What to Do When Plant Roots Rot? Teach You the Correct Way to Handle It

What to do when plant roots rot? There are many causes of root rot in flowering plants, mainly:

(1) Heavy, sticky potting soil: the soil easily becomes compacted, the surface of the potting soil dries out and turns white, but the inside of the potting soil has not dried through. It looks like the plant lacks water, but watering at this point easily makes the soil too wet, causing poor root growth or even root rot.

(2) Overwatering: overwatering easily causes root oxygen deficiency. Water occupies most of the soil pores, reducing the oxygen content around the roots, making it hard for the plant to breathe, ultimately leading to root rot and the plant wilting and dying.

(3) Water temperature and soil temperature not matching: when the watering water temperature is much lower than the soil temperature, it causes physiological imbalance in the roots, leading to root rot and death of the plant.

(4) Improper fertilizing: applying fertilizer at too high a concentration or using unrotted fertilizer will both cause root rot. The former is because concentrated fertilizer "burns the roots," and the latter is because unrotted fertilizer ferments in the soil and generates heat that "burns the roots."

(5) Improper root pruning: fleshy-rooted flowering plants often need their roots divided during division; some flowering plants also need overly long, old or dense roots cut away when repotting. After replanting, the cut surfaces on the roots can become infected with pathogens, fail to heal, and lead to root rot. That is all for the introduction on what to do when plant roots rot.

What to Do When Plant Roots Rot

As the saying goes: “If you often walk by the river, how can you avoid wetting your shoes?” Encountering root rot when growing flowers is also a common thing, so what to do when plant roots rot, and how to prevent it, is the main point. This article will discuss some matters related to plant root rot together with flower lovers, for their reference!

First, a note: for plant root rot, we must first treat plants differently, such as succulents, orchid family plants, woody plants and herbaceous plants. Within these broad categories, individual varieties are also involved. Not all plants have the same treatment method for root rot, so flower lovers should learn flexibly and apply it accordingly, and must not blindly copy it.

Plant root rot is mostly caused by long-term water accumulation in the soil and stuffy, damp conditions. When caring for plants, flower lovers must remember that water can be given sparingly; plants are not easily killed by drought, but if water accumulates, they are very easily killed by waterlogging. This is what is commonly called "better dry than wet."

Below are the common treatment methods for plant root rot:

1. Clean up the rotted parts, then disinfect. After drying, replant. This method is mainly for plants whose roots have not completely rotted, such as clivia and orchids.

2. Use branches to re-propagate by cuttings. For the currently popular succulents, when the roots rot, you can use branches or leaves to propagate anew.

3. Plants that are very difficult to save. Many flower lovers also keep some woody potted plants at home, such as money trees and the like. Once these plants suffer root rot, the chance of saving them is less than 10%, and in most cases they will slowly die, because by the time root rot is discovered, it is already too late.

Finally, what to do when plant roots rot is a very flexible question. Flower lovers must formulate different rescue methods according to different plants. Some plants have the trait of being easy to propagate, and we can use this to save them, such as leaf cuttings and stem cuttings. Some plants root easily, and as long as there is a bit of root tissue, they can take root and recover, so we use the method of cleaning up the rotted parts and replanting to save them.

Below is a practice exercise for flower lovers. How should the Peperomia obtusifolia in the picture below be handled for root rot?

The correct treatment method is to cut off the rotted parts, keep the healthy branches and re-propagate by cuttings. I wonder if that is what you thought?

What to Do When Hydroponic Plants' Roots Rot? Methods to Prevent Root Rot in Hydroponic Plants

Compared with soil-grown potted plants, hydroponic flowers are cleaner and do not need watering, so many flower lovers like hydroponic flowers. For example, hydroponic Monstera deliciosa, pothos, Aglaonema modestum, lucky bamboo, spider plant, and bulb flowers such as tulips, lilies, hyacinths and so on. But during hydroponics, many flower lovers encounter the problem of root rot, so how can hydroponic root rot be avoided?

1. How can root rot be avoided?

First, we should change the water regularly according to the type of flower and how well it adapts to hydroponics.

Flowers that especially love water, or aquatic flowers, adapt very well to the hydroponic growing environment. After hydroponics, they can quickly produce roots and grow well. For this type of flower, the water-changing interval can be longer.

Some flowers cannot adapt well to the hydroponic environment. After hydroponics, they grow slowly or even suffer root rot. This type of flower needs more frequent water changes.

In the early stage of hydroponics, you should frequently sterilize and change the water, even changing the water once every 1-2 days. After roots emerge and growth recovers, gradually reduce the frequency of water changes.

2. How can flowers quickly adapt to the hydroponic environment?

1. Root washing

The root-washing hydroponic method refers to taking finished soil-grown flowers, washing the soil off the roots cleanly, and then growing them hydroponically. When washing, running water should be used as much as possible.

After the flower roots are washed clean, place them into a prepared container, secure them, and add clean water that covers half of the roots, or more than half.

At the beginning, change the clean water once every day, and also wash the roots and the container. After one week, reduce the frequency of water changes.

When the hydroponic flower grows new roots in the water, or clearly grows, it means it has adapted to the hydroponic environment. At this point, the water can be changed once every 7-10 days.

2. Water cuttings

The water cutting method is the simplest hydroponic method and the easiest to keep alive.

From a selected mother flower plant, cut a section of branch. When cutting the branch, the cut surface should remain smooth and must not have longitudinal cracks. Then insert the branch into water and change the clean water once every 2-3 days until new roots grow.

The above is what the Huinong.com editor has compiled on how to better grow hydroponic plants and keep hydroponic plants from suffering root rot. Finally, no matter which hydroponic method is used, frequently changing water, washing roots, and sterilizing and disinfecting during hydroponics are especially important for hydroponic flowers in preventing root rot!