So I went to get my eyes checked today. When I went last year they had a beautiful violet with girl leaves on the counter and they were gracious enough to share a leaf with me. My leaf had babies and then rotted for whatever reason, so I was anxious about whether or not I should ask for another leaf today or not! When I arrived, the violet was there but it was no longer in its previous glory. It only covered half the pot (4") and the leaves looked really sad. I commented on it and she said she needed to give it some water...
I could see the soil and there was mold on top and it was extremely obvious that water was the last thing that it needed! I lifted up one of the leaves and the whole plant lifted... it had completely rotted off of the stem and was going to die if it didn't have some care and soon.
The receptionist has a connection with this plant because it was given to her 5 years ago when her mother passed away, so I offered to bring the plant home and see what I could do with it.
I cleaned off all of the excess soil and rot and shortened the stem. There was a good amount of "neck" that was still healthy, so that was a good sign for me that the plant will survive. Took off all the extra dead leaves and a few that weren't doing so well, scraped the neck up a bit, and stuck it in some soil. This poor little girl is now in a container with some good light and it's now time to wait and see.
At home...
with a flash...
It was no effort at all to pick the plant up like this.
You can see the end of the stem here.
The pot after I removed the plant.
The "good" part of the stem/neck.
A different angle of the stem/neck.
I snapped it off this far and scraped it up a little bit for roots to form in the soil.
In the "hospital"!
The top of the plant with flash - in the hospital. I'll take more photos later after the plant has had a chance to realize she's in a good place!
When I go back to select a frame, I'll have to let the receptionist know that her plant will be in the "hospital" for a little while but I *will* bring her back :)
great pictures Sally! This plant is sure lucky you needed to get your eyes checked!
ReplyDeletePeggy
You know what was really scary? There was *no* evidence of roots or anything in the lower part of the pot!
ReplyDeleteOMG! I was holding my breath the plant would come out okay in the end. I wouldn't hesitate to do exactly what you did but when you said it was special to her...OMG :)
ReplyDelete