Be Alert to Root Rot in Crops, Growers Must Take Care to Prevent It

How to Treat Root Rot

When it comes to root rot in plants, we first need to treat plants according to their type, such as succulents, orchid family plants, woody plants, and herbaceous plants. Within these broad categories, individual varieties are also involved. Not all plants with root rot are treated the same way, so dear readers, you need to apply what you learn flexibly and must not blindly copy the methods.

The common methods for treating plant root rot are mainly divided into the following three types:

Clean Up and Replant

Clean up the rotted parts, then disinfect, let dry, and replant. This method is mainly for plants whose roots have not completely rotted, such as clivia and orchids. The specific steps are as follows:

1. Take the plant out of the pot, pick away the surrounding old soil, find the rotted root area, and use scissors to cut off the rotted roots from their base.

2. Disinfect the wound with a 0.1% potassium permanganate solution, or apply clean plant ash to the wound, then repot or plant in the ground.

3. When potting or planting in the ground, the wound and the severely damaged parts of the root system should be surrounded and filled with clean damp sand, then covered with clean growing soil, to promote new root growth at the wound.

4. While repotting, the branches and leaves should be heavily pruned. Sometimes, to ensure survival, 80%-90% of the branches and leaves must be cut off.

5. During the plant's recovery, keep the potting soil aerated, do not fertilize at all, and do not let the potting soil be exposed to rain, to prevent root rot from recurring.

Use Stems and Leaves for Cuttings

For example, succulents, gloxinia, Peperomia, geraniums, begonias, and others can be propagated anew from stems or leaves when the roots rot. Of course, the stems and leaves must be healthy, not rotted, and robust.

Discovered Too Late, Beyond Saving

Some large woody potted plants, such as money trees, have less than a 10% chance of being saved once root rot occurs. In most cases they will slowly die, because by the time root rot is discovered, it is already too late.

So you must usually observe plants more, detect early, and treat early. Then how do you detect root rot in plants? Here are some tips. Let's learn them together.

How to Tell If Flowers and Plants Have Root Rot

The root system is one of the most important organs for plant growth and development. If an accurate diagnosis can be made in the early and middle stages of root rot and some rescue measures are taken, the death of some plants can be avoided.

Look at the Potting Soil

In summer and autumn, for normally growing flowering plants, water thoroughly once on a clear day, then check the potting soil at the same time the next day. If the potting soil has dried and shows a slight white color, the roots are normal;

If the potting soil has not dried and turned white, but remains moist, it means the plant's roots have already begun to rot;

If it is still moist as before after 2-3 days, it means most of the plant's root system has rotted.

Look at Leaf Color

If you have several pots of the same kind of flowering plant, place them together. If one plant's leaves lose their green color and luster and turn grayish-white, or the plant's leaves appear wilted, or the lower leaves turn yellow and fall off in large numbers outside the leaf-changing season, it means the plant's fine feeding roots have rotted due to waterlogging, fertilization, or sudden heavy watering after excessive drought.

Look at Leaf Shape

The appearance of longitudinal wrinkling and deformity in the leaves of potted flowering plants also indicates that the plant's root system has rotted. This mainly appears in flower species with fleshy roots, such as bird of paradise and clivia. Because the lower feeding root system has rotted, the parts of the leaves connected to it cannot get the proper water and nutrients, causing those parts to stop growing or even shrink. The growth becomes unsynchronized, leading to longitudinal leaf wrinkling and deformity. Although this situation will not cause the plant's death, it will still affect the plant's normal growth and ornamental value.

Look at Leaf Tips

For some flowering plant species, after being grown for a period of time, scorched tips will appear at the ends of the leaves. There are two reasons for this situation.

First, because the plant's root tips extend and press against the pot wall, watering under conditions of high air and soil temperature causes the nutrient-functioning part at the tip of the fleshy root to be damaged and rot, so water and nutrients cannot be transported to the leaf tips, causing necrosis of the leaf tip portion.

The other situation is when the pot is large and the plant is small, and the potting soil remains waterlogged for a long time, causing the root tips to rot and lose their nutrient function. If yellow-brown patches appear in the middle or at the edges of the leaves, then the possibility of disease should be considered.

Judge by Touch

For some flowering plants or tree stumps, such as five-needle pine, cypress species, Buddhist pine, orchids, camellias, and others, when their leaf color is found to be abnormal, you can gently stroke the leaves with your hand and judge by feel. For plants whose leaves lack vitality due to root rot, the feeling at your fingertips is dry and warm, not the moist and cool feel of normal leaves.

How to Prevent Root Rot

Root rot is truly one of the biggest killers of plants. So in order to avoid this situation, pay attention to the following points in daily care:

Water Moderately

Water moderately, not too frequently. This is a common mistake made by many beginners at growing flowers. You should grasp the principle of watering when dry and stopping when wet. This should be especially noted during the plant's dormant period and the early stage of potting or repotting.

Fertilizer Must Be Decomposed

The various organic materials mixed into the growing soil, such as leaf mold, pen manure, sawdust, farmyard manure, stable manure, and organic waste, must all be fully fermented and decomposed over a long period before use. Do not use raw fertilizer, otherwise when raw fertilizer ferments, the temperature becomes too high and will burn and rot the root system.

Fertilize Scientifically

When applying topdressing to potted plants, the amount and concentration must not be too large. Try to follow the principle of "small amounts, many times." If the amount is too large, it will also burn and rot the roots.

Soil Must Be Aerated

Make sure the potting soil drains well. When watering potted flowers, water accumulates on the surface of the potting soil and does not seep down for a long time. This situation has the following causes:

1. The newly potted soil is clay soil, containing no organic matter or fine sand, so it is very hard for water to seep through. Therefore, organic humus, river sand, furnace slag, coal ash, and similar components should be added moderately to ensure the growing medium has good aeration and water permeability.

2. The tile piece over the drainage hole at the bottom of the flower pot blocks the hole, or the gravel layer at the bottom of the pot is too thin, or no gravel drainage layer was placed, so water does not seep through smoothly.

3. The potted flower has not been repotted for many years, and the roots have filled the pot and formed a ball, so water finds it hard to seep down. Therefore, excess fibrous roots should be cut away, otherwise over time water will accumulate, causing root rot and death.