Q and A: House Plant Renovations

Question: I currently live in Ontario, Canada and I recently visited my home in Nova Scotia, Canada. On my way back to Ontario I rescued a spider plant from my father which is severely suffering from tip burn. Not just the tips but even half of the leaves are turning brown. It was extremely dry when I got it home, so I've been watering it (only when the soil is dry) but it doesn't seem to be helping the leaves any and I don't find those wilted leaves seem to be coming back to life. I did produce 2 new sprouts last week which are growing at an enormous speed, but I have noticed that 1 of those new leaves has the tiniest tip turning brown. I thought the plant just lacked watering and with the new leaves, I thought I was bringing life into the plant, but now I am wondering what to do. I don't want to see this plant die. I also understand that it has to adapt to a warmer climate than what it was used to in Nova Scotia. Now....the second question I had was about my African violet. With the move to Ontario, the flowers have wilted on the top, the leaves all around the base of the plant have died off and wilted, and the root appears to be all dried up. Around the top of it, the leaves are perfectly healthy and there even seems to be tiny new leaves forming. I've read about root rot but I'm not sure whether this is it or not because I don't know a whole lot about houseplants. If it is, what can I do to bring this, what used to be a beautiful bluefish-purple African violet....back to life again?

M. A.

Answer: It's always sad to see house plants suffering. Fortunately, you should be able to save both of these favourite plant companions.

Tip burn is the most common problem with Spider Plants (Chlorophytum comosum). D.G. Hessayon, author of The House Plant Expert, says that this is likely caused by underfeeding, and recommends feeding the plant with every watering. (If you do this, be sure to use your fertilizer half-strength, so as not to damage the plant.)

Bill Beaurain, The Garden Helper, says that this is usually caused by chemicals in the water (such as chlorine and fluoride), and suggests using rain or distilled water to solve this problem.

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