What were the temps like while it was outside until last night?

I am in Georgia (US), so very mild. I have brought it in a couple of days where overnight temps were low 40's/high 30's, but the coldest it's been exposed to is 50's.

One change I can think of is that the wind was pretty extreme when I brought it in last night.. gusts in 20/30mph range. However it was on the screened porch. I just wonder if that could've started some sort of plant equivalent of a "third spacing" type reaction? That may be totally off base but I'm trying to think of everything..? It's really like the leaves have become wet/heavy. I broke the end of one off and liquid poured out.

liquid poured out? that sounds kind of like rot to me . . .

Well.. it was slimy. But compared to how it usually is when you cut, far more moisture. It was much like breaking off an aloe plant :(

Hows it going now?

I dont know what kinda soil its in, but to me it looks like its over watered. Everytime i get a new one of these from a commercial source, they end up looking like that because they are potted in peat. Chances are if there is a root problem its gonna drop the buds anyhow. If it were mine i would repot asap into a fir bark mix. Just my opinion. Take it for what it is, my opinion.

Coopslave

It's about the same. I moved it back to the porch since the weather has calmed down. This morning is sunny, 60* and 90% humidity at the moment. It will be around 80* today.

Thank you. My biggest question is, will repotting it now kill the plant or just mess up this year's bloom? I don't mind sacrificing the blooms to save the plant- which, like you said, looks like they're not faring well as is.

Repotting it wont kill it. If it has rotted roots thats whats gonna kill it. Depends on how bad it is, if itll make it. Take a couple cuttings and repot it. Get the peat mix off the roots. Keep it fairly dry till she comes around. You can save it, i know ya can!

One more thing, i grow these in fir bark and lava rock. They stay outside all summer and this past summer they were under the eave of my front porch and the gutter clogged up and they got drenched every time it rained, sometimes 3-4 days in a row. I was sure i was gonna have problems because i didnt have time to fix the problem. To my surprise they all handled it just fine and bloomed their behinds off, well their still going right now. I grew bonsai at one time, i learned quickly that almost any plant does so much better when it can get air and water to the roots at the same time.

You guys are great! Thanks so much for the tips.

Socks- my pot did NOT have a hole, which I know is a no-no.. however I had done so well in that pot for over a year. I had a good 2" of large rocks at the bottom for drainage and never water more than a few tbsp at a time. However I think I may have overwatered on my last water (and also didn't know not to water during bloom- again, until searching for answers today)..

Anyway, I had decided it was time to repot due to size anyway but was trying to wait until after the bloom.

I dumped it out of the pot. To my surprise, the rocks at the bottom all had water on them so clearly I overwatered. There was a trace amount of water in the bottom of the pot so it definitely needed to come out.

I have wiped all the stems with a damp cloth, which it always likes. I trimmed many of the obviously sick parts- when rubbed between fingers they just lost their skin! And for now it is sitting here until I get soil (within the hour).. do we think it should air out longer this way?

The pot it is resting on will be its new home.. with a proper drain hole and I'll do rocks at the bottom again

Dont put rocks in the bottom! Itll be fine till ya get soil. That pot will be fine as well. Now you cookin with peanut oil!

Coopslave

Okay, good to know! And- I really wash all that soil off?

More of my 2 cents--get all that soil off. Get a chopstick or similar and work it all off so you can see what is going on. Might need to soak it a bit. Don't just put the rootball in the pot and put in new soil around it. It could be dry inside the rootball.

As for watering, where I am we'll have temps in the 70's and 80's even in fall and winter. I have two CC's, one in plastic, one in clay. I have to water the one in clay more than the other. Keep this in mind knowing that I have low humidity, unlike where you live, so that will make a difference too. (You know the trick to check for dryness with a skewer, right?)

If you do trim the plant, you might try to root some of the leaves since it's a special plant for you. Not sure if this will work since they are already stressed, but nothing ventured nothing gained, right?

WHAT...no hole in the pot? Shame on you! Just kidding, I think your plant will be fine with a little TLC.

I have worked it down to this.. far enough? and should it air dry a while or just pot wet and don't water? The soil I have is fast draining

And here's a closeup of what the roots look like. I wouldn't know what's normal or not, but nothing seems slimy or diseased

Turn a hose on that rootball, get as much as possible off. No need to air dry or nothing. The roots need moisture they just have to get air to. Pot it up, water it and wait and watch it.

Sorry forgot to say its not gonna happen overnight! might take a couple weeks but she should come round!

Ok. Got the hose on a little more aggressive setting, did what I felt was good, and potted it. It looks like a drowned rat .. I think I will watch it a while before clipping any more stems and see if they will turn around. Got some clippings of my plant in a smaller pot too, plus a tiny snippet from my friend's plant that she brought because she felt bad for me.. I even found little graduated pots! (sorry, I'm visual so I love taking pics).

I will update in a week or so! Thanks again, you all were a great help/encouragement. I never knew plants were so tough!

I think it will come round for ya, some plants are just a bear to grow. If this is your first houseplant you picked a tough one to start with. Having said that they are quite easy to grow once you have them in a potting soil to their liking. Good luck! Do not water those cuttings till you see new growth. Mist em, yes to help keep them from drying out but dont water the soil! What color is it ? I know how your feeling right now but its like everything else live and learn. Ill see that ya have a healthy cactus if you lose that one. If ya have any more questions just ask ! Keep us up to snuff on this.

Coopslave

Thanks this is actually the only houseplant I've ever had that I haven't killed! Haha! It's always done great for me.

The cutting from my plant I actually have been rooting in a shot glass full of water for a few weeks. It has a lot of roots growing from it. I won't water them, I'll mist- thanks for the tip.

The piece from my friend? Looks like it'll be about the same color as mine, possibly more red than pink. It has a tiny bud on it.

The rooted cutting in water, if already has roots, you can pot that up now. I'd use smallest plastic pot possible, no bigger than 3" or it'll likely rot before rooting.

(If something is rooting in water, there's no need to mist it, it's already getting plenty of water, unless I'm misunderstanding something.)

The cutting w/ tiny bud shouldn't be moved it or may blast the bud (FYI).

Imontestella, thanks. The piece that was rooted is in the center potin the pic above, a little bigger than what you say but still fairly small. The piece from my friend is in the smallest pot.

I dont wanna get in a argument here but, i really wish people wouldnt root plants in water ! When ya do that you make the cutting root twice! Those roots it grew in the water are just that! Water roots. These plants are so easy to root there is no need to even pot up after rooting, if ya root em in the right soil. Ive rooted thousands and thousands of cuttings, ive even rooted japanese cork bark black pine! Everybody says ya cant do that! BULL COOKIES! Anyhow ditch the rooting in water, save yourself some trouble!

Coopslave

Well, darlin', your repotted plant looks better, perkier than my troubled child. You've saved me from posting and more importantly - everyone from posting the same advice a second time!

So, I'm going to take the advice you have been given and see if I can make this guy happier! It's odd that this one looks sad and 3 other pots look great. I am sure that they are all in the same bark based mix . . . but maybe I'm wrong! I am also going to risk pruning some, too. I know it is the wrong time of year, but we have really mild winters, so I will risk it.

Good luck with your TC, jrsmom!

Crenda- yours looks just LIKE mine! Does it turn to mush if you rub it between your fingers too??

coopslave2- LOL! That's the only way I've ever been told to "root" something! But you're right. It's hard to get a CC/TC to NOT grow roots. I never knew there was a diff between "water roots" and regular roots.

That is something else i hear all the time that i think is hogwash for these plants, wrong time of year for this, wrong time for that, bla bla bla. Its hogwash ! These plants dont go dormant they are actively growing all the time, they will root anytime and they will respond to pruning anytime provided the plant is healthy!

Coop

Some folks like to water root & your protestations won't matter a whit. I do both; was taught to do so by a long ago published indoor gardener. & seconded in doing so by some very wise & experienced gardeners, so pls. live & let live.

Having done both for many yrs., I think this double-rooting business is greatly exaggerated. I rarely have trouble when potting up things I've water rooted (& that includes much of my Hoya collection.)

O, i have no problem with anybody doing it that way, if they like! I just think if ya want to do it that way, your asking for trouble. Just trying to save somebody some greif. Hey if they like aggravation and failure have at er!

Coop - I agree about 'the right time' being subjective. Don't know how many times I've been told I pruned or transplanted at the wrong time. LOL

jrsmom - My plant is more dry than wet, but I am still betting on a root problem. Here's a piece that fell off in the wind -

This is a very photogenic plant! LOL Sometimes I cannot get the problem with the leaves to show up because they look fine in a pic.

No Crenda, I see it there -- I'd agree it looks like thirst.

Perhaps stand/ prop the cutting in a 1/2 inch of water & see if it plumps up?

If it were my plant I would clip it back about a third. I could be wrong about that, but it seems to me it's easier for the plant to recover if it isn't having such long branches. Also I am partial to the upright look so maybe this is just my preference

when I rehabilitated mine last summer, it took about two weeks for it to start to plump up and look like it would live.

Lena - I have actually soaked the entire pot in a bucket of water to see if that helps re-hydrate the bark. The plant will look good for a day or two, then start to look dried out again, even when watered like my other plants. So it MUST be something in the pot causing problems. A new mix will surely help.

I don't know why I was trying (fighting!) to wait until after it flowered this year. I really should have done this sooner.

Socks - I agree with pruning the long stems. Glad to know that the plant will handle doing both at the same time. (not sure if you meant me, jrsbmom or both of us! LOL)

Jrsmom - your plant looks like it will recover from the potting be pretty again in a couple of weeks. Good luck!

I sure hope so! I just wonder if the buds are salvageable. Guess we'll see!

Well, after yet another debarcle (in recent weeks on this forum, mmmmh, strange how this keeps happening on here isn't it?) can we get back to the matter in hand, the object of which is to help the OP's plant?

As mentioned, rocks really don't serve any useful purpose at the bottom of a plant pot and watering sparingly with tablespoon amounts can be counterproductive as it seems the mix is totally dry and has become hydrophobic. When watered with such small amounts it then just bypasses the dried out rootball and collects in the base of the hole less pot. Far better to water thoroughly and drain once a week than it is to give sips every day...not saying that's your schedule, just as an example, but tablespoon amounts aren't good.

I think it's been chilled as the wind can often cause temps to feel lower than they are...'wind chill factor'. As the OP says the skin separates when rubbed and that liquid poured out also suggests the cells have burst due to cold. Looking at the pic in which jrsmama says it looks like a drowned rat, it appears to be in quite a sorry state being very limp and lifeless, darkened, deflated leaves, typical of a cold damaged plant. Let's hope it will pull round.........

I would cut off damaged portions back to any healthy 'leaves', for want of a better description. Hopefully when potted into a better mix it will resprout from any remaining good wood, providing its roots are ok. Socks, just re read, sorry I missed that you had already suggested this:-)

They don't like to be dry, they are after all a type of humid tropical jungle cacti that thrive in leaf litter in nooks and crannies of trees. They grow in free draining but somewhat moisture retentive organic mixes made from collected leaf mould and debris which needs to be replicated as close as possible.

Oh, and for the record, I too don't advocate rooting anything in water......especially a cactus or succulent :-)

Gill

Gill, your post was super helpful! The cold makes perfect sense. I'm trying to think back to the other nights this week when I did not bring it in.. I'm betting it got colder than I thought, especially since you say the damage sounds temp related. Who knows. Things are so busy this time of year.

Ive been thinking and I think I've decided I will just clip the damaged areas. It will have a haircut, that's for sure! But I think I agree with Socks' thought process that shorter may be better for healing.

Jrsmama, thanks, just trying to give you some more help. The already damaged leaves won't recover, they appear to have gone past it and you will only get new growths if it's able to push some out from areas that are still viable. Fingers crossed for you...and it!

Please don't be discouraged by the actions of a few, it can happen sometimes when differing opinions are voiced.

Gill

Here's the one I did in the summer. Tied it for ease of handling and for a couple days after so it didn't splay out.

Here it is now, still not too beautiful, but it's blooming and seems ok after it's tough summer.

Looks pretty nice from here Socks, I actually like its very vertical uprightness.

[jrsmama_0(http://www.houzz.com/user/jrsmama-04)4: These should be grown like orchids...pure orchid bark is best...as these grow on trees in brazil...also, a regular clay pot..clay pots absorb moister and let in a lot of air...

Socks, that makes me feel better as that's about how mine is looking now!

I hope yours survives, jrs. You've done all you can and a good job of it too.

Crenda, if you decide to rework yours, keep us posted. I'm wondering if yours is so dry in the middle that even sitting it in a pan of water isn't enough to moisten that area.

As for rooting in water, I always had a feeling that plants rooted way were slow to start growing once in soil. I did it with a pothos recently. It looked bad for a while and then took off growing. It's fun to root in water because you can see what's happening, and it's also nice for children to see that process.

So, it hasn't been quite a week but I had to update! I was grocery shopping tonight and came across an entire shelf of beautiful babies.. so I picked this one. It's helping fill the void of the one I had to hack. LOL

It's just so full of life! I think hubby didn't quite understand why I was so excited, lol. I hadn't told him about my catastrophe.

Anyway, my old plant isn't looking too much worse for wear, although it IS pretty pitiful.

Maybe having a good-looking friend will give it incentive to try a little. ;)

My 2 cents on substrate ... These love airy substrates with bark. I changed mine to 50/50 African Violet mix & Perlite and said goodbye to root rot. They also root very easily in fairly dry soil ... remember they're epiphytes and also obtain moisture via tine aerial roots between each pad.

They barely need water in our high humidity (76-86%) region. I place them under rain once a month, then fertilize a few days later. Unfortunately, I only get an occasional bloom in our hot climate. Overnight temps never fall below 72º F. Bah, humbug ... Sometimes I miss New York City!

Maria Elena

Mmmh, is it me folks, I do have my specs on but the only pic showing in this thread at the moment is the original one in the first posting....where have the others gone???

Gill

I see them all....