Monday, January 4, 2010

SAVING OVERWATERED PLANTS

My neighbor called me last night to tell me that she is unsure why the leaves of one of her potted evergreen plant was turning yellow when that is not part of the normal plant habit? I tole her this...

If the leaves are yellow on your evergreen plant then most likely you are over watering it. On flip side if the leaves are brown then you are under watering. She asked if there was anything that she could do to save the plant. I gave her some steps to follow in attempting to salvage her over watered plant.

  1. First you want to remove the plant from it's pot.
  2. Cover the plant with a towel which will allow the towel to soak up all the water. You may need to use more than one towel.
  3. Remove whatever soil is remaining in the pot, clean the pot and replace with new soil.
  4. Check the plants roots. They should typically be white but if they are brown then you may need to perform some surgery.
  5. Put the plant back in the pot and add a fresh layer of soil on top.
  6. You may need to trim off some leaves that are really mushy or ones that smell funny.
The best way to prevent this from happening is to thoroughly research the plant that you are considering using. Know how often to water it etc.

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