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Few weeks ago (probably 2-3), I was re-potting some of my plants. One of the patients was Song of India. The other two plants had severe root bounding. After re-potting them successfully, I started working on the Song of India. I tried the slow and tedious approach. It would take some time to explain how the plant got into that serious situation, but it will extend the question if needed (I will post it if anyone is curious). I had to re-pot as the previous pot was ugly, and I got this as an Indoor plant.

In a nutshell, the roots broke off or came off, I don't know. But the plant has absolutely no roots(at the time of re-potting). Like, 9/10 roots came/broke off, including the main root. Now the plant is dying, obviously. It has lost almost all of its leaves.

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The right stem lost most of its leaves. I am thinking of cutting the right stem completely to make new buds appear if this plant survives. But I'm not sure if this is a correct decision.

Or should I cut off both the stems? But then there will be no leaf for photosynthesis. Or should I clip the leaf? If yes, how much? and on all leaves?

What should I do? It's Winter here. Not too cold, but it will get too cold in coming months. Living in New Delhi.

VividD
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4-K
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1 Answers1

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If it has no roots at all, then it cannot support any topgrowth, which is why its all dying back. At this stage, without roots, photosynthesis for the leaves is not something that's necessary in any way, the critical thing is to get the cane to generate new roots. Remove the top growth completely, leaving just the woody 'cane' like parts of the plant, cutting at an angle to allow any possible rain to run off - with luck, it may generate new roots for itself - or it may not, but that's where you want the cane to divert its attention, rather than hanging onto topgrowth which cannot possibly survive.

If it puts out new roots, you will know, because it will start producing green shoots, most likely from the original cane somewhere (usually off to one side near the top), or from below the soil level. In the meantime, don't let the potting medium completely dry out, but water sparingly to try to prevent the cane from rotting. It may be more successful if you can keep the plant warm, at not less than 60 deg F.

Bamboo
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  • What I don't understand is the weird behaviour of the plant. I will explain, bear with me. – 4-K Nov 08 '16 at 13:45
  • So, do you see the very tiny leaf, curled? That hasn't grown a bit. Not a bit, The stem has put new growth, but the tiny leaf hasn't growth at all. i don't understand what caused that. – 4-K Nov 08 '16 at 13:47
  • If the stem grew a little, but the tiny leaf didn't, that still fits - loss of roots immediately impacted the soft green growth, but the stem was already programmed to grow a little, so it did. Cut it down - not down to the soil, but enough to remove all the growth so you've just got straight stem/s or canes. – Bamboo Nov 08 '16 at 13:49
  • Now the other weird thing is that the stem on the right, the tall one, is always the one losing its leaves or getting brown. The left stem is always fine except now, of course. Since I re-potted it, the right stem lost all the leaves, but the left stem has only lost one leaf and that was the bottom leaf. – 4-K Nov 08 '16 at 13:49
  • No. I mean before I re-potted. The new growth started before I re-potted. That's why it is weird. – 4-K Nov 08 '16 at 13:49
  • Are you suggesting me to cut both the stems leaving no leaf, or just the right stem? – 4-K Nov 08 '16 at 13:50
  • Well before you repotted, it presumably had some root left - how sure are you there are no roots at all? Were there one or two still present when you potted, even tiny ones? Cut them both, I would... unless you think there is some root and one stem is still growing, and the leaves are healthy, not drooping - losing one leaf at the base is no big deal, happens all the time. – Bamboo Nov 08 '16 at 13:50
  • there were 2-3 tiny roots present. I took the plant out. The roots came of like they were potato chips. But the roots were really healthy. I mean, all red on the outside and white and juicy on the inside. I saw the roots. I removed all the dirt, I had to. – 4-K Nov 08 '16 at 13:52
  • I will explain this in chat. It's too confusing here. – 4-K Nov 08 '16 at 13:53
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    It doesn'tmatter how healthy the roots were if they were no longer attached to the plant by the time you repotted - if there were one or two roots, even baby ones, that's probably what's supporting the growth on one of the stems. – Bamboo Nov 08 '16 at 13:53
  • I mean, the roots broke off easily. I have never encountered any roots like this. – 4-K Nov 08 '16 at 13:54
  • Well, stuff happens sometimes... – Bamboo Nov 08 '16 at 13:55
  • is this normal for dracaena to have that soft and easy-breaking roots? I mean, I re-potted my other dracaena several times :D but that plant's root didn't came out like this. Was something wrong with the plant? – 4-K Nov 08 '16 at 13:57
  • Let us [continue this discussion in chat](http://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/48174/discussion-between-bamboo-and-4-k). – Bamboo Nov 08 '16 at 14:09
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    4K, I'd leave this guy alone for a while. It looks to me that it is very dry and/or having trouble getting enough water if it indeed has a compromised root system. You won't see any growth for a while until a root system has been established. Then the top growth will start up with a vengeance. When transplanting, root breakage and loss is totally normal. I can't imagine you ripping any plant out of the soil. Keep moist, don't let this guy dry out so much but also don't soak when watering, just get the root system moist. Warmth. Light! This plant is STRESSED and I wouldn't add any more. – stormy Nov 08 '16 at 19:31
  • keeping the soil moist. light? Sunlight or just light? @stormy – 4-K Nov 10 '16 at 06:38
  • Bright light or morning full sunlight. If this gets worse we need to get rid of some of the photosynthetic growth. There aren't enough roots to get water to all leaves as they need it. That is why it looks wilted. Cause it is wilted. You've watered by now is it looking better or worse? Have you looked at the undersides of the leaves for insects? The colors of the leaves look muted, are they? Have you seen more color than this before? Have you ever had any troubles with spider mite? When watering don't soak all of the soil. Just light watering around the roots, moist not soaked. – stormy Nov 10 '16 at 17:49
  • It;s wilted cos there's no roots on one of the stems.... or at least insufficient root - Stormy says get rid of 'some of the photosynthetic growth', I said chop off the topgrowth, means the same effectively, – Bamboo Nov 10 '16 at 20:14