probably winter damage.. if you are in the cold north .. and it can be very random ID of the plant would help .. as well as location ... and weather history .. here in MI we have had 2 blistering winters in a row ... and what didnt die after the first .. i suspect was damaged ... and died the second ... ken

Could have been any number of reasons why it died as stated above, we don't know what conditions you gave it...other than 'probably' poor soil. My first thought would be starvation from being in the same pot/soil for o19 years. I assume by 'dirt' you mean potting mixture? I know in the US garden soil is referred to as dirt on occasions. Etiolaion could also cause total collapse. If it's been in the same pot for 19 years, either it was way overpotted to start with, or at its end it was too crammed in and rootbound as I'm assuming it had grown somewhat? Was it ever fed, how often was it watered, did it get a teaspoon of water or a 5 hour soaking each time, did it have adequate light, had it been moved into a draughty area for some reason, where was it kept? I know say it thrived but without pics we can't even be sure of that....have you any pics of the deceased? There is a vast difference between someone's vision of a thriving plant and one that is actually only clinging to life in reality. If you decide to buy another one, best advice is to at least change its mixture more frequently than you did do. However, please give us more info, only then 'maybe' we can guess better. Gill

The plant does not look dead, but it does look overly wilted. If the entire plant is wilted, then the lower stem might have an injury, perhaps noticeable only under very close inspection. Root damage is another possibility. Scrounge around in the dirt and see if anything is abnormal there. Underground animals or even weevils can damage roots suddenly.

Normally, a plant produces more energy (photosynthate - sugar/carbohydrates) than it needs to keep its systems orderly. Whenever it has a surplus of energy, the plant makes new cells in which the energy is stored - that is how the plant grows. If your plant is stalled (as far as growth is concerned), it is either making just enough energy to keep its systems orderly, or not enough. In the case of the later, not enough, it would be shedding parts - usually leaves, but entire branches are often shed by plants that branch. The 2 things that come to mind when growth conspicuously stalls are: root congestion (rootbound), poor root function due to soil compaction or an unfavorable amount of air and water in the soil - usually too much water, or root disease. 'Growth' is a measure of the plant's increase in dry mass. Often, a plant might have branches or stems that are extending, but the plant might not be technically 'growing' if it's shedding the same amount of dry mass it's producing by way of extension (stems/branches getting longer). That's why I didn't consider a deficiency of nutrients or light as the reason your plant stalled. Low light might stop growth, but it doesn't stop extension. Plants will continue to extend until they have depleted all their energy reserves, even in the dark; and, the plant has mechanisms in place that allow it to 'steal' nutrients from other plant parts to fuel new growth. We can eliminate root congestion as cause for the stall because we know the roots didn't suddenly become decongested, which pretty much leaves poor root health or function as the underlying issue; but, that's not to say there aren't compaction or root congestion issues ready to take over the position of 'primary limiting factor' after you resolve any root health/function issues. That's how plants work. Resolving the primary limiting factor issue makes something else the NEW primary limiting factor. Over-watering is the most logical suspect. The root system's finest roots do the lion's share of the plant's heavy lifting. Over-watering and the accompanying lack of oxygen kills the finest roots and limits the root's ability to function normally. The plant has chemical messengers that keep 'plant central' informed about the relationship between root and shoot volume. Root growth always precedes top growth, so, when roots die from poor conditions in the root zone, the plant's messengers tell it to focus energy allotments on the roots only, until the volume of healthy roots can provide water/nutrition for any increase in top volume. My best guess is, you over-water, which kills roots and stops top growth. Then, before enough air returns to the medium to allow normal root function, you water again. If something happened to extend the interval between waterings, you would expect to see at least extension growth. Taking a vacation or skipping a watering when you thought you watered would produce a positive result if you're over-watering. Also, the low humidity that occurs indoors with central heating operating can notably decrease the appropriate interval between waterings, which would also be a positive if you're over-watering. You can get your watering under control by using a 'tell' to 'tell' you when it's appropriate to water. More about using a 'tell' just below. See this for an outline you might find useful. Using a 'tell' Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support good root health, which is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to a build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor. In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water. Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'. One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue. Al