How to tell if a plant is really dead or just hibernating?

Answer 1

Inside house plant or outside?
If it is outside plant and you can wait, then leave it alone until mid spring. It fails to sprout then it is dead. However, if you pull it then and you find out some sign of life (sprouting delayed), then put it back and it will survive and sprout during the spring or early summer.
If it is inside plant and it died gradually even if you had it in an optimum place of light and warmth and watered it properly and waited long enough for re-sprouting then it is dead assuming that you know its hibernating cycle and it is past that cycle.

Answer 2

If this is a woody type plant you can scratch the bark with your finger nail ... if it's green under the bark it's still alive. If it's a plant in a pot ...you can turn the pot upside down the plant will slip out of the pot(you may have to work at this a bit) and look at the roots....if they are mushy it's dead. You should have told us the plant you have.....different plants have different ways to tell.

Answer 3

First you should determine what kind of a plant it is. Is it inside or out in the cold? After you know what it is you can know whether it is evergreen or deciduous. One method of checking is to sctatch the branch enough to see if you see green. If there is no green there is probabbly no life.

Answer 4

inside or outside????

if it is inside... I think you have a problem! plants don't hibernate inside.

Answer 5

Cut through a small branch and see if it is green and moist inside or brown and dry.

Answer 6

Keep it moist and in good light, the answer will be obvious after time..be patient!

Answer 7

Check for pulse