How to Save a Dying Houseplant?

Having a plant in your home is a very unique feeling, not only this plant beautifies the overall ambiance of your place but at the same time it helps to purify the air. But sometimes it happens that your plant starts to decline all of a sudden.,

So you ask yourself, why it is dying. What can you do to save? And to find out the answer you start searching on internet, right?

So this blog is written to answer all your questions about your dying plant and what can you do to save it.

We tried to find out the answers by talking to our very experienced plant expert Uncle Tan.

On daily basis Uncle Tan gets a lot of emails and calls from people asking for help to save their ailing plants. According to Tan, it is important to find out the plants needs in order to make it happy and healthy. And make sure that the conditions in your living space are suitable for the plant. For example if you are living in ground floor of a building with less sunlight then make sure not to buy a plant that needs a lot of sunlight or direct sunlight.

So if you want to diagnose the problems of an ailing plant, there are a lot of signs that overlap with various causes so all you need to do is bring all the pieces together and find out the problem and later cure it accordingly.

Below are some of the useful tips that will help you to cure your plant.

 

You may be overwatering your plant!

Signs: “It is quite easy to tell if you are overwatering the plant. Look at the leaves if they are turning yellowish or yellow, there is a lot of moisture in the soil and you notice fungus growth at the bottom that means you are overwatering,” according to Tan. Plant buyers are often warned strictly about this and they are properly guided to water plants when needed.

Solution: “If you have succulents and cacti then you must place them in sun which will cook them fast and they love to be exposed to direct sunlight and stay dry,” says Tan. These plant should be watered once on a week only when they are completely dry. On the other hand, Ferns which are shade plants, want to have a moist soil for a little longer. So keep an eye on the soil when the soil is completely dry, water them right away.

Preventions: Plants don’t like to be soaked in water so make sure that there is proper drainage. Make a hole at the bottom of the pot or just put lava rock at the base these rocks are porous so they will absorb excessive water instantly.

 

How to find out if the plant needs excessive water?

Signs: If you want to find out that your plant needs more water the best way is to look at the leaves. If the leaves are falling off and they look dry then take it as a sign to water your plant a bit more.

Solution: When you water your plants, your goal should be to saturate the soil just to make sure that it is uniformly moist. Once you water it evenly then let it dry properly before next round of watering. According to Tan, majority of the houseplants are tropical, so they prefer warm water, not cold or hot.

According to Tan, there are two main techniques of watering plant.

The first one is, just pour some water right in the middle and let it absorb, pour some more and do the same until the soil is properly saturated.

The second technique is: put your plant in a bowl or sink and then pour some water on top of the soil. Continue doing this until you notice half an inch of the water is gone through the pot and assembled in the bowl or sink below. After that, let your plant soak for a whole day.  Now take the plant out and make sure it dry it properly before putting it back in the planter.

Prevention: According to Tan, soaking water is a very important step while watering because sometimes when you water the plant, the water just flows through the soil and come out. And if you touch the center of the roots after this you will see that they are still dry. So make sure to soak them properly.

 

How to find out sunlight requirement?

Signs: It is ok to expose indoor plants with sunlight because when the light comes through the window it becomes weaker. But plants like calathea and ferns like to be kept in low light and they will burn when exposed to too much sunlight. And plants that prefer full sunlight will be stretched out or spindly if they don’t get enough sunlight.

Solution: Majority of the indoor plants like medium or bright light. So make sure to place them in a spot where they get enough sunlight otherwise they will get dry.

Prevention: If your apartment is on the ground floor and you don’t have enough sunlight then artificial lights can be useful and make your plant healthy and happy. If you want to increase the effect then use intense bulbs.

 

How to find out if you are fertilizing too little or too much?

According to Tan, it is quite easy to tell whether you are fertilizing plants too little or too much. In case of too much fertilizer the plant will have hard edges known as salt burn and also the leaves will turn black or brown. In short the plant will fall apart way too soon.

If you are fertilizing your plant too little then it will have a retarded growth. You will notice that the plant is now more fresh and also not thriving so take it as a sign to fertilize it more.

Solution: Fertilizers are very important for plant growth; they act like multivitamins for them so make sure to fertilize the plants whenever needed.

 

How to tell if the pot size is small?

Symptoms: According to Tan he gets lots of messages from customers asking, why their plant has stopped growing? And when he looks at the pictures of the pot size he instantly knows it is because of the pot size is smaller than the size of the plant.

Solution: Rule you should follow is, two-third of the plant volume must be above the ground and one-third must be below.

Prevention: If your plant is in a plastic pot then you must repot it right away. Plants need enough space for better growth so always make sure that your pot size is right for the plant.

Tips: The soil should not be too old. While repotting the plant always make sure to swap out some soil after almost every year.

 

How to tell if more humidity is needed?

Signs: Dry air is quite harmful for plant it causes hard leaves in plants.

Solution: Make sure to keep your plant away from heaters and radiators. To combat low humidity problem use humidifiers. Humidifiers are not only good for plants but they are great for human health too.

Prevention: If you don’t have humidifier then misting is an effective alternative. Please note that the effect is one once the mist gets dry.

 

How to deal with Bugs?

Signs: Try to keep an eye on your plants. Bugs will appear as tiny little cotton balls.

Solution: Insecticides are not always helpful for the plant sometimes they just hurt the plant along with bugs. The best you can do is, wash your plants with warm water then wipe them with the help of a cloth and try to remove the bugs. You can also use insecticidal soap or spray with horticultural oil.

Prevention: Always keep the plant clean and wash them regularly.

 

How to tell if the plant is salvageable or death?

According to Tan if the plant turns brown or if it looks dead to you then mist probably its dead. But there are some woody plants like rubber plants that can be recovered even after they die.

Just put them under direct sunlight, use fertilizers, water it regularly and you will see that the plant will get back to life again.

 

Encouraging word!!

Try to expose your plant to sunlight according to their needs, water them regularly, keep an eye for any unusual events like bugs appearance, leaves turning yellow or anything like that. These are early signs from the plant that you should notice.