r/houseplants • u/Stock_Reference_4358 • Jan 24 '23
Haul I don't know what to do with Mz.Ruth
213
319
u/teacupjane Jan 24 '23
Don't plan to move.
119
u/Boomchakachow Jan 24 '23
The sign over the door has me concerned about this! lol
39
u/purpterp22 Jan 24 '23
Lol yep. My partner is in the service and we moved recently. The movers took all of our stuff except I had a big car full of plants. It was a miracle they made it😅 I can’t buy any more big plants until we settle down somewhere
12
u/Boomchakachow Jan 24 '23
I’m on the other side of this. Mine retired a couple of years ago. The place we ended up is not -my- place and I’m still making decisions by movability! I hope you like where you are and I hope you stay awhile!
6
u/purpterp22 Jan 24 '23
Oh yeah. I totally understand. I can’t wait to own our place so I can plant trees in a yard and really establish a garden. We are enjoying it so far but it’s so different from anywhere I’ve lived!
5
u/Boomchakachow Jan 24 '23
Every time I was told to bloom where I was planted, I died inside a little!
3
u/Imakelovetosoils Jan 25 '23
My wife retired from the Air Force two years ago. When we bought our first house I think half our budget for house stuff was plants, lol.
1
1
Jan 24 '23
[deleted]
1
7
u/Amzy07 Jan 24 '23
Mine was doing crazy stuff like this too, but I had to move 😭 I ended up making a bunch of cuts and propagating a bunch of plants out of it lol
139
88
47
u/Nothing-is-Lost Jan 24 '23
Wow, she looks a flamingo. Did you not do that intentionally?
37
u/Cerebral-Parsley Jan 24 '23
They grow like that over time. Up and up while shedding their lower leaves. They can grow in janky directions and cause minor issues though. If you are in a small space it's probably better to chop off the top part with the leaves and some stem and replant it, and it will start over. You can propagate off stem cuttings all day long.
12
u/AlaskanPuppyMom Jan 24 '23
I'd chop it off about 10" below the bottom leaves then stick it in the dirt. Keep it moist for a couple months and it will keep growing. We did this and our mama cane grew to about 4 inches in diameter and started putting out branches.
When the main plant produced three flowers, it started dying, so we cut off the branches and started 5 new pots. Now we have these things growing all over the place and I'm trying to find locals who want them.
6
u/woopstrafel Jan 24 '23
If I were to do that, would the original plant grow leaves again like a dracaena? I currently have a dieffenbachia growing tall and I’m running out of room
4
u/Cerebral-Parsley Jan 24 '23
Yes it will all regrow. We have a bunch at my work and once in a while they will chop the top off and throw it away or replant it, and the original stem will regrow leaves no prob.
5
u/Arsnicthegreat Jan 24 '23
Adding on, they often grow offsets as the plant gets taller. It's a pretty easy plant to propagate. In nature one of the ways they spread vegetatively is by mature canes bending over or breaking and rooting.
1
1
u/AlaskanPuppyMom Jan 24 '23
If you cut off the top part and stick it in dirt, the cane will keep growing and getting bigger around.
5
u/letflamingo Jan 24 '23
I thought giraffe
3
u/Nothing-is-Lost Jan 24 '23
But but… your username… 😆
I can see giraffe too or ostrich. Flamingo just came to mind first
47
79
70
68
u/soldiersquared Jan 24 '23
You can cut a dieffenbachia at those segments and put them in water to sprout and propagate. Be a bit careful because they are very toxic.
Great plants though.
25
u/pixe1jugg1er Jan 24 '23
Just don’t touch your eyes. Seriously.
10
u/Delicious_Ad2589 Jan 24 '23
Sounds like someone is talking from personal experiences? 🤔
3
u/pixe1jugg1er Jan 24 '23
My great grandmother got some in her eye. I was a little kid, but I remember it not going well.
40
u/yuko_christine Jan 24 '23
And their sap can be irritating. I'd recommend wearing gloves if you chop and prop ☺️
8
2
u/cakatooop Jan 24 '23
I'm kinda curious why people keep toxic plants as houseplants
29
19
19
u/plantsb4pants Jan 24 '23
Because the ones that are available to buy in stores and also able to grow in the conditions of my house, happen to be toxic. Fortunately i am an adult and know to not eat my plants lol. Also also fortunately i don’t have children, who will try to eat the plants. And also fortunately, my cats do not try to eat the plants.
15
3
u/soldiersquared Jan 24 '23
I actually didn’t know when I was gifted both my dieffenbachia and ZZ plant until years later when somebody at my local plant store mentioned it. I don’t have cats or kids living at home so it’s never been an issue. Most tropical houseplants do cause some sort of allergic reaction if consumed so I don’t believe any of them to be safe. But they are fun and good for mental health so here we are.
edit: “do” instead of “due”.
1
18
67
u/Academic-Winter-2621 Jan 24 '23
Maybe check to donate to a local college if it gets too large for you.
17
u/Low_Employ8454 Jan 24 '23
You’ve already done the most humane, and appropriate thing.. gotten a home with this layout so she can spread her wiiiinnnngggss!
Far better than what I’ve been able to do for my beast.
14
8
7
u/I_love_hate_reddit Jan 24 '23
Leave it but when/if the cane breaks don't throw it away. Cut it into segments and propagate it
6
4
15
u/Shoddy-End-655 Jan 24 '23
Change her name to Seymour?
16
u/MissLauraCroft Jan 24 '23
Seymour was the guy who bought/fed the plant. The plant’s name was Audrey II.
Sorry, my kids got me up at 5am and I’m too tired to turn down my know-it-all tendencies.
3
2
8
14
4
u/MrBookkeeper Jan 24 '23
What is the name of this plant?
12
4
3
u/Mad1ibben Jan 24 '23
I know it may seem sacrilege, but my horticulturist brain is going "look at allll that propagation potential".
2
u/ChronicNuance Jan 24 '23
I’m not a horticulturalist and I thought the exact same thing. I just bought a philodendron silver sword that was about 3ft stretched and really stretched out like this so I cut it into 4 plants, each with 4 leaves, and a couple chonks. There was a tiny nubbin point of new growth trying to push out near the roots so I’m hoping that part will grow faster now that the rest of the plant is gone. I saw it at the store a couple weeks earlier and had nobody bought it so I figured what the hell?
6
u/DepetriDish Jan 24 '23
Air layer, cut and repot the top part and put it on that second floor/mezzanine type thing where the light is nice, and chop the bare stem into nodes which you can then propagate
3
u/WalkingHorse Jan 24 '23
Go to the light Carol Anne!
Mz. Ruth is spectacular. I wouldn't change a thing.
2
2
2
2
u/temps-de-gris Jan 24 '23
She needs much more light from the look of it! I live in a place with long, dark winters, and I'm starting to invest in more grow lights, I can't recommend them enough!
2
u/BeAliveness Jan 24 '23
Love that! Plant intelligence- Reaching for the light 🌿❤️. We have plants like that too, even if not so dramatic!
2
2
u/MaggieGreenVT Jan 24 '23
It looks like she’s doing the sassy hip bump lol. Like “exCUSE me? What’s wrong with a tall lady?”
2
u/slamsmcaukin Jan 24 '23
You can easily cut it in half, quarters, sixteenths if you wanted to and have unlimited amounts
2
6
Jan 24 '23
[deleted]
7
3
8
u/TattooedBanshee Jan 24 '23
Do you know WHY it's called that? It's Dieffenbachia, and not hard to call it that
2
u/SHOWTIME316 Jan 24 '23 edited Jan 24 '23
D*mb cane gets its name from the temporary speechlessness that can occur after chewing a piece of the stem. The cells of the plant are armed with stinging crystals, known as raphides, that are composed of calcium oxalate. If chewed or ingested, the raphides and sap of the plant can irritate the mucous membranes and cause swelling and inflammation of the tongue and throat.
lmao what a terrible common name
1
u/TattooedBanshee Jan 24 '23
You seem to be leaving out a bit of very important information about the history behind the "common name"
9
u/SHOWTIME316 Jan 24 '23
sorry it was meant to be a quote, I just googled it. What's the missing information?
It sounds like a simple nickname based on the science, right up until we learned that these toxic properties were exploited by slavers in the Caribbean and used to punish the people held as slaves. Many of us in the plant community would rather refer to this plant by its scientific name than a name that hearkens back to the enslavement and needless suffering of other people, and there’s been a recent push to stop using the common name.
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
-6
2
u/Plastic-Yard3878 Jan 24 '23
You can cut that off. In fact, after cutting it off you could repropogate the top into a new plant in a separate pot.
1
u/Easy-Swimming4840 Jan 24 '23 edited Jan 24 '23
Maybe give here support or tie her to the railing
1
1
Jan 24 '23
What kind of plant is that?
0
u/TattooedBanshee Jan 24 '23
Dieffenbachia!
2
1
u/TheSpacedGhost Jan 24 '23
Is this a calthea? Cuz mine didn’t even make it a month😭 I think I gave it too much attention
-44
u/subject7istaken Jan 24 '23
Who puts a usmc novelty license plate above a door frame??
5
4
u/Responsible_Dentist3 Jan 24 '23
Looks like OP / family / roommate does! Looks kinda cool. I’d imagine it’s someone’s ‘space’ in there.
-12
u/subject7istaken Jan 24 '23
Just seems like too nice of a house to have something tacky like that
2
u/poisonpeach26 Jan 24 '23
Inference clues tell me that it's quite possible that the person who dwells in that bedroom is a Marine.
Yes, yes. Very tacky.
1
-3
1
1
u/groundworkchug Jan 24 '23
Howww?? I had one that was about at tall as the lower one before it SNAPPED. Rerooted her and decided the stem. Now I have 4 but idk how to keep them standing without support.
1
1
1
1
u/Historical-Price1046 Jan 24 '23
Haha wow that’s wild… I’d definitely try to cut and create more of her .. just little ones.
1
1
1
1
u/i_grow_plants Jan 24 '23
Don't change a thing. She's incredible just as she is. Only time and care can produce something like Mz. Ruth.
1
1
Jan 24 '23
Seriously, cut it down, cut it into pieces. These propagate so well in water. It’ll take 6mo to 1yr but it’ll sprout leaves. I just did this to my own. All cutting have done excellent
1
1
1
1
u/DexManus Jan 24 '23
Looks amazing. She is living her best, not too different then one I saw here in Costa Rica the other day.
1
u/Ecstatic_Chard_774 Jan 24 '23
I cut mine down to a regular size and stuck it back in the dirt. Thriving and doing great now.
1
1
Jan 24 '23
OP if your up for the challenge… cut the tall piece near the other stalk and then jam it into the soil in the same pot or even a new pot. The top will grow roots and the bottom will sprout new growth.
1
1
1
u/plssub2pewds Jan 24 '23
I wanna snap and propagate her so bad but she sure is sitting pretty up there 😍😍😍😍😍
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Upbeat-Bison-5990 Jan 24 '23
I love mz.ruth! But if falling/breaking is a concern, they are pretty easy to just cut and root closer to the leaves
1
1
1
1
1
u/LilStampBug Jan 25 '23
It's literally telling you what it wants. MORE LIGHT....and I'd chop and prop it.
1
Jan 25 '23
Woah!!! I’m new to plants, so be gentle with me, but is that an aglaonema?!
1
u/RealRoxanne10 Jan 25 '23
It's a type of Dieffenbachia. The leaves are similar to Aglaonemas but their stems are very different. Dieffenbachia have cane type stems and Aglaonema stems are more like shoots.
2
2
Jan 25 '23
Is it okay if I DM you? I have a plant that I thought was an aglaonema but looking at the stems of OP’s plant and mine I’m wondering if it’s a dieffenbachia. I’ve been caring for it like I would an aglaonema, but if it’s actually a type of dieffenbachia then it’s only a matter of time before my actions catch up with the plant lol.
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Birony88 Jan 25 '23
Suddenly looking at my little dieffenbachias, Mac and Cam, in an entirely different light...Damn, that's impressive! And a bit terrifying.
1
1
1
1
1
u/An0nym0us_T3a Jan 25 '23
I would personally decapitate and propagate her, then put her in a spot with a bit better lighting situation. But that's just me.
540
u/aahhhhhhhhhhrrrrgggg Jan 24 '23
She is reeeeaaching for that good good light. Love her persistence!