This was the plant shortly after I had bought and repotted it. It looked basically the same when I left for vacation, except sprawling a bit more with new growth.

If its pot-bound I reccomend repotting in spring. I expect that the plant will be more or less normal in 48 hours...

Rhamel—thank you, I will do the drenching right away. When you say "indirect sun" do you mean I should move it away from the window?

Nice plant. If you keep it watered good for the remainder of the winter it should do nicely

I reccomend not giving it direct light for a day or 2. If it doesn't get direct light that is fine

Mine would look like this if I didn't water for 5 days lol. It can soak up a pint of water in one go (it is in a pretty bad soil) and dries out quickly after.

There is no reason to change the amount of light the plant is acclimated to. You shouldn't have fertilized a dry plant, but it is a good thing to completely saturate the soil. In fact, I would take the opportunity to flush the soil thoroughly of any salts that might have accumulated in the soil to make it easier for the plant to take up water. Do this by saturating the soil completely, then pouring water = to at least 10x the volume of the pot it's in through the soil.

The plant's natural drought response includes shedding leaves to reduce the demand for water. It's possible that an abscission layer has already formed where the compound leaf attaches to the branch. This process is not reversible, so you still might see a lot of shedding; only time will tell. If you do, it doesn't mean all is lost. The plant should have more than enough reserve energy to push a fresh flush of foliage. If it does shed leaves, keep in mind that you won't need to water as often - this plant doesn't like wet feet. Too dry isn't good, but it's better than too wet.

Al

I was going to touch on fertilizing a dry plant but the deed was done. I was thinking that staying out of direct sun would help it rehydrate better. How is it doing today?

Comparing the posted photo from Thursday night to the appearance of the plant today (Sunday), sad to say, no change really.

Al: Rhamel had suggested putting the plant in the sink and drenching it and letting it drain, which I did Friday night. I would think that got rid of the fertilizer well enough? I did read something after I'd watered it initially (Thursday night) with fertilizer that made me realize I should have given it only plain water :( but I didn't think of flushing it in the sink, so that was a great suggestion from Rhamel.

The original location was 1.5-2 feet back from a large west window. Yesterday morning I moved it to an interior spot about 6 feet back from the other, smaller west window pair, where I'd actually prefer to keep it, if it recovers. I think if I leave the blinds open, it will probably get enough sun in that spot.

Prior to this disaster I was watering it when the top of the soil seemed dry, which was roughly 2-3 cups once a week. The water would always start to come into the saucer almost immediately, as I mentioned upthread. But the plant seemed agreeable to all that.

Today the soil seems to be still moist from the drenching. Not sure when I should do it again. I stuck my finger down into it and only a little soil clung to my skin.

Also still wondering if/when I should prune back the stalks, or perhaps snip off the branches that are especially wilty. It is hard to imagine most of the branches ever pointing up again—except the two unaccountably perky ones at the ends of two of the four main stalks.

I could post a close-up shot or two of the branches/junctions if that would be informative.

FYI - never fertilize a plant that's stressed. Also, it sounds like the soil isn't really getting wet, it's just draining through. It's a good idea when you water to have a pan to catch the water that's draining through and don't empty the water out of the pan immediately. Let it sit there for a half hour so it can soak up some water. Then if there's any water left in the pan dump it out.

Also, if that's a clay pot, they dry out more quickly than plastic pots. What my mom used to do when she went on vacation was water her plants very thoroughly right before she left. Then she put the plants in clear garbage bag(s) depending on how many plants she could fit in a bag, and put a twister tie on it. Even when she was gone for two weeks, the plants were fine when she got back. These were indoor plants, by the way. If you did that to plants outside in the sun, they'd probably cook.

Yes, "never fertilize a stressed plant" is the advice I came across after I'd already done it :((((

I would repot it now. I don't understand why you have to wait until Spring.

zzackey: Agree it needs repotting sooner, but am afraid to do it while it's in this sick condition. And, frankly, am a tad overwhelmed with getting reorganized after such a long vacation (my longest ever) so I'd rather not deal with repotting immediately, including wrestling the question of whether I should change the potting mix. I'd also rather not invest in a bigger clay pot until I have a better idea of whether this plant will recover from my abuse. (I hate plastic pots like I hate plastic everything, although clearly the bigger the plants you keep, the harder it is to avoid plastic containers unless you're a bodybuilder :D )

A plant's vitality often suffers due to a deficiency of one or more nutrients or a general lack of adequate nutrition. In that case, the advice to "NEVER fertilize a stressed plant" is a death sentence. There are times when the ONLY thing that will reverse the course of a plant already in decline is fertilizer. Also, it's not a good practice to allow the plant to sit in the effluent that's been flushed from the soil while watering. The idea is to flush salts out of the soil and into a collection saucer where they cannot make their way back into the soil. This requires the grower to ensure there is no pathway for water once flushed from the soil to make its way back into the soil - otherwise, flushing the soil does very little good. The easiest way to ensure the salts can't get back into the soil is by raising the pot above the saucer bottom by using some sort of blocks to lift the pot.

In the same way it's not necessary to wait until danger of frost has passed before planting your tender annuals and not necessary to have money enough to cover any checks you might write in your checking account, it's not necessary to wait until Summer or late Spring (like around Father's Day - early spring is not a good time to repot houseplants, though there are a few exceptions) to repot; but it IS a good idea. You can pot up any time you get the urge, though it's still better to pot up when the plant is in or is entering the most active part of the growth cycle. Repotting is more involved, and consideration given to the plant's natural rhythms pays off in the form of faster recovery times and less chance that diseases and/or insect infestations will take advantage of a plant weakened for an extended period due to poor timing.

Al

Still about the same, but if my eyes don't deceive me, its leaves (particularly lower ones) are a tad greener this morning. Just drenched the heck out of it in the sink. Water went right through as usual, but the soil is good and wet now. Plant god prayers please :)

Tapla, stressed is NOT the same as chlorotic. Examples of stressed - in need of immediate watering; a plant that's in the ground and has just been transplanted (which severs some of the roots); a plant that's struggling to survive due to severe insect infestation; a plant that's in decline because my dog pees on it every time he walks by. That is plant stress. My advice stands.

FWIW, I didn't make any comparisons between stress and chlorosis. STRESS is what occurs when the plant is operating at or near the limits of what it's genetically programmed to tolerate - nothing more or less. It's a manifestation of the plant's displeasure with the cultural hand it's been dealt. When someone makes sweeping statements that include words like NEVER, it's a pretty sure bet there should be some qualification to accompany the advise - lest some unsuspecting soul would take it at face value and pay the price. Any/all plants suffering stress from a lack of sufficient nutrition will soon find stress has turned to strain - a condition that finds the plant using more energy (food) than it's making - a condition which always leads to death of the organism if not corrected. How do we fix a plant stressed by nutritional deficiencies if we don't fertilize it? You can stand by the advice, but the advice can't stand alone w/o qualification.

Al