Where the plant transitions from roots to stem is the most vigorous portion of the plant, so it's not surprising to see that part of the plant trying to claw it's way back from the brink.

The moisture essential to survival of the shoots could either be coming by way of the root pathway or being absorbed directly into the vasculature, such as a cutting would do.

Have you decided whether you want a single trunk specimen or a multi-trunk plant? No need to decide now as anything green is where the plant's real food (sugar) comes from, thanks to the process of photosynthesis. Later, if you want a single trunk, and after you see what sprouts from the existing trunk structure, you can choose.

The plant should be potted into a fast-draining potting medium asap. Reason: Roots that form in water are very different (structurally) than roots that form in a solid medium. Water roots are very brittle and filled with airy material called aerenchyma, which allows oxygen roots need to function to diffuse from the parts of the plant above water into and through the roots. These (water) roots are very poor at absorbing water when the plant is moved to a solid medium, and often break during the transition.

You have a viable plant, and your current job is to make sure the cultural conditions you provide are somewhere near the plant's 'sweet spot'. When plants are asked to operate at or beyond the limits they are genetically programmed to tolerate, it causes stress. Stress is always a limiting factor insofar as the plants level of vitality (health) is concerned, so there is much to be gained by providing conditions the plant approves of.

Good job so far! Any questions or thoughts?

Al

Thanks Al !

Was quite concerned about how to proceed since would normally wait for good top-growth before a root-prune, or get established roots before eliminating top-growth. But this had neither.

My initial thought here was to get some green going to (hope to) replenish food stores to support re-growth, then to think about roots.

But even better if it can go in medium ASAP.

Just two questions then.

- As far as fast-draining medium, not familiar with Tree Philo preferences, have components for either a 1:1:1 or 5:1:1 type.

- Since can't tell what root structures - if any - have potential use, should a larger container that could hold all remaining roots be considered? Or a more radical trim, into a smaller one. The trunk is only about 4 inches, but the still-attached roots are much longer.

Roots are a major source of stored energy. If the plant was healthy, I'd be in the camp advocating for additional reduction of the root mass. Since the plant is rather fragile at this point, and about to enter the darkest months in the growth cycle, it's better to play it safe and leave the roots intact. You should be able to do a full repot in June of 24 if all goes well with the recovery.

My suggestion would be to use a larger container with ballast in the bottom. Ballast, used appropriately, can reduce the amount of excess (perched) water a planting can hold by up to 90%, and it's accomplished passively. Your only effort occurs when you establish the planting, and the effort is insignificant. It can be as easy as turning a pot upside down in the bottom of your pot and covering the drain hole so none of the grow medium can pass through the drain hole(s).

These pots are filled with soil. The shaded part represents excess/ perched water which would always be limiting when it is present. By comparing D to A, you can see how much excess water is passively eliminated. This would be a significant benefit to any plant you might choose to grow in a medium that supports perched water, and it allows you to use media that might otherwise be considered too water retentive for good results.

For plastic pots, using a wick through a hole in the bottom where it meets the sidewall of the pot can be very helpful in eliminating excess water as well. Note fig E.

Changing subjects to fertilizing ...... Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 is a great 'go to' fertilizer for almost anything you might grow in a pot. It provides all nutrients essential to normal growth from a single container. Precious few fertilizers can make that claim ...... and there are several other attributes that set it apart from other soluble synthetic fertilizers. If you decide to make the change and need help establishing a nutritional supplementation program/ regimen, I can help you with that. It's quite easy if you get to a place where you can water correctly without concern the grow medium will remain soggy for an extended period, thereby limiting root function or wrecking root health.

Al

Super clear re: potting, and as always, great tips!

Can do and will do.

Appreciate the detail you've provided. (And yes, have enjoyed fertigating with FP since reading about it here.)

Whether at repotting time or not, hope it will progress well enough to merit an update to this post.

We all appreciate it when someone takes the time and makes the effort to let us know how things are going; and, I'm sure we all wish you the best. I feel confident you'll be justly rewarded for your efforts.

Al

Year-end update:

Thanks for the advice and encouragement. So far so good...

If of any interest, detail of the rather rushed potting below:

Chose a high container (with wick) to accommodate the long roots, but fairly narrow to keep volume low with very limited material on hand.

So limited that had to combine like-sized components to reach the needed amount of medium, winding up with a bit of a "franken" 5:1:1

5 - bark (mix of orchiata classic, orchiata precision, and <0.5" reptibark)

1 - mix of coarse perlite and >1/8" turface

1 - mix of peat and < 1/10" turface

- a touch of gypsum only (presumed orchiata was pre-limed, and amount of sphagnum peat was small)

Arranged plant so (pre-moistened) mix just barely topped green shoot origins at base of stump. Although had hydrated repeatedly and loosely covered with plastic, within hours after moving from water to the fast-draining potting medium, the then-tiny stems/leaves began to collapse. For the following couple of weeks, needed to keep humidity way up with a tight plastic covering for all but a few hours per day, before the plant was able to sustain itself in open air.

For entire time, has been kept indoors under close fluorescent bulb illumination only.

Hope can re-pot late spring/early summer.

Strong work. Plant looks happy. Initial wilting probably due to the medium's overly large particle size. Now that the plant has established, things should go very well for you. If you have to water every 1-3 days, that's a good thing from the plant's perspective. That will make fertilizing super easy. It might be worth revisiting what I offered above about fertilizing. Find it in the post with the images of pots and wicks, although you probably don't need a wick, given the coarse nature of your mix.

Good going!

Al

Wow that is quite a success story! Well done. And yes, thank you for coming back to give an update. I love updates!

Very nice!

Determining appropriate watering intervals is as easy as:

Using a 'tell'

Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need plenty of air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support the kind of root health most growers would like to see; and, a healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant.

Watering in small sips leads to avoid over-watering leads to a residual build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil from tapwater and fertilizer solutions, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor.

In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water.

Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'.

One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue.

Al