Rejuvenate your hanging plant
Has your plant become leggy or bald on top? Do the vines have long stems with barely any leaves left?
Rejuvenating a plant is essential for maintaining its appearance, health, and longevity. When a plant passes its peak and begins to deteriorate. Whether due to age, environmental stressors like low light, compacted soil, being root-bound, or simply the winter blues, it is time for a restart.
Clean it up
Start by removing any completely wilted leaves or stem sections to tidy up the plant. Be sure to leave healthy, firm, and succulent stems, even if they currently lack leaves.
Check the soil and roots
The first step in rejuvenating a plant is checking whether repotting or a pot upgrade is necessary. If the soil and pot size are still good, perhaps because the plant was already repotted not too long ago, you can skip this step and move directly to pruning.
However, if the plant is due for a repotting, follow these steps:
Unpot the plant to check the state of the root ball. Mainly check how root bound it is, but also look for any rotting or dead roots along the outside (without removing any soil).
Repot the plant:
- If it has healthy roots not too tightly woven together, untangle the roots carefully and remove some of the old soil. You can for example rinse the roots in water to remove soil without harming them as much.
- If it rather has healthy roots growing very densely, so that you will need to break a lot of them to remove old soil, skip doing that. Keep the root ball intact and just fill new soil under and around the root ball in a slightly bigger pot.
- If you see a lot of rotting or dead roots, remove some of the totally dead ones and try to save as many of the healthy roots as possible. You don't need to get rid of all wilting root sections either.Repot the plant in a pot with drainage holes, using a suitable soil for your plant. It's generally better to upgrade to a pot one size bigger at a time, than a much larger one at once.
- You can always find all the recommended soil types for a particular plant in the Care info section in Planta.
Prune the plant
The next step, and the most crucial for a successful restart, is to prune the plant back to about 1/3 or 1/2 of its current size. If the species can be propagated from leaves or stem sections, you can use the cuttings you remove to grow new plants or to fill out the mother plant. Pruning encourages the plant to rejuvenate, branch out new shoots near the soil, and become bushier.
It is worth noting that pruning and repotting are best done in the spring or summer while the plant is actively growing and has a long bright season ahead. Always monitor the light and moisture levels to ensure the plant is neither over nor under-watered during its recovery.
You can also do it at other times of the year if you supplement it with a bright grow light.
The plant's Care and Environment
If your plant began to deteriorate for reasons other than age, you may need to adjust your care routine or improve its growing conditions to sustain its health and appearance after a restart. The most common causes for a leggy, sparse, or deteriorating vining plant are:
Lacking sufficient light
Uneven light exposure (A common issue for plant in hanging pots if the top part barely receives any light)
Too dry soil
Overwatering
Keep in mind that pruning and repotting can temporarily weaken the plant until it begins to regrow. To ensure the new growth is healthy and vibrant, provide optimal care and a stable environment during the recovery phase.
- Rooting cuttings is also an excellent way to create backup plants, providing insurance in case the parent plant ever struggles
