Sorry to hear that. I know what that's like. I once had someone garden-sit my garden and told her she could harvest whatever she wanted. I came back and my sprouting broccoli plants were all chopped down at the base. She didn't realize that if you just chop off the head, it'll keep growing back.

Take it out of the pot. If the cane is firm, its salvageable. Cut the cane with a hack saw just above the soil line if the rot smell is coming from the roots we'll just get rid of them. Remove all dead and dying folliage. Leave the cane to callous about a week. Find a pot (not large) big enough for the can to be in with maybe an inch clearance on each side. (clay would work really well). If you have rooting hormone sprinkle it on the bottom of the calloused cane (if you dont no big deal) Get your soil out and fill the bottom inch of the pot with your dirt, add the calloused cane, and fill rest of the pot with soil, tamp lightly. DO NOT WATER. if any leaves are not mush and are salvageable mist them. Mist the trunk daily, put in the brightest sunniest window of your home. It will more then likely not be able to keep itself verticle. let it lean on the glass. Mist everyday. Eventually (after some time especially since its winter) New roots will form, and you will see new growth. Once new growth shows up you can water the plant through the soil. Allow to try out thoroughly between waterings. This will make sure that new roots will not rot the way the old ones did. This will take a lot of time. Depending on how much life force that cane has to regenerate roots. (this is how they do it at greenhouses :) ) good luck! Happy growing! Dont throw it out yet! Seriously though, once you have it re-potted after removing all the roots and waiting a week. please please please do not water it.

If they have snapped, it leaves room for disease. I believe defrost49 may be correct. But hey it's a garden and gardens of any type are experiments. Does your son like science? Perhaps, they will off shoot at the tops. I had a lab that ate the tops of some of my corn one time, some grew, some died. They were only about two feet tall. Also, I'm with Jim, I always wait three days. I like the number 3 such as 3 strikes your out- easy to remember. Plants will usually tell you what they are going to do in 3 days. What zone do you live in? The United States Department of Agriculture has set up plant hardiness zones nationwide. For instance where I live in NC, our county has two zones, 7A and 7B. We have about 200 possible days of growing most things. Zones are determined by lowest average temperature. So in our neck of the woods, that's about 0 to 5 F. You can find out your zone by googling "what zone is...in" Corn takes 60-100 days to mature, depends on the type. October here is a funny month, sometimes frost, sometimes not. I am planting cool season things now, but most others are finishing up, doing their canning, etc. Don't let him give up on growing things! Barnes and Noble had Square Foot Gardening 1st Edition by Mel Bartholomew on sale for about $7.00 a couple weeks ago. There is a new edition out. There is also Strawbale Gardening by Joel Karsten. I started one set of great nieces and nephews on SFG, got them some miracle grow potting soil when it was on sale and added some peat moss. This stopped us from having to scour the countryside for vermiculite which was not at the big box stores. Another set, we started straw bales because they were easy to get in their area of the country, and their parents didn't want to give up a 4x4 area so we took a 3x10 due to yard layout, it worked great. The straw bales also gave them a great start on composting. They grew top crops and when those things were spent, planted root crops. They started in fall so they were able to get straw bales free or really cheap, planted spinach, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli and then in spring potatoes. Now that set has gone on to take another part of the yard over-they got the bug. They are experimenting with traditional gardening, raised beds and something else with logs -I don't remember the name. If the corn is not growing, teach him about composting. Besides this website, there are many, many more that can help. Though I prefer gardenweb, I would suggest starting with your agricultural extension officer for your county. Elaine

Hi, I'm thinking it is some kind of Gaillardia. That would also explain the sunflower idea that your son got. Remy