My Unhealthy Caapi (And My Vicarious Trauma)

[Caacia]

Hello Nexicians,

I am in dire need of some advice for my caapi plant.
As you can see in the images attatched, leaves are losing color and withering around the outskirts, new growth is minimal and just lately a few leaves have completely shriveled and dropped.

I first got this rooted cutting about a month ago and I immediatly planted it in a medium of peat moss, coco coir, perlite and seed raising soil with spagham moss on top and at the bottem after around 3 days to a week I was concered about the lack of drainage and a little concern if i had over done some nitrogen so I started out a new. New mix with mostly vermiculite and sand no spagham moss this time.
Ive tried nitrogen, potash and diluted seaweed concentate, but this vine wont thrive.

Its kept indoors, I made an enclosure of plastic sheet wrapped in a tube that put around the pot, with a decent compact flurecent globe enclosed in a tin bucket.

I don't know what to do to help this plant grow healthy its tough to see it fighting everyday in a losing battle(maybe not traumatic like I may have detailed)
So what the verdict?
Not enough oxygen to roots, co2, too much or too little nutes, humidity, transplant trauma?

Also if I cant save this one what should I do to avoid this with my next cutting.

 

[Vodsel]

Hello Caacia,

at first sight, these patches in leaves suggest either low ambient humidity or over-fertilization.

Caapi is a tropical plant and welcomes medium-to-high humidity. If you're positive that the enclosed space you have the plant in has enough % humidity (check with a thermo hygrometer, they're cheap and very useful) maybe you're giving her too many nutrient solutions in little time. If you are using new soil mix, the plant should not need extra nutrients for at least a couple months, and excess nutrients can cause leaf burn.

Keep in mind that, whether a cutting was rooted or not, plants require an adaptation time when settling in a new environment. Maybe you should simply leave her alone for a bit. If the soil is new and is not waterlogged, light is sufficient, it's not scalding hot and humidity is not too low, the plant should do fine.

If you suspect it may have been over-fertilized, you can wash the roots by watering with distilled water in excess and letting the pot drain thoroughly, then put the plant back in her home.

And give her time to adapt. A month is little time, and probably you've been messing with it too much.

 

[Caacia]

Thank you Vodsel for your speedy reply.
Very helpful information, I hope I can keep my vine going even if it is a while away I will update on progress.

I often hear of peoples vines growing inches a day and im a bit impatient.

 

[Vodsel]

I often hear of peoples vines growing inches a day and im a bit impatient.

Patience doesn't appear in gardening books as often as it should Let her build a good root system, get comfy and give some new shoots, and it will start to grow steadily. Keep some support stakes handy for when it does.

 

[pinkoyd]

+1 on fertilizer burn and flushing. Caapi can be hardy plants indeed, but they do need time to settle in. I have a friend who thought he couldn't grow P. viridis, but he was doing what you are doing, i.e. changing things too quickly for the plant, changing soil frequently, too much fert, etc. . Once he just let them be for a while they started to come around.

Patience is not an easy thing to learn sometimes, but if you pay attention to the plants and get your own agenda out of the way they will be happy to teach.

 

[Caacia]

Ta guys I havent done anything since this post and my plant has dropped all but one leaf though it has been showing new growth all along the stem so im satisfied.
There is one more thing i've noticed, a white spot on a node im not sure if ifs normal or if I need to remove it. D:
Also sorry about the photo quality.
Thanks again.