How To Revive Dying Plants
Nov 15th 2021
Plants are often more resilient than we give them credit for. There's no need to panic at the first sight of yellowing leaves or drooping foliage in plants, but if the problems persist or become more severe, it may be time to take action. When it comes to plant installation and landscaping, Evergreen Lawn Care has you covered! Contact us today to request a free estimate!
Here, our professional landscapers detail how to determine whether or not your plant is salvageable and lists helpful home remedies for dying plants. Check out our before-and-after landscaping gallery for some garden and landscaping inspiration!
Look For Signs Of Life
When it comes to plants, "dying" and "dead" are relative terms. When looking at your plant, you may wonder "why is my plant dying?" But if you take a closer look, your plant might not be dying at all. If you can spot any remaining green on the plant, then recovery may still be possible. Additionally, inspect the plant's roots — the roots are the plant's support system, so they can provide a lot of information about the state of your plant's overall health. Even if the visible parts of a plant appear to be in bad shape, the roots may still be able to absorb the nutrients and water required to help it heal and continue growing. Healthy roots appear plump and are white or tan with white tips. If you do find signs of life in your dying plant, the next steps require figuring out what went wrong and how to revive your plant.
Determine Watering Needs
In order to revive dying plants, you should first determine the appropriate watering needs for your specific plant. Plants need water, nutrients, and sunlight to grow and thrive, but it is possible to give a plant too much care (i.e., overwatering!) How can you tell whether or not you overwater your plants? Overwatered plants usually display brown or yellow, wilted leaves and have very moist soil. Overwatering affects the roots and can cause them to rot. If you have been giving your plants more water than they need, you need to make some changes right away. In most cases, you should move the plant out of direct sunlight and stop all watering until the soil has fully dried out. If the soil is soggy, be sure to transplant the plant in a new pot with new soil.
It's easy to overwater a plant, but it is likewise simple to underwater it. The main sign that indicates your plant is thirsty is wilting leaves. Leaves will start to dry out and become brittle and brown at the tips, or they may brown, die, and drop off. Additionally, the soil may crack and pull away from the edges of the pot. If you notice signs of underwatering on your plant, a fast way to revive it is to place it in water and allow it to soak for multiple hours. From this point, take a little time to do some research on the type of plant you have and its watering preferences.
Prune Away Dead Foliage
Among the most common dying plant symptoms is dead leaves or foliage. Plants that show signs of deterioration will likely have dead leaves, which you need to remove. In most cases, if the leaves are completely brown, it's unlikely they will continue to grow. Instead, remove the old, dead leaves and focus on new growth. To remove dead foliage, you can snip them off with a pair of plant shears or sharp scissors. Alternatively, you may be able to gently pinch the dead leaves with your fingertips to remove them. In most cases, dead leaves come off of their stems easily and without much effort. If you have to tug at them, instead opt for using a pair of shears to remove them.
Removing dead foliage will help your plant have a better chance at recovery and can make more room for new, healthy growth. When it comes to stems, green is good, and any other color is not great. After trimming dead foliage, trim the stems back to the green tissue. If the stems are dead, however, leave at minimum 2 inches of them above the soil. This also can be a good time to introduce new soil and even a new pot (if applicable).
Adjust The Sun Exposure
Just as with overwatering and underwatering, your plant could receive too much or too little sunlight. Natural light is a vital factor contributing to the health of your plants, so you must make sure your plant variety receives the optimal amount. Do a bit of research to determine the amount of light your plant requires, whether it prefers full sun, partial sun, direct sunlight, indirect sunlight, or partial shade. If your garden plants aren't getting enough sunlight, then consider moving them to another part of your landscape that better accommodates their lighting needs. For houseplants, move them somewhere they can absorb the right amount of sunlight for their variety's needs. Depending on the state of your plant's health, a dead-looking plant might perk up sooner rather than later with this minor adjustment. If your living space doesn't have a lot of natural light, consider replacing full-sun and partial-sun plants with low-light houseplants.
Provide More Or Less Humidity
One of the best aspects of planting Native Florida plants is their ability to thrive in our local landscape. These plants often thrive in our humid, warm climate. For other plants, however, the amount of humidity they need to thrive depends on the plant variety. Some signs that may indicate your dying plants need higher humidity levels include shriveling, browning, and wilting of the stems and foliage. Try misting your plants regularly or grouping them together to help increase humidity. Too much humidity can be an issue for some plant varieties and lead to the growth of mold, mildew, fungal infections, and yellowing leaves. You can ask our landscaping experts or visit your local nursery for more information on humidity requirements!
Provide Additional Nutrients
Feeding your plant is a particularly important part of nursing it back to health. This rings especially true in prime growing seasons of spring and summer. Malnourished plants feature weak stems or discolored leaves. To help revive dying plants, you'll want to use either compost or natural fertilizer. Fertilizers come in multiple forms and contain a wide range of ingredients, but we recommend sticking to those with only organic ingredients and no synthetic chemicals. Simply repotting your dying plant in fresh soil can likewise help in your efforts. Over time, soil can become depleted, so repotting plants or enriching the soil every few years or so is a great idea. Start out slow with plants in bad shape so as to avoid the potential for shock with so many new changes.
Allow Time For Healing
It can seem like your plant is beyond recovery, especially when it looks like your efforts to nurse your plant back to health are not paying off. But it is important to remember that healing takes time! It took some time for your plant to reach its current state, so it will likewise take time to nurse it back to health. Patience is key. Continue tending to your plant and reevaluate the state of the plant every few weeks. Once you've taken the necessary steps to revive a dying plant, it can take a month or more before you begin to notice improvement or new growth. Some degree of troubleshooting may also be required to figure out the exact issue and the subsequent solution, causing the process to take longer than expected.
