Shriviling angel trumpet cuttings

17 years ago

Hi I have three varietys of angel trumpet plants that I rooted and were doing well in a pot. One day I noticed fungus gnats in the pots so I decided to get rid of the dirt and wash off the plants and roots and planted them in fresh potting soil. They were doing well for a while and now 2 of them "Yellow and White" seem to be shriveling up and drying out. Can you explain or think what going on wrong here? I keep them watered I think correctly and under a plant light but worried they are going to die. I did have them on a window sill "Inside" and maybe the pot got too cold? They are now on the floor in a warmer place. (I live in OH) Should I take them out of the soil and put them back in water to make sure the rooting is ok. Any suggestions would be appreciated!!! Thanks so much. I'm new to these plants.

Christine P

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Comments (6)

chena
17 years ago
Hey!!
You may be over watering.. I wait for the leaves to show the first sign of dropping before I water..I have lost a couple in the past.. BUT I had to learn to Just say No to watering..LOL
Chena
blicon1
17 years ago
How much foliage was on the plant before you removed the soil?

Whenever you repot and greatly disturb the root system you end up destroying millions of root hairs. This is actually where water and nutrients are taken in by the plant. You should've pruned 1/3 to 1/2 of the top growth. It may not be too late to do this. Also, keep it out of direct sunlight (easy this time of the year) until it recovers. If you decide it is not worth trying to revive then cut it up and start over before the stem becomes useless.

Goodluck,

Jack
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mzkrista
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks for your advise! There was not much foliage because it was only a cutting maybe 6 inches long. Iam not watering it anymore. There isnt much to prune anymore since all the foliage is gone and only the stem is left and the top is shriviling maybe 2 inches already. Do you think they are lost? Should I cut off the shriviled top? I have them under a plant light now should I stop doing that and put them out of direct light then? Christine
blicon1
17 years ago
HHHMMMM,

Don't know what you got going now. Chena may be right with the drowning. How is the bottom of the stem? Still viable? Right or wrong if the top is just shirveled and dry - I leave it(rather than making a new cut) until the stem is established. If it is mushy and fuzzy - cut it off.

Jack
chena
17 years ago
Don't give up on it ...I took a couple of really small cuttings and started them becoz I just couldn't throw them away...LOL they rooted and when I potted them the same thing happened..mine was to much water but several survived with nothing but a 1" of stock under the soil line...If there is anything solid on them they may make it...Got my fingers crossed..
Chena
jroot
17 years ago
Sometimes, the tops do shrivel up. Those of us who have been working with brugs for a while know this, and realize that we might just have to prune later in the spring. ... and sometimes, we lose cuttings. That's just "living with plants".

Overwatering will do this. Just don't underwater it. The plant will tell you when it needs water. Watch the leaves, as Chena suggests. When they start to droop, then water. Don't let them sit in water either. They get really grouchy then.

I once got a couple of cuttings from a fellow garden web sharer of brug cuttings. They got quite soft and mushy, until I was down to about a 1/4 inch stub of a cutting. I doused it in rooting hormone; watered it in, and then left it alone until the pot was dry. I got a beautiful frosty pink from that plant, which has been the mother of many more.

The moral of the story is, don't be afraid to experiment.