Toni - if it goes back, it's possible that they would leave it outside in the summer. I'd worry it might get forgotten and left out in a freeze. It I keep it, it will have to stay inside because I have too many bugs outside and too many houseplants inside to risk bringing outside plants in. Inna - the segments in the center are just old, not rotted. I have Schultz Orchid BARK - not the mix. I have a cutting off my plant which is in the straight (cut down to smaller size) bark and it seems to be doing well, I noticed baby leaves growing on all the segments the other day. Is the actual MIX better than the straight bark? (I do want to repot my two more mature TC plants and am looking for the perfect medium) Pirate Girl - no worries about coming across as rude, I understand. I did mention in the OP that I was worried about which medium to choose because of the fact that they might not water it regularly. The foil, that it is just sitting on, is how it's been kept for months after the pot broke (from what I am told). If fact the way it's pictured, with the foil and plastic container, is how it's been living. It's entirely possible if I said, "listen - this must be watered more regularly or it's going to die," that they would just tell me to keep it. My MIL watered it on Thursday when she got into town, I brought it home Thursday night. I haven't watered it yet to hopefully make it easier for me to get the old soil off the roots. Whatever "plant stuff" I can't get to this weekend will have to be put on an indeterminate hold. My kids start school on Monday, including my oldest who has been working with my husband. Once they start school, it's back to work for me (with my husband) and then I start my classes on Thursday - 13 hours this coming term. Sorry I didn't answer yesterday - we were school supply shopping for the three oldest. The middle & high school (OMG, my oldest is in high school this year!) didn't give out supply lists until the orientations, which were on Thursday evening.

orchidguy is right. In most cases, pruning paint/sealer is not only useless in fending off unwanted problems, but can prevent a woody plant from doing its own 'healing'. It was once thought that these products kept disease pathogens from entering a wound, but we know, now, that that is not the case. The only times that I would ever recommend that a sealer be used is if the plant in question is susceptible to a particular type of borer insect and it was the time of year for that borer to be active.

I'm on my phone and it's the right way on there, Idk why it was sideways. I know for sure the pot is too small, and Lord knows about the potting soil, it's been neglected for so long I'm surprised it's still living, that's why I'm asking for help with trying to save it I would say it's probably rot on the bottom not corking unless you can break off corking... I broke some off of it this morning when I went to my dad's house. I'll try and stop back by today and take better pictures. I'm still trying to figure out how to get it to my house it's almost as tall or taller than me and it won't fit in my trunk that's why I'm asking if I should just chop it in to more manageable sizes and go from there

The pot it’s in is a glazed pot with an attached tray base with holes allowing water to flow out from the soil. I don’t let water sit in there. I do have the pot sitting on top of another tray which I fill with water. There is no way (as far as i know??) for this water to get into the soil because the pot is glazed and there are no holes through the bottom (they’re on the sides inside the attached tray). I read that it’s a good way to give the plant some more humidity. Is that not true? I like the glazed pot because it seems to hold more moisture than unglazed but not as much as plastic. The way I check the soil is just by touching it a bit below the surface. Is there a better way you’d recommend? Any ideas why the soil would look so old and deflated after only a year? I mixed in a significant amount of perlite. However greenclaws up above mentioned it looks “peaty” and sure enough i just looked it up and the base mix I used is mostly peat moss and peat hummus . What do you want in the mix instead of peat? I will look for an African violet mix. I have never found a good potting mix for this plant, I hope i can get African violet mix here. I would love to make my own potting soil but have not had luck finding the separate components. I felt lucky for finding a bag of perlite! It’s all just pre-made bagged stuff. Even at greenhouses. thank you all for your input. I wish I knew what was the primary stressor on the plant. Was it the direct sunlight? Sounds like the cold isn’t a big deal, and it wasn’t looking great even before it got cold. Is it the potting soil being all used up or whatever is wrong with it? I can repot and then put back in the room where it gets good light but protect it behind a sheer curtain. Does that sound like a good plan?