For my horticulture class our teacher has given us all a plant. I got the Gold Dust. Well it was doing really good until ur teacher decided it was time to re-pot our plants and put together a soil for them. Well i used some moisture control, some time release fertilizer, i believe, and some perlite. Every since then my plant has been going down hill. I didnt water my plant for a week and it was still soaked when i didnt give it that much water in the first place. Well the leaves started to wilt so i made a new soil mixture and when i did i found my roots to be less than they were when i first got the plant. My teacher told me to put it back into the smaller pot so my roots can gain some stability.
Is there anything i can do to save my plant? And is there a certian soil mixute i should be using? If you tell me what to do i will gladly buy and make the mix.
Thank you! Im sorry this is so long.
2007-12-20 08:45:50 · 5 answers · asked by aj 3 in Home & Garden ➔ Garden & Landscape
did the pot have a drainage hole?..... it worries me that the soil was still soaked a week later... and the 'fewer' roots just scream 'root rot'..... change soil to new, dry soil, (*that you moisten just before you put your plant into it...) less moisture beads, forget the fertilizer and make sure the pot DRAINS.... increase the light a LITTLE to get it going better.....and get it a little warmer in the area, to fool it into thinking it's spring....
2007-12-20 09:55:01 · answer #1 · answered by meanolmaw 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Make sure there is a drainage hole in the pot, use a good potting mix and forget the moisture control Don't fertilize it, you never fertilize a sick plant. That could be a death sentence for it. Gold Dust, or Aucuba, needs a well-drained, slightly sandy soil, and it grows well in shade. You are on the right track with the perlite to lighten the soil but it got too wet and stayed that way, and set in root rot, which is why the root ball got smaller.
2007-12-20 16:06:34 · answer #2 · answered by Isadora 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Sounds to me like your plant went into shock from transplanting it to another pot. It might not have anything to do with the soil although you should only use a general purpose fertilizer. Also, I don't know how the soil could have still been soaked if you didn't water it for a week. Are you sure somebody else wasn't watering it? Overwatering could have impacted it as well.
2007-12-20 09:02:07 · answer #3 · answered by oasis307 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Agree with Meano, root rot. Repot, water lightly, prune off any "wilted" leaves, then ignore it. Be sure there is a drain hole, don't let it sit in water. A shot of Root Stimulator would be beneficial, Fertilome makes an excellent product. Your plant kid may just surprise you.
2007-12-21 00:33:33 · answer #4 · answered by reynwater 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you need to dry the soil. also does the bottom of the pot have holes. they need good dranage. dont water so often. water once a week or when the soil looks dry.
2007-12-20 13:18:55 · answer #5 · answered by weather 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋