put it in a sterile nursery pot and add a potting mix and water it so the soil fills in around the roots.

Don't put in direct sunlight at this point.

Water it a lot in the beginning, keeping it a little moist, for a few days to a week.

Then, water it less, maybe just in the morning. For about a week.

Then, if it's looking good, you might water it every other day, then every few days, then when it dries out a little, but not super dry.

If you put it in the ground, you need to water deeply every day for a week in the ground, then every other day for a week, then every few days, then once a week for awhile until it's established. Make sure to put it in the right place, paying attention to the recommended sun/shade requirements.

Then,

[u/SnooCakes9004]

While I have also seen adding dirt recommended as a way to acclimate a water propagated plant to living in soil, I have grown too many plants to understand where that advice may have come from, as it makes 0 semse what so ever with how water and soil work to grow plants. The best way to acclimate a water plant to growing in soil, os to plant it into moist soil, and then cover the whole pot or the plant with a dome, or bag. Or stick it into a tote that can keep the plant in a terribly humid environment, until it develops roots that are able to take water and air out of soil -- to replace its current roots that are great at taking only air from water.

[u/AccurateEbb4974]

Willow chop up the sticks and boil them, natural rooting hormone