its obviously in extreme shock ...

you are on the verge of loving it to death ... except form inserrting finger.. and watering next time the media ...ALMOST DRIES ...

i suggest you ignore it for 2 months ...

time will answer all your other issues ...

i would not have an outdoor plant indoors... ever ...

i would put it in bright shade ... with the pot completely shaded ...

i have rarely got a root rot plant to recover .... usually because its much to late before i figured it out ... likes its completely dead.. lol .. you are ahead of me on that curve ...

but i do know.. i have klilled more things with too much love.. than with benign neglect ... so beat me on that curve also ...

and one thing for sure.. it aint hungry.. no fert on a stressed plant.. and i hope it wasnt in the media you used ...

most tree... conifers.. shrubs.. like a sip of water.. and near total drainage.. and near drying in between ,,, that is the basic idea of 5-1-1 ....

pre wet your mixed media ... plant it ... water it so it settles... and then do not water it again .. until its drying at the depth of you index finger first digit ...

do not insert plant into dry mix ... .. and swamp it out.. trying to wet dry media ...

really.. only time will tell .. and you worrying about it.. isnt going to help you.. or the plant... just remember .. you arent a real gardener.. until you have killed every plant.. 3 times ... lol

ken

Yeah I've been trying my best not to touch it for the most part. All I've done is remove blackened/dead leaves/parts. No fertilizer involved. Planted it in moist 5-1-1 and then watered to settle.

Should I leave it alone even if I suspect the cause is in the potting medium? What if the roots continued rotting due to the medium -- should I not attempt to remove rotting root mass?

I would plant in the ground in a shaded location and cut it back hard. Try to get as much of the old potting mix off the roots as possible - I'd even consider hosing it off - and trim off whatever rotten roots you see. Aucubas in the landscape are incredibly durable, tough plants very tolerant of dry shade and can take considerable abuse. Attempting to grow them indoors in areas where they are fully hardy outside and with an excessively moisture retentive potting soil is just not at all to their liking.

They typically respond to hard pruning very well and rapidly push out new growth but yours may just be a bit too far gone. All you can do is hope for the best at this point.

Unfortunately I live in an apartment, no yard :(

Could you elaborate a bit on "cut it back hard?" I understand generally, but I'm pretty new to all of this. I've seen some posts where people have provided helpful mark-ups of pictures showing where to cut, and it usually seems like they suggest cutting almost everything off with exception of maybe half of the height of the trunk/stem/base (still learning the vocabulary too).

If mine's possibly a bit too far gone, does that mean that there may be no recovery under any circumstance? If that's the case, could I cut it back hard with the mentality of "nothing to lose?"

Appreciate the help!

By "cut back hard" with an aucuba, I mean leaving just a few inches of stalk/trunk remaining. This approach is quite efficient in regenerating leggy, distressed plants in the landscape but I have no idea how one confined indoors will react. And yes, I doubt you have anything to lose by attempting this. I would still remove and replace the potting soil and trim off rotting roots. The fastest draining mix as close as approximate to either the 5-1-1 or gritty mix is preferred.

And I would place it on the patio as much out of direct sun as possible. And if you are truly in z9, I'd leave it out there. Permanently. As soon as it starts pushing new growth (if it does), apply a dilute liquid fertilizer like Foliage Pro. All containerized plants rely on YOU as their caretaker for any nutrient input as there is nothing to speak of in the potting media.

Awesome, thanks.

Yeah I have Foliage Pro 6-3-9 (I think, I got the one Al recommends), and yeah I'll whip together some gritty mix, cut it back hard, and and cross my fingers.

I'll also move it to the patio. When you say permanently, is that safe to assume something like "always except when it's going to freeze?" I live in Houston, so that's not very often, but it does happen.

This is not a tropical plant, part of your problem as you are growing it as a houseplant. They can take 0 degrees in the ground w.o. a blink, but containerized plants are not as cold hardy, still should be safe in Houston.

Is that yours? That looks fantastic.

Ideally, mine would stay outdoors. I had it in for a bit because I was worried that the heat would stress it given I'd recently cut off a large portion of its roots. The plan was to wait til it started looking like it was getting past the assumed shock from the root prune and then to move it back out.

Yes, lower part gets munched on my deer during the winter. Maybe should train it toward a standard form. Located next to a shower, so it gets its share of water.