First of all once the plant is entirely DEAD to its last bit of cells, we can't save it. HOWEVER, we can save a DYING plant, make it thrive and grow healthily again! We would want to save the plant so that we don't have to buy another plant again, right? So it is important to learn to know how.
I would say... there are 3 kinds of savings:
1) To save the mother plant
2) To clone the plant by propagation
3) To separate an unexpected baby from its mother and grow it as if it's the mother
LOl did i make sense?
Anyway appearances can be deceiving. Even if a plant looks dead, sometimes it does not mean that it is. Similarly, a tree can look alive but is actually dead inside. At first glance, an obvious dead plant should look 100% like dried twigs, soggy noodles or crispy vegetable.
I said 100% because if there is still 1% of green or sign of life, that means there is still 1% chance of survival!
If you have read my other posts, by now you should have known that all plants require different types of growing conditions in order to thrive. A similar concept of it applies here too. For example if a Begonia or Sanseviera has its roots damaged to bits but it still has 1 leaf alive, we can still try to do leaf propagation and hope it will regrow again. However, if we do leaf cuttings to say a Rose (without the stem), chances are it is not going to happen.
Most of the time when the roots are destroyed, the chances of its survival is minimal, because most plants depend on its roots to survive. So yes, see you heng suay and see which plant you planting.
So what does it mean for the roots to be "destroyed"?
1) It has root rot. It probably emits a rotting smell and looks dark and mushy
2) It literally breaks apart and is separated from the plant
On the internet, you can easily find steps to resurrect your dying plant:
Trim the affected roots, stem or leaves, ensure that they are free of rot so that the plant can use all of the energy for the parts that still have life in them.
If your roots are still alive, trim away the dead stem and leave about 5cm above the roots then plant it again. If you succeed, you should see new growth.
DO NOT use fertilizers if the roots are still young/fragile.
Remove ALL visible pests by using a wet cloth or i like to wipe the leaves with neem oil
If your plants are all wrinkled and looks dead but still green, it can still be saved by just simply watering! Moving them to a humid spot may help too. P/S. Water with clean water. The water you reuse from your bathroom cannot be used.
If your plant looks like soggy noodles with yellow leaves but still seems like it can survive, cut the affected leaves away and replant it into drier soil.
If your plant looks sleepy, put it out in the sun! If your plant looks tanned, move it into shade!
If your plant looks stunted, discoloured and have malformed leaves, chances are they need fertilizers.
If your plant looks way too big in the small pot and is obviously still growing strongly, kindly change to a bigger pot.
The above methods are for 1) To save the mother plant.
So how do we 2) clone the plant by propagation? There are many different types of propagation methods. Just so you know, propagation means "the breeding of specimens of a plant or animal by natural processes from the parent stock."
There are two primary forms of plant propagation: sexual and asexual. Asexual propagation are cuttings, layering, division, budding and grafting and sexual propagation involves the union of the pollen (male) with the egg (female) to produce a seed.
Of course in this case if your plants are dying already don't even talk about sex la ha. The method we will use is asexual. Depending on the plants you use, you will apply different method of propagation, and have different degrees of difficulty in rooting them. Sometimes we use auxin as rooting hormones to stimulate root growth. Some people use honey as home remedy too.
By saving part of the plant, you still preserve the same DNA of the mother plant.
Next, how do we 3) To separate an unexpected baby from its mother and grow it as if it's the mother?
Simple! Once you see a baby popping out from the sides (most of the time with roots), just carefully separate them out together and place them into soil or water to grow :) Remember not to damage the roots!
It will generally be a different plant, but well, at least you get a new plant for free!
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