I have a houseplant I'm trying to save

Question

I bought a baby #4 ivy plant a couple of weeks ago and just love it. I went to admire it one day and it was covered with a web and hundreds of little white spiders. I sprayed a bug killer thats safe for plants then rinsed it off. I placed it outside for fresh air and have kept it watered. I noticed right away the color went from a deep green to a pale green and some of the leaves are drying up. This all happened about a week ago. Today I carefully removed it from the pot and added new soil. My question is should I cut all the stems down to the soil, so the roots can work to make new sprouts or let the old leaves die off and hope the stems sprout new leaves? Like I said I really like this plant and want to save it. I hope this doesn't seem like a stupid question. Any advice would be helpful.

Answer 1

I think it is best to leave your plant to "rest" for a while. I know it is distressing to see leaves browning/falling off but nature has a wonderful way of recovering from injury. If it doesn't then no matter what you try to do it will die.

Please let it "rest" in a shaded area. Next time harmless spider babies are born in one of your plants either put it out in the rain or spray the plant with very tepid water with a little bit of washing up liquid in it.

Best wishes. UK

Answer 2

DON'T cut the stems down to the soil!  I did this with a baby Jacob's ladder this spring, and now I have to wait until next spring to see anything because the plant pretty much disappeared.  Let the old leaves die off naturally.  The stems will sprout new leaves.  You know the saying "what doesn't kill me can only make me stronger"?  Well, that only applies to plants.  As long as the roots weren't damaged by the bug spray it should bounce right back.  those little white spiders are harmless.  They were all over my hostas after I put them in the ground and they haven't suffered for it.  Hope this helps.

Answer 3

I have several thoughts on the matter. Ivy is hard to kill! It may have been sick when you brought it home. I've had bad luck with plants purchased from certain hardware stores.  My friend and I both bought palms from a `one stop shopping' store. Mine did extremely well, but his croaked immediately. He exchanged it for a different type of plant, only to have the same thing happen again.

The difference is that I have a wet back yard, and extremely high humidity inside my home. I have never been to keep a palm alive until I moved here.