Whether you are a beginner grower or you’ve been cultivating crops for years you may at some point need to know how to revive a dying plant. Plants can struggle even if you do anything perfectly. Unfortunately, they are living things that aren’t as predictable as we would like them to be. All sorts of things can go wrong with your plants outside your control such as disease and bugs. Or maybe you mess up because you’re human and you over/underwater or do something else to make your leafy baby unhappy. Either way, if your plant starts to look poorly it’s not the end of the world. There are several ways that you can bring your plant back from the brink.
Diagnosis
The first thing you need to do to start bringing your plant back to life is you need to know what’s wrong with it. You can tell a lot about a plant’s state by its leaves. Have a look at their colour and how droopy or curled they are. From this, you should be able to at least get an idea of the issue. If the leaves are yellowing you’re likely under or overwatering. The plant might also be experiencing nutrient burn or a nitrogen deficiency. You should also watch out for leaves curling upwards. Usually, this means that the grow space is too hot for your plant.
You should also watch out for your plants stretching. If the plant is looking leggy and stretched they might not be enjoying the humidity in the room. This can cause the plants to collapse once they flower. By the same token if they aren’t growing enough this can be a sign of something being wrong. If your plants are stunted they might need more light, more calcium, or more nutrients. It could also be an issue with the plant being transferred into a larger pot.
If you notice white powder on your leaves or little spots that could be a sign of disease. It could be an infestation of bugs as well so keep an eye out for nibbled leaves. If your plant does seem to be diseased or infested then you don’t have a huge amount of time before your plant is beyond help.
If the buds are looking underdeveloped or just smaller than you would expect by a certain point in flowering then that could also be a sign. These small buds can be caused by pests, too much foliation, or underfeeding.
Action
Soil
Once you have figured out what is wrong with your plant it’s time to take action to save it. A lot of the time you can save a plant by altering some basic aspect of its existence. A great start could be having a look at your growing medium. Bugs can nest in the soil, it can also be responsible for nutrient deficiency or some of the issues with overwatering. You need to check that you’ve got the right soil for the job. You don’t want anything too acidic or anything that doesn’t drain. These can cause root rot and other complications. There are a few different potting soil recipes available that you can use to bring your plants back from the edge. Often sorting out the growing medium is a great way to help your sickly plant.
Watering Schedule
If the soil isn’t the problem there is a good chance that it’s your watering schedule. Over or under watering plants is so easy to do and for beginners, it is so often the reason that their plants are getting sick. It is vitally important that you keep track of when and how much you are watering your plants. Keep a watering journal so that you can go back and analyse the watering schedule and look for errors. If you have noted down a schedule that doesn’t seem to be working it is much easier to alter it and save your plant. If your plant is droopy, yellow and doesn’t seem to be growing you may have overwatered. In order to bring your plant back, you need to make sure that the medium is draining properly. Put your plant over pebbles or anything else that can support it and let the water drain down instead of pooling. Similarly, you should be able to tell if your plant is underwatered because the leaves are dry and wilting. You can also just stick a finger in the growing medium to feel how dry it is. Do not overcompensate and just go right to increased watering because you might go too far. You should start with one or two more watering sessions a week. Keep testing the soil with your finger to check the moisture.
Environment
If it’s not your watering or your medium then it’s probably the grow space. If you recall one of the other main issues for plants was the humidity. This along with temperature can be absolute killers for your plants. Humidity wise throughout growing it should be between 40 and 70%. When your plant is a seedling it should be higher in that range, lower for vegetative and lower still for flowering. When we are talking about the temperature the heat should never go below 20 degrees celsius or above 28 degrees. Again this will change depending on the stage of the plant but it will always be in that range. If your humidity and temperature aren’t in these ranges then that might be what’s causing the issues. Simply alter the environment slowly to be within these boundaries. If your plants have experienced extensive heat damage you may need to use a little air conditioning or take your plants outside for a bit to cool them off. Hopefully, this will bring them back to life. The environment also takes pests into account. Look your plant over for any signs of bugs and usually, you can purchase plant pesticides or use insects like ladybirds to kill off the infestation.
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