House Plants

budster · Post by **budster** » Thu. Dec. 30, 2010 7:06 pm

all the house plants have started dying since I started burning coal a couple of weeks ago..to much heat?..CO gas?..I know my stove is not completely air tight..I can easily tell from the wood smoke when I start the coal fire..got 3 CO detectors..one on each floor of the house..they have never went off..anybody else ever have this problem?..

jpete · Post by **jpete** » Thu. Dec. 30, 2010 7:20 pm

Too much heat, not enough water?

Post by **Richard S.** » Thu. Dec. 30, 2010 7:29 pm

If it's the coal it's side issue, my mother had all kinds of plants and no issues.

budster · Post by **budster** » Thu. Dec. 30, 2010 7:32 pm

jpete wrote:Too much heat, not enough water?

..possibly, I just started using a humidifier last week..they still seem to be on their way out..

SMITTY · Post by **SMITTY** » Thu. Dec. 30, 2010 7:36 pm

We have all kinds of plants in here ... and they get neglected quite a bit, but they've been kicking for quite a while. I couldn't tell you the names of any of them ... except for "CACTUS".

One of them I bought from Wal-Mart back in late '97 for my apartment. Gave it to grandma in '99 when I left for AZ .... then she gave it back to me when I bought my house in '03. Still kicking!

rberq · Post by **rberq** » Thu. Dec. 30, 2010 8:13 pm

budster wrote:all the house plants have started dying since I started burning coal a couple of weeks ago

ALL of them? How many, what kind of plants, and how long have you had them? If they were first-year plants, maybe it is just coincidence they are dying now. Did they spend the summer out of doors where they could pick up bugs?

budster · Post by **budster** » Thu. Dec. 30, 2010 8:30 pm

rberq wrote:
budster wrote:all the house plants have started dying since I started burning coal a couple of weeks ago
ALL of them? How many, what kind of plants, and how long have you had them? If they were first-year plants, maybe it is just coincidence they are dying now. Did they spend the summer out of doors where they could pick up bugs?

..I'm going out on a limb here, because they all belong to 'she who must be obeyed'..but here goes..one hibiscus plant, the leaves started dropping off..two lipstick plants that are fading fast (2 years old)..and a couple of smaller unknowns (to me)..never been outside..now admittedly they were sitting on the kitchen counter right in front of the five steps coming up from the family room where the stove is..they were catching the brunt of the rising heat..she has since moved the plants upstairs to the 3rd floor bedroom..we'll see..

heartofcoal · Post by **heartofcoal** » Thu. Dec. 30, 2010 9:01 pm

hello to everyone
This is my first reply to a post ever, anywhere!
My wife's been trying to pull me out of the 1970's but I refuse to go.
Well, I'm a pretty serious gardener so hopefully I can be helpful here.
It sounds to me like your plants are suffering from lack of humidity. This can cause all kinds of problems from diseases to mites.
I would definitely run a humidifier in the same room with your plants. Bottom water your plants rather than from the top until the soil on top is moist ( not wet)
Also, use a spray bottle and mist them at least once a week. Be careful though, some plants, like African violets hate to have their leaves wet and will die within a week
I found that out the hard way and had to explain myself to my wife.

Good luck and happy new year to all
Ray

WNY · Post by **WNY** » Thu. Dec. 30, 2010 9:02 pm

4 or 5 plants in the back room where the main heat duct comes up from the Keystoker, they grow fine! I have had one of them since 1987! and still haven't killed it.