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Brought aonium inside for winter but it's dying

PolarisPolaris Posts: 11
in Problem solving
My aonium was doing brlliantly outside for the summer but I brought it into the house when the weather started to get colder. I had one the previous winter in an unheated greenhouse and it died from the cold.

However, since I moved it inside the leaves have all been drying up and dropping off. I have watered it (sparingly) but it doesn't seem to make a difference. It was originally placed on a shelf near the patio door so it could get some light, but I thought maybe it didn't like the cold air when the door was opened. I've moved it to a bright kitchen windowsill but the leaves still keep shrivelling and dropping. The whole plant is also leaning over and a smaller stalk broke off completely. 

Does anyone have any ideas how I could rescue it?


Posts

  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    Hard to see from your photo but I would check the stem - if it is soft/squishy, you can cut it back to a point where it is alive.  Possible it may re shoot from the base but no guarantees.
    If the top is live, you could try cutting it off and potting into a well drained mix - keep warm and light.
    They can be awkward little beasts once they start to decline.  I had A. Schwartzkof  for years quite happily but winter last year finished them off despite moving them into my GH.
    Good luck  :)
  • PolarisPolaris Posts: 11
    The stem still feels hard, although the outer layer (a bit like paper) has broken off right at the base where the smaller stem broke off.
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    Doesn't sound too good if the outer layer is going. Have you checked the root ball ?  Worth looking at to see if the roots are alive and healthy.  If they are, then the only option is to wait and see - perhaps it will pick up as Spring approaches .
  • thevictorianthevictorian Posts: 1,279
    It doesn't look to bad. Some can take severe cold if they are kept bone dry all winter but as most of us bring them in we need to adjust their care a little. If they are cold they need less water or they will rot but if you have them in a heated house, you do need to water occassionally. The bottom leaves just sound like they have adjusted to the new conditions as I'm guessing it got quite cold before it was brought in.
    The plant is simply leaning to the light.
  • ViewAheadViewAhead Posts: 866
    My windowsill plants lean to the light.  The trick is to turn them quite frequently.  It works well for plants like yours, @Polaris, that do not have a pronounced front/back. 
  • coccinellacoccinella Posts: 1,428
    Was the compost very wet when you took it inside? I took mine in mid-october not so much for the cold but because of rain (and this year we had a lot).

    Since you say that there is some damage at the base if it were mine I would cut the rosette off leaving 5 to 6 cm of stalk and repot it in new compost with lots of gravel. I water them with tap water but I fill the jug the evening before so that the water is at room temperature. The little madams don't like a cold bath.  

    It is inevitable that in our northern European  houses they become leggy in winter, turning them is a good idea.

    Good luck.

    Luxembourg
  • PolarisPolaris Posts: 11
    Thank you all for the helpful comments.

    I've turned it away from the light now so hopefully that might help with the leaning stem. 

    It wasn't very cold when I brought it in, but there is a good chance that the compost was too damp given the amount of rain we had. That might explain why it started to go downhill not long after I brought it in.

    I don't know what state the rootball is in at the moment and I don't want to risk repotting given the state of the stem. I might try cutting the rosette off the main plant as a last resort if it continues to deteriorate.

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