I'm literally about to get a pure white leaf on mine so I'm pleased I found this video thank you!

I got a 2 leaf cutting with like 2 small sections of roots about a couple inches long each and some unrooted nodes. I had it for a while in a takeout container with some of my homemade soil mix, but hadn’t got much growth. About 2 weeks after, I bought crazy keiki paste and decided to try applying it because I read a lot about it being a slow grower. Now, it’s pushing out a new leaf and also has new roots growing. I don’t have any special lights, just feed it with water-soluble fertilizer and keep it on a windowsill. I know it’ll take a while but since I got it for free, so far I have no complaints! It’s mostly for fun n.n

The red as a warning is normal for animals but plants use red to show something is ripe as a come and eat me ( to disperse the seeds ), think tomato oisonous when green, edible when red.

I’ve been wondering about this very topic! I have a red stripe maranta and what I’ve noticed is if the new leaf gets a bit more light when it’s still rolled up, the back of it (which at that time is exposed to the light) becomes more red. Another thing is I’ve found a correlation between how red the backs are and how much dark green is on the front of the leaf. I love it when the leaves have a larger dark green surface and intense red backs and I’m trying to figure out the optimal conditions for those to occur

Oh then why Calethea's always has bug issue 🤣 I guess thrips doesnt get the warning well 😅

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Wow, well researched. And the sun reflect/ block both seem to be the same basic mechanism. The red sun stress happens on the front of the leaves facing the sun, whereas the red on the back blocks it from passing through, so keeps it on the green side for use by the plant. Makes sense. As your opinion of context in nature, their design seems to fit their habitat and growth. Always enjoy your interest in everything planty! Thanks for your hard work and sharing with all.

Hm. I like the second theory. Like many others, the El Choco Red loses the red as the plant matures, i.e. mature leaves no longer emerge with that intensity of red. Also makes sense that emergent leaves are more delicate, hence the redness being most intense at that point. Edit: Plot twist… it’s a combo of one and two. And something at a cellular level can shift to either reflect the light, or draw it in. I don’t think it has to do with 3 or 4. Plants are very zen.

Plants are so interesting; they’ve evolved over time to withstand their environment..more than humans have. Thanks for sharing Memo!

Very interesting so could effect the light we should give the plant

My angel wing begonia has SUPER dark maroon backs now that it has good light I don't know which of the reasons you mentioned it would be but it's so gorgeous so I'm happy whatever the reason!

I love these geeky videos, where you talk about science behind plants. Thank you so much, it must take a lot of time to read through all those studies. ❤

Most/all mammalian herbivores are red/green colorblind so I don't think that hypothesis is well considered: the other large herbivores are reptiles and they aren't known to cause large scale crop damage, and insects which are destructive. There are certainly various pressures that have promoted red backed leaves, but the ideas that make the most sense to me are related to insect pests and reflected light. Many insects prefer the leaf backs to inhabit and a darker, less green backs may prevent certain pests from seeking the plant out. When I've shined light through blister variegation, I haven't seen a large drop in light transmission between blistered and non-blistered areas meaning that, while it looks bright to us, it's actually not that reflective of direct light: it appears to interact more by scattering ambient light. Considering that red light is both more likely to reach filtered locations (like a sunset), and that red is where a big chunk of the photosynthetically active radiation spectrum is found, reflection starts to make a lot of sense. I have additional evidence not discussed and that's the enormous number of plants that fluoresce bright red under blue light. I wonder if there is any evidence to support the insect pest hypothesis.

really interesting. Thank you so much for all the research you have done to enable you to create this post. It totally makes sense. I have a Calathea Lancifolia (rattlesnake plant) which I used to keep in low light and it had beautiful strong colour on the underside of the leaves. When I moved it nearer to a window the depth of colour has faded. Think its going to be moved this weekend.

I laughed so hard on the ornata, because it'as SO true ! BUT I've cracked the code of my calatheas : my ornata is far away from the light because I can litterally ear it hissing at it and the orbifolia was the drama queen of the year until I put her in a self watering pot, 4 meters away from any windows, and now she rewards me with packs of 4 leaves at a time (litteral coming back from the dead). Hope this helps those in trouble ! 🪴

Good morning thank you for Sharing your houseplants collections lovely

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Interesting video 🧐🇨🇦

Very interesting. Your channel is so informative which helps amateurs like me. Thank you

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Fascinating! It makes sense that there may be an antioxidant quality to the coloration - we know it in our fruits and veggies - why not other plants? The theory I've heard most was the first you discussed and it makes sense with both explanations... Leaves may suffer less stress the higher they grow - maybe? And with more light, they don't need the reflective quality. Fabulous way to start my day especially as I was working with a Calathea - getting her from soil to semi-hydro by way of water propagation. The plants I put in water to grow new roots always do better than those I move straight over. And it teaches patience! I love geeking out with you 💚

Oh great topic!!! Keep up the great work.

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I´m in for the Theory 1 🙂 I wish the red/purple backs scared away all spidermites, thrips etc. - that would be so wonderful 😀 I love plants with red or purple backs. Since many of my plants are facing the window, the backs are often the only interesting thing I can see 😃 So the more interesting back, the better 😃 I very much prefer and select plants based on whether they have red/purple back or not 🙂

Great video. Wonderful way to start the day. I love all this science nerd stuff. Thank you for all your study on this subject.

Drinking coffee and watching your video. So happy 😊

When growing up something how long does it take to go from small unbroken leafs to fenistrate? Apologise if the video said it and I missed it

M - new follower and love your content! With that, I have to say IMO that the painted lady is much like her name. Cute when small, and attractive as a mature plant. I’ve had mine for a year and she’s just as captivating as when she first came into the collection. Watching the leaves emerge is my favorite on her as it’s like a slow tease as the palette gets paint all over in varying shades of green. While the video and pics are great, see this plant in person. I love the pinkish petioles as well.

Oooooooh the brush-tip is wonderfull! Will be getting one of those 😁

I've been growing and researching plants for 50 years Memo and I can honestly say that your channel is one of the best I've watched. I'm sick of people asking me the same questions over & over while they have the Internet at their fingertips. Research is the only way people will succeed without killing plants along the way. 👍🪴

Ακόμα να συνηθίσω τα ελληνικά όταν πετάγονται… 😂 συνέχισε να ανεβάζεις βίντεο!

Some good advice

pinch of salt 🤏🏻 pinch of salt 🤏🏻 not for the food tho!! 🗣️❌🗣️❌🗣️

Another good one! Thanks for your logic meets nature approach and another helpful Greek lesson as well!

Thank you so much for this video! I've been struggling with my first semi-hydro "experiment" for many months, so when it comes out of the prop box (for the second time 🙄) I'm going to watch this video again and take your tips very seriously. This is, without a doubt, the most thorough semi-hydro one I've seen. Again, thanks so much! I feel like I at least have a fighting chance next time!

This is amazingly informative, the 1st I've seen of its kind.

Hi Memo, great video and very helpful 😀🇨🇦

"You don't learn by not trying"--fact, Memo. (And thank you for the recent congrats on my small, but big-to-me, achievement ☺)

Wow, what an informative video Thank you, once again , kind human, for hanging out with me while I water my plants quietly in the dark… 😊

Thank you for the fun and informative video. I live in a very small studio and can’t have big plants like you have. But I learn a lot. Many things I can use for the regular house plants I have (pathos, peace lily, I do have a whale tale and some small sundew carnivorous plants. But no big showy guys like you do. It is so much fun to see your real plants and not some to perfectly perfect Instagram photo. I like your the best. All the best to you and your many plants and pets. See you at your next video.😊

Good vid; it was helpful! Would love a pt 2 of this. Thank# for sharing Memo!

I got mine a couple months ago. It had medium sized leaves. I potted it into my aroid mix on a moss pole. It’s rooting into the moss pole. My lighting & humidity is right for this type plant. I water with a weak fertilizer in the water with most waterings as all my other plants. There are no pests & the color is good. However,,,, the leaves are getting smaller & smaller to the point they look very juvenile. I can’t figure it out & it’s driving me crazy 🥴

I heard the first time about altitude in one of your videos and I am so glad, because I was about to buy an Anthurium regale and now know, that I don't have the conditions for it. Now I'm more on the lookout about altitude. Research is so important, especially before you buy a plant. I love this video on the morphology of plants to tell you what they need. It makes so much sense. But what I was wondering about: the velvet leaves protect them from high humidity, but they still need the humidity. The structure of the Alocasia protects it from staying wet, but it doesn't want to get wet? What if we get it wrong here, maybe it wants to get a spray down every now and then, because rivers also tend to spray water droplets, or something falls into the water and splashes onto the leaves. Why do we keep them dry if their whole morphology is adapted to get then dry quickly again? Maybe I'll try it with the Alocasia Dragon Scale, because it never is happy with the watering. Take the reservoir away and for every watering, I will put it under the shower. I'm curious to hear what you think.

Thank you for this lovely video. Please can I ask...you have her in Pon, do you put her pot in a larger cache pot with a water reservoir? I'm new to Pon and still learning. Thank you 🙏

Very helpful. Thank you for you wonderful video 😊

Great video Memo 💚 I wish I had something like this when I was first getting started! To any beginners watching this, I would encourage you to keep the struggling plant. So long as it doesn’t stress you out too much. Remember growing plants should be fun 😊 When I first started with plants, as soon as it turned into a less attractive version of the plant I brought home, I would give it away and think I couldn’t grow that type of plant. Once I started experimenting with my struggle bus plants, plant care really started to click. Did I lose some? Absolutely. Did I get too frustrated with some and called it quits before I figured out the plant, 100%. But I have learned SO much from my struggle bus plants. And I also realized there’s definitely an acclimation process for most plants coming into your home but many will sort themselves out as you get to know each other 🌱

Thank you for a good video. Def appreciate the reference points.

Very helpful! I know that when I was a new beginner, I’d look up care guides for every specific species or variety of plant I bought. Then I started to realize that, say, if it’s a Philodendron with slightly velvety, dark green leaves, that likes to climb, the care is usually the same. Some genera are more varied, like Peperomia, but you can usually tell the care based on the thickness of leaves & stems and the colouring etc. So what you’re saying makes a lot of sense but you still gave me a lot of new information here!