Are you sure it had mealy bugs? I don't use pesticide sprays ! -- for mealies, just dab them with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol. The chemicals you've used have probably contributed to the plant's demise. You say it's a huge plant, so what I'd do is take some cuttings (about 6" long). Wash them in dish-soapy water that's a comfortable temperature for your hands (not too hot or too cold). Be certain that all the bugs are off of the cuttings, rinse, then put the cuttings in a glass of water. If there's enough life left in them, they will grow fine in water for a LONG time, and if the mother plant dies you'll have the new starts.

The rhizome contains genetic information that will duplicate the parent plant. when you take a leaf cutting, the whole reproductive process changes. Just one cell from either I, II, or III will begin the rooting process but that one cell only contains the genetic material coding for whichever layer it comes from. The rhizome contains all of the genetic information from the parent, instead of having to start from scratch at just one type of cell. many African Violets are this way, chimeras. You can reproduce the plant only if you have a full crown (with all the genetic information, including the mutation) but if you take a leaf and try to propagate a new plant, it will not be true to the parent and will lose some of that genetic coding along the way. The cells in the leaves are very simple. They are to do one thing, and one thing only. Now, the cells in the dormant buds contain a different type of cell, one with much more potential than just a leaf cell. imagine it as if the dormant buds are similar to human stem cells, they can grow into almost any type of organ or tissue. Humans can't regenerate limbs (or bodies) so that example has to stop there lol. But with starfish (sea stars!), they can grow a limb back, but if a limb is ripped off, unless it has part of that central core (body), then the arm cells don't have enough genetic information to create a new body. The difference is the TYPE of cell used in starting the plant, whether it's a "stem cell" that holds information for the whole plant or just a leaf cell that is specialized and only holds the genetic information for its layer of leaf cells. That's probably going to be really confusing. It was kind of all over the natural world lol. I love biology though, so I enjoy our conversations!

I was thinking of adding in a totem but a friend told me it'll just creep back up to stand on its own. Not a bad idea though. I'll look around. Thank you both for the perlite advice. I'll see what I can do that's affordable. And again, apologies for the dumb question. The layering was questionable even to me but I had to make sure since when I looked for images of perlite, I saw people add a layer of it on the surface of their pots.

Remove from basket or take the whole thing down , water outside or in sink, let water run out the hole. Allow to drain thoroughly before rehanging. If you must water while it’s hanging, you’ll need to put something under it to catch the water. I agree with Christine above, caring for hanging plants can be kind of a nuisance. Easier to care for it on the counter or table. I also agree with repotting it with fresh indoor potting mix and a little larger pot with a hole. These are easy plants and yours looks good. Water when you feel the soil dry, with your finger. No direct sun for this plant.