So I transplanted it to a pot with more coarse grained dirt, but in the process I banged it on the ground pretty badly. I was surprised by how small the roots were, I thought they'd be much longer. It now seems to me it was fine in its original pot, I should never have transplanted it in the first place.

Sorry to hear the repot didn't go smoothly. Good vibes that it recovers well!

If your plant was unable to form a large, healthy root system in its' old soil, the change will hopefully be a good one. Looking at the pics in this article, these plants do grow a significant amount of roots, when able:

http://www.thegardeningtimes.com/article.asp?AR01=1219

Don't panic about having mistreated the roots - you'd be amazed at what a root system can tolerate if the plant is repotted into an appropriate soil.

Good root health is always required for good plant health, so thinking logically, getting the root issue straightened out would be the probable starting point. Most root issues are pivotal on soil choice. soils with some chunky material and some fine material; can't be relied on as good performers, but soils with a very high % of coarse material and a wee bit of fine stuff like peat, compost, composted forest products, ..... to help add a little water retention can be relied on. If your soil has enough fine material to fill in all the spaces between the coarse material, you're not going to fix the problem. Your plants will do best in a soil you can water to beyond saturation every time you water w/o causing you to worry the soil will remain wet so long you end up in the same situation you're presently dealing with.

If you wan t more info - let me know. I'll point you to resources that will help clarify what you can do to deal with, or better, eliminate entirely the soggy soil issue.

Had you fertilized after you repotted?

Al

I did not use soil with fertilizer, but I do have some in case. The plant had been in the same soil for years, and it was hard like concrete. I will post a pic of the soil I used, let me know what you think. What I was most surprised by was that the original plant was actually two plants when it came out of the pot. I don't know if it's because I broke the original plant when trying to get it out of the pot (it was a bit hard to get it out), but in any case, I put them in separate pots with different soil to hedge my bets.

Like most grasses, your plant reproduces from nodes on root structures called rhizomes or stolons - same structures but different names depending on whether they grow under ground or creep over the surface of the soil. I would concentrate on getting ALL of the hard soil off some of the roots of some plantlets that still have some green on the leaves. If you get them potted in an appropriate soil, they'll grow just fine - not called 'cast iron' plant for nothing .......

Keep the roots moist while you're working on them. Don't let them dry out.

Al

Here is a photo of the soil I used. Pencil is included to show scale.

I have a question about the rhizomes/stolons: Should I cover them up with dirt or leave them above the dirt?

And here is a photo of the plant in it's new dirt. I uncovered the rhizomes/stolons for this picture

The soil looks very heavy (water-retentive), so if you continue to use it, use a wood dowel or skewer to test the soil deep in the pot for dryness before you water. Do cover the root structures with soil and keep them high in the pot. My choice of soils would be more along the lines of

or

Al

I do have some soil like that, but it contains fertilizer. Would it be ok to use it?

Can you supply a picture of the soil - maybe a small sample like what you see in ther middle here:

That would tell us a LOT about whether the plant will like it.

Al

Here you go. It's from a brand called Sta Green and promises 9 months of growth.

Btw I just noticed today that it perked up a bit. It's been 72 hours since I replanted it, and one of the leaves that was real droopy has perked up somewhat.

Just a small point of information - although Aspidistras do have rhizomes they are not grasses but members of the Asparagaceae.

My bad. I didn't mean to imply or leave you with the idea I thought this plant is a grass; only that this plant reproduces like most grasses. I can see where what I wrote could easily confuse someone. Good catch.

Al

I just saw the picture of the soil, and I honestly would encourage you to find something better. There is a LOT of sapwood/heartwood in it, which means fast decomposition, a probable pH spike at some point in the composting process, a lot of N immobility due to the rapid decomposition of the sapwood, and a lot of exothermic heat generated during the composting process ....... + it looks VERY water-retentive. Sorry.

Al

ptsourkas, how is your plant now? Did anyone ever say if you should cut the yellow leaf off?
Fred

Seems to have stabilized, thankfully. No more yellowing leaves, and it's been over a month now. No one said to cut them, so I left them. I don't know whether it was changing the dirt that stabilized it (the previous dirt was very fine grained and water retentive), or whether it was just the shock from re-potting that caused the yellow leaves. I also haven't watered it in over a month now.

I don't see any new growth though, which I would like. I haven't removed the old, compacted dirt from the roots, but I am somewhat hesitant to mess with it again, seeing how it hasn't even been two months since I re-potted it and I have heard that they don't like having their roots messed with. It is very precious to me so I really don't know what to do.

ptsourkas, Thanks for the update! I received and Aspidistra this Spring. I re-potted it in a plastic pot and watered it in. The soil was very slow to dry and 2 small leaves went yellow, immediately I re-potted it into Terracotta. The plant is happier now, with no more yellowing. So far, I have left the yellow leaves alone as I am unsure if it is better to let them dry up and then take them off or just remove now.

Fred

Sounds good. I will keep terracotta in mind. Do let me know if you see new growth.

ptsourkas, I found a larger leaf starting to yellow. I checked the soil several inches down in several places, it was barely moist or nearly dry. I had watered it a few days ago, so I took the plant outside and gave it a quart of water allowing all of the excess to freely drain away. I brought the plant back inside and added a couple of pieces of bamboo to elevate the pot off the saucer so it will get air along the bottom. I'll just have to wait and see. All the advise I've gotten from people who grow these say "allow to dry before watering". All the expert advise says to "keep it evenly moist spring and summer". I'm going to try to walk the middle and allow the top of the soil to dry out before watering. My current thinking about the new leaf yellowing was too dry? But I really don't know.
Fred

I am delighted to announce that both the original aspidistra plant and the offshoot I planted in a different pot are exhibiting new growth. For the record, I put them in a north facing window where they receive light but not direct light, give them one cup of water every 12-13 days, and left them alone. It seems July is the growing season for these plants, because it is also around this time last year that they put out new leaves. As for your yellowing Sans2014, I'm not sure what's causing it but I did find a pretty good site here where they may answer your question:

http://www.ourhouseplants.com/plants/aspidistra

From reading that site, it seems your problem could be caused by too cold temps (unlikely in July), too frequent repotting, or most likely overwatering. I water mine every 12-13 days and this is in July in Las Vegas, where temps in my apartment can reach 90 if i turn the A/C off before going to work. If you leave in a cooler climate, I wouldn't water it more than every two weeks, maybe even less.

Thanks ptsourkas! Great that your plant is happy again! Mine is doing better also
with no additional yellowing. I will check out the site you suggest. Temps inside my house have been 64 to 72 depending how warm it is outside. Not a lot of hot
weather here this summer. I believe mine is pushing out a leaf also!
Fred