My diffenbachia plant is about 6 years old. It's the large leaf variety. In august I cut it back because it was leggy and put it back in the soil. The top portion of the 5 leaves were healthy, however, since then all of the leaves has turned yellow and died. There is one new leaf left and it has not opened and it is turning yellow. I cut it back again because the cutting got mushy. Can you help. I'm trying to save this plant,because my father started it for me and he is now deceased. Please help. thanks

cyrus - I had to hill up one of my leggier plants that fell over in the wind. And I was just wondering if those roots that'll start growing out of the stem (like you'd get from a cutting), are the tap root kind, that seem to be more adapted for going deep to find water. Or if they're the kind that, if I understand correctly, typically develop later, and are supposed to be better at soaking up nutrients. Or if they're some other kind of root. I think you're right that later in the season it makes more sense to start from cuttings. So I'm wondering if I can save myself some work when I do that, by skipping the potting up step, and still get the "recommended" root structure. organicislandfarmer and rockguy - I had to pinch off a small seedling, since I accidentally had 2 seeds in one block. I felt bad, and wanted to give it a chance, so I stuck it in it's own block. It was really small, and I didn't think it had a chance. But it started growing again after it got established, and now it's doing really well. dave - Thanks. I'll be putting my cuttings directly in soil blocks. I didn't think I'd be getting a bunch of tap roots, but I wasn't sure I'd be getting those fibrous roots either. I want to skip the potting up step, if I don't need it to get that fibrous structure. I'm only talking about indeterminates. carolyn - My original question had nothing to do with determinates. Organicislandfarmer asked a different question, so we got 2 different discussions going.

I've never tried it. They are pretty easy from seed, but takes a few years for them to really get going. I like the Asclepias curassavica the best although not supposed to be hardy up here, so I keep in the garage during winter. Last year I had 5 Queen butterfly larvae on it - this year I had 16 monarch cats. I keep it on the patio, so I can watch for the monarchs.

Glad your tree is ok. We appreciate hearing how it turned out. It's difficult to know how a plant will react to root damage like that. If it goes into shock, you want to cut the leaves off to prevent water loss. On the other hand, you don't want to disfigure the tree unnecessarily. I had a similar situation just two weeks ago. I had two Fuerte-like seedlings in the same pot with roots intertwined. To separate them, I sheared the roots right down the middle, and planted each in its own hole. Anticipating transplant shock, I stripped the leaves off, leaving just a half leaf as an indicator of health. In the two weeks since, one tree shot out a dozen new leaves and added two inches to its height. The other has not budged - not a single bud, but at least the lone half leaf still looks healthy. Practically identical trees given identical treatment in identical environments. One thrives while the other languishes. It's a reminder that there are circumstances beyond our control. Oh well, that's why I planted two.