hi, april and welcome to the forum!!

the wandering jew does okay in direct light - just not when it's all day long. it should bounce back with new growth (give it a nice feeding with the next watering) if you move it to a more sheltered spot. if you really don't like the brown scraggley look just take cuttings from it and put them in water until there are a good amount of roots and then repot them.

the spider plant doesn't do well in bright sun at all - bring it back inside and place it where it gets indirect light. it should bounce back if it's not too, too bad.

what type of palm tree? what type of yucca tree?

both of those should be okay in direct light...if you put them outside without 'hardening' them off first, i can see why they are not doing so well...

besides the amount of sunlight issue, there's also night time temperatures...we've still been getting some really cool nights in my area - you're much further north than i am and i would think it would be the same for you. none of these plants (besides the yucca tree, maybe) can do well in colder temps...

bringing them all back inside and giving them some extra care should bring them back. you can trim off dead leaves and give them a nice feeding with their next watering. they should all survive.

it's not that you can't bring them outside...it's just a matter of preparation and timing. as well as placement.

the spider should be placed in a spot that's pretty shady. the wandering jew can take some sun for a couple hours a day (morning sun would be better than afternoon sun). the yucca 'tree' i'm not familiar with - there are some types of yucca that don't like full sun, others do really well in it. we'll need more info on the variety you have.

the palm tree i'm also not familiar with - i've only had one or two palms (more like plants than trees) and their light requirements were for indirect sun which is not necessarily true for other types...again, we'd need the particular variety you have to offer some helpful suggestions.

could you possibly post some pics of the plants?

oh, 'hardening' off means exposing them to outside conditions gradually. at first, you put them outside in a protected spot for a few hours during the day when the temp is high enough. each day you leave them out longer and longer and increase their exposure to the sun. after a week or so of that AND once you are sure the night time temps will be high enough, you can leave them outside for the season.

in the fall, you do the reverse - start bringing them in at night when the temps start getting lower and continue putting them outside during the day...gradually lengthening the time period they are inside until they are in for the fall/winter.

moving plants from one environment to a completely new one without any adjustment period will send them in to shock (as well as possibly doing damage when the new environment is not appropriate for their needs - as you've just experienced).

as long as there are some leaves left on the spider it will probably be alright.

and, yes, you keep trying!!! AND learning as you go...even those with lots of experience learn new things along the way!!

plants anonymous???



never!!