I never really had the best luck with keeping plants alive. In college I think I had one cactus for a few years before it got handed off to a friend who promised to give it a better home. When I started dating Chris. I loved how great of a gardener he was. After a few years, I have learned a lot and am finally decent at taking care of plants. The first thing he taught me was how to save dying plants. The best part about being able to do this is in the summer when we can get the dying plants that are 80 percent off and have amazing gardens for a third of the price!
The first step is to clean out all the dead leaves and branches. Grab a bag and dig around, making sure to remove any branches that are wilting and dying. You can feel around the branch and cut where you can feel the plant shriveling or wilting.
SUPERthrive is amazing! One bottle will last you a long, long time. It is a must have for healing dying plants, and great for when you transfer your plants. You don't need to use it all the time, in fact I make one gallon and it lasts me for a few months even with the outside and inside plants. Use this stuff every time your plants go through something traumatic (transplanting, no water for a long long time, etc.) Do not use this on new seedlings! Get a gallon jar, I have these handy glass gallon pickle jars I saved for something just like this. Add 1/2 a teaspoon to a gallon and then mix.
I make it a point to re-use a lot of my plastic/glass containers in the house. The Dr. Bronner's quart size is perfect for this stuff because I like the control of the cap, I can see how much I am using, and it cleans easier than the spray bottles from the dollar store. The mix will last for awhile, I have had some stored for a few months and it seemed fine to me. I store the solution in a cooler place, out of direct sunlight, like most my cleaners. It is full of vitamins and root growth hormones, so it wont hurt anything if you get some spilled.
To repair a bigger plant like this, I used two quarts of the solution. While adding the quart you want to make sure the water is penetrating the root system. I would add a third of the bottle at a time, adding it to the plant in slow circles. I would wait a few minutes and then start adding more of the solution. With a super dry plant, you don't want to flood the root system, so you add it slowly.
While you are adding the solution to your plant, either do it in a sink or place some plates with slightly raised edges on the ground and move it once the plate it is on starts to get too full of water. This way you know the water is running through the root system and not just pooling up at the bottom of the plant. Once you finish with the first bottle, wait a solid 30 minutes before you start adding more solution. After the 30 minutes is up, repeat the process you used with the first solution. It will take awhile but the plant needs all the extra help getting back into shape. If your plant is in decent condition, but just needs a little TLC, just do one round with the solution!
Now your plant should have a good chance at making a full recovery. Make sure to put it in the right sunlight for your plant, this one is full sun. Check for new growth every 2 days, you will start to see the green come back, and leaves start to bud after awhile. You might see some stuff die off, which is normal, but if all of it has browned and shriveled up all over, it might be a bad sign. I give most plants about a month to turn around. You can try for longer if you want, I just assume move on to the next plant and turn the dead plant into compost.
If you want to look for some things to keep an eye on you can check for the nodes on the stocks and make sure they look healthy. If stocks start to dry out, become brown, become less moveable, or shrivel, those are all bad signs. The good news is as long as the plant is alive, it can be nursed back. If you are on the fence if something is alive, poke a tiny hole in the stock, if moisture comes out, the plant is alive.
A big mistake people make when they start trying to revive plants is over watering. Watering too much and too soon and flood the root system and kill the plant. I know it can be hard, but leave the plant be! I killed more than a few plants trying to save them by over watering. On the other hand, if you never water it you run the risk of drying out the roots system. Under watering is better than over watering, most plants become dormant, remember lots of plants are designed to withstand droughts.
If you want to look for some things to keep an eye on you can check for the nodes on the stocks and make sure they look healthy. If stocks start to dry out, become brown, become less moveable, or shrivel, those are all bad signs. The good news is as long as the plant is alive, it can be nursed back. If you are on the fence if something is alive, poke a tiny hole in the stock, if moisture comes out, the plant is alive.
A big mistake people make when they start trying to revive plants is over watering. Watering too much and too soon and flood the root system and kill the plant. I know it can be hard, but leave the plant be! I killed more than a few plants trying to save them by over watering. On the other hand, if you never water it you run the risk of drying out the roots system. Under watering is better than over watering, most plants become dormant, remember lots of plants are designed to withstand droughts.
The best way to figure out if your plant needs water is the finger test. Once every few days, stick your finger an inch into the soil. If you feel moisture in the soil, no need to add any water to the plant. If you feel that it is dry and don't feel any moisture, add water till you see a tiny bit come out from the bottom holes of your plant holder. If you don't have them (which I would advise you do if you don't) look up how much to add based on the plant. Make sure to check the sale section at the local nursery, you can get some great deals on amazing plants and save some serious cash.
How do you save plants? Tell me in the comments section and thanks for reading!
How do you save plants? Tell me in the comments section and thanks for reading!