Community

Posted 8M ago by @stormymay

Droopy Stem

This weekend a visitor pulled a stem from Reba (without permission and to inspect her roots for some reason?) and yesterday I noticed the stem laying sideways in the dirt. Propped her up with a skewer, but I'm fearing the worst. Pretty sure it's in shock. Anything I can do to save her?

These were originally 5 fairly unhealthy stems that got broken off a larger plant. I water propagated them to see if they'd survive and they did, so I planted them. 1 stem died pretty soon after planting and I lost another a few weeks ago, but they were the weakest stems.

Soil is just regular indoor mix with some decently big rocks in the bottom for drainage.
Last watered 8 months ago
Poor Reba, I am sorry that that happened. How long has it been in soil vs. water propagation? Would it take well to going back for a bit? If not then do your best to pack the soil around the roots to support it. I'd place the stick a bit further away so as not to disturb the existing roots so close to the stem, then use horticultural tape to bind it. A word about drainage, if you are going to use rocks, then place them outside of the nursery pot, not with the soil. Rocks in the bottom of pots internally create a "perched water table," a layer of saturated soil that then sits closer to the plants' roots, increasing the likelihood of rot.
It's been in soil about 6 months, can tell you that the roots were still pretty short when he pulled the plant, there were just a lot more than when I initially put her in soil