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Post by Apoplast on Jul 18, 2014 20:49:32 GMT -5
Good day all - Well, this is my first Heli post about my first Heli, and already it's not going well. I got a small pot with about three small plants of H. minor in it about a month ago. They looked pretty happy then. Now... Well, have a look: The leaves are turning brown, and it just looks like it is declining. Perhaps it was foolish of me to think these plants would be easy enough for me. Okay the set-up. I have a max/min thermometer in there with a max/min RH meter for humidity. It gets to 22C in the day and 17C at night. The humidity max is about 89% and the low at 50%. It is growing the soil mix it came with, and in a tray of water under a 4 bulb T5HO set up that looks like this: The water is about 1.5cm up the pot. I have an A/C unit in there to keep it cool. My suspicion is the humidity might be getting too low or the day/nigh temperature differences are large enough. But, I would appreciate input from anyone with a bit of experience with these little guys (Maiden I am looking at you - I take back off my heartless Yankee joking about your big soccer tournament). Thanks for looking and for any advice!
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Post by hal on Jul 18, 2014 20:55:41 GMT -5
Oh, that's too bad, Apoplast. I don't think it's the temperatures or RH. It may be too wet. Even the moss in the pot is declining and the bit of soil I see looks heavy and sodden. I'd guess the roots are suffering. I'm no expert on helis but if it was mine, I'd gently dig it up, put it in pure, rinsed LFS and ease up on the water a bit.
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Post by cory on Jul 18, 2014 21:16:28 GMT -5
Let me see if I can give you some friendly advice.
First off I never ever set my helis directly in water it's probably getting root rot. It should be repotted as previously stated and just kept damp to moist maybe watering every 5-7 days. A sphagnum/perlite mix will suffice.
If it will recover at this point after repotting I would fill the pitchers with water and bag it off. The higher humidity will help keep it from drying up further and speed up recovery. When it starts pushing new growth again I then would slowly cut holes (small) when it's watered in the bag over a month or so until it's very cut up. Be patient this process isn't fast and depending on the state of the roots it could take months
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Post by lloyd on Jul 19, 2014 18:17:50 GMT -5
With the above advice it should slowly recover. You might want to add some aquatic plant aggregate and some beneficial funghi powder.
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Post by HaruShin on Jul 20, 2014 0:26:11 GMT -5
I agree with the water level being the problem. I think humidity doesn't matter too much, as my highlanders grow well in less than optimal humidity (after it recovers. As Cory said, maintaining high RH would be great for when it's recovering). If you remedy the situation quickly, there's a high chance of them coming back. My helis have gone through heavy freezing and drought, but they always came back
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Post by canuk1w1 on Jul 20, 2014 8:07:16 GMT -5
With the above advice it should slowly recover. You might want to add some aquatic plant aggregate and some beneficial funghi powder. +1 Just in case you haven't seen this: www.terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php/128505-How-to-take-care-of-a-new-heli-divisionGood for the first time Heli grower - I wish I'd been able to find something like this for Neps. Given the roots are probably waterlogged you may not want to soalk overnight in trich. but it'd be a good rinse at the very least. Dust a wee bit in the media as well. FWIW, I used a mych./trch. blend on my Helis and Sarrs.
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Post by Apoplast on Jul 20, 2014 22:09:21 GMT -5
Thanks for the advice everyone! I have transplanted the clump into a mix of LFS and engineered pumice. It is no longer sitting in water and there is a baggie over the plant. I hope this helps the poor little thing out! Hi Cory - Thanks for the detailed advice! As a side note, this is a matter of life and death, I'd have even taken unfriendly advice. But I appreciate the kind approach.
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Post by cory on Jul 20, 2014 22:51:46 GMT -5
No reason not to be friendly lol We all go through the learning curve.
Be patient and easy on the water. Bright light and some time. It should come back it's isn't to far gone IMO
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Post by Apoplast on Jul 27, 2014 22:16:25 GMT -5
Hi Cory - Thanks! Kind advice is always preferred anyhow.
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