Question

need to know my plant'   QUESTION: last question. i have another large--i assume tropical?--plant I've had for 5 years or so. it was also in the basement with lots of southern light. it's reproduced leaves on and off like crazy, but lately it's gotten really wimpy looking, and one of the stalks/roots looks like it's rotted or dried out or something. Maybe the soil is old, maybe i overwatered it? maybe it needs more light? it's in a north-facing room that doesn't get much light. but i don't even know what it is, so i have no idea how to care for it. can you help?


ANSWER: Hi Angie,
  Since you have several questions I will answer all 3 of them here instead of answering all 3 of them separately.
The plant you need identified is a type of philodendron (A 'Hope' Philodendron). Northern exposure for this plant is just fine but the other plants you are asking about need a higher light level. The problem you describe sounds like a combination of over-watering, changing environment and not enough light.
If you plan to keep plants in your basement you might want to consider setting up some artificial plant lighting. It is not very expensive to set up and it will allow you to grow many different kinds of healthy plants.
I am not sure what can be done to save the corn plant except to propagate what you can of it.
Here is a link to a general plant care guide I posted. You can also access other guides I have written for specific plants types. Among them are Philodendron and Dracaenas (the corn plant is a Dracaena)

http://reviews.ebay.com/General-Plant-Care-Tips_W0QQugidZ10000000004225426

If you have any questions or need additional information please don't hesitate to contact me.
Thanks
Tracy

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thanks so much for your answers! so, on the hope philodenron, if it's not in direct northern light, then it's too dark?

And I need to move the other two to southern-light rooms with more direct light?

Lastly, on replacing the soil, i obviously don't know what i'm doing, so, is there a specific type of soil i ought to be looking for with these types of big plants? and does that guide you mentioned specify the steps of replacing the soil? thanks again!

Answer
Angie,
  The philodendron needs to be put directly in a north facing window or it can be set near an east facing window. If you set the other plants in a room with southern light be sure to set them about 2 feet away from the south facing window. That much direct sunlight and the amount of heat generated by a southern window would be too much for those plants.
In the plant care guide I sent you a link to does go into potting soil types but it doesn't really go into detail on changing the soil. I usually start by using a commercial potting soil, such as Miracle Gro, and then 'doctor it up' to suit my needs. For plants that don't require any special soil I add extra Perlite and vermiculite to improve soil drainage. Sometimes I will add extra peat moss if I want a higher PH level in the soil. The guide I sent you the link for does go into some detail on perlite, vermiculite and peat moss.
Since it has been so long since you changed the soil and the soil is probably completely depleted and broken down, you will need to change the entire pot of soil. It will be exactly like repotting the plant except you are putting it back in the same pot. You should also clean the pot or put the plant in a new one. After all this time the pot as well as the soil probably has a lot of excess accumulated salts which can harm most plants but especially the corn plant. A lot of Dracaenas are sensitive to excess salts.
In the future you should change the soil every spring when the plants start producing new growth after their dormant period over the winter. By doing that once a year, you probably wont have to change all of the soil as long as you are careful not to over fertilize the plants during the year. Just remove the soil around the root ball and refill it with fresh soil.
If you have any questions or need additional information please let me know.
Thanks
Tracy