u/TheGoblinnKing

I live in Arizona.

I separated this little pup from its mother plant because it rotted due to overwatering. I potted it in a soil mix of regular potting soil, light perlite, light orchid bark, and sand.

I'm a bit concerned because the sand was labeled "play" sand, although it felt and looked like normal, real sand. I'm unsure if it will cause problems or weigh down the soil? It felt a bit dense and like sand you'd find on a beach. The granules were very tiny and similarly sized, if that changes anything.

Basically the title. I notice she's a little bare at the bottom and i'm wondering if it would be safe to chop and prop, and if the half in the soil will regrow? Or even if the top half would survive?

This took me like 5 hours... I think my back is about ready to break😮‍💨

These yellowing leaves fell off randomly today and i'm a little confused.

I got this tree a few weeks ago and watered thoroughly after repotting. I waited until the soil had completely dried out (as much as I could feel, anyway. The soil is very chunky so it's hard to stick ur finger in there all the way) before i watered again. That was yesterday, and now i noticed these!

Overwatering? Under watering? Some other issue? They were kind of towards the inside of the plant, and closer to the bottom half of the plant.
She has not been fertilized since I got her.

I also noticed these tiny white dots that have formed on the bottom of some leaves near the base of the leaf of sometimes in other locations as well. I scraped a few off and they were sticky. This is not present on any of my other plants, and after multiple thorough inspections, i see no visible pests anywhere. Out of fear that there were pests anyway, i wiped down every leaf I could get to within a mixture of:
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp isopropyl alcohol
- 1 tbsp peppermint Castile soap
- 2 tbsp neem oil
And watered with mosquito bits and a sprinkle of systemic houseplant insect control on the top of the soil.
Is this just a normal function I didn't know about?

The plant is at a west facing window, receives bright indirect light and is next to 2 grow lights that I'm using to reduce areas of shadow that are on until the sun sets. Brightest light is in the afternoon but it's been cloudy recently so light isn't the brightest.

Since this plant is in a room with various humidity loving plants, it also receives the same level of humidity (55%) consistently.

If i did anything wrong here please let me know because I'd be really sad if this girl died on me.