This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Old Swiss Cheese plant dying! Please help!
Anattic
Posts: 6
Hi all, we adopted a swiss cheese plant from passed away relatives, it was in a bad way when we picked it up. It was alive but there were no roots due to apparent root rot.
I repotted it in fresh soil and cut off the dead roots and planted an aerial root. It slowly wilted in the position I had it but the light wasnt great so I moved it. I had to leave it in the car on a warm day and came back to a couple of black leaves and a very wilted plant! Bad I know! My fault! But i checked the soil and can see new roots from the aerial root. However the leaves are slowly getting worse! Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong? Pic attached. Soil is slightly damp so i havent watered it for about 2 weeks.
0
Posts
I think the only place for it is in the bin. If it had no living roots I do not think it will survive on aerial roots alone which are there to get water from the atmosphere. What does the top of it look like? If it is dead then its a goner but if the top of the plant is still green, cut if off by a good 6 inches and put the bottom inch or so in water. It may just root in the water for you. It will take a few weeks.
Thanks Hogweed! That's such a shame.
i'll check and let you know. I did take a cutting off the very top and it was green but has since browned off. Their are a few white root sprouts coming out of the aerial root which is now buried in compost (they sprouted since repot) so I think it is still alive. When you say to take a cut off the top, do you mean to then use the top of the plant as a new cutting or to discard the top and put the bottom section out of the soil and into water?
Thanks again
Top of the plant as a cutting. There should be no aerial roots on it.
Last edited: 04 October 2016 08:34:15
Thanks. I cut off the top 6 inches and its in water. The top of the plant pic is attached.
I also thought a closeup of the leaf Could be yseful.
I dug up the main stem to check roots and unfortunately there's none!
What a shame. Its an old plant. Hopefully it can live on in a cutting.
here's a pic of the new root growth from an aerial.
And finally, i noticed some new shoots growing though I'm not sure if its some contamination and weeds or something else. I guess I will wait and see.
Thanks again.