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My elephant bushes are not well! Can I save them? Or should I take… | The Cactus & Succulent Circle | Comunità di Planta

Veggie Lover

My elephant bushes are not well! Can I save them? Or should I take cuttings of all the stems with healthy leaves and use them to start over?

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4 Mi piace 6 commenti

6 commenti

  1. Ji11

    I have zero knowledge on this particular plant but anytime I have a plant like this I do both. Try to save the OG but definitely start a new baby just incase lol

    3 Mi piace
  2. eatyacarbs

    Well I’d definitely like to help you ID what’s going wrong here so I’d love more info about when things started going wrong. The good news is that these as HARDY. Even if they seem dead they *can* come back. Not a guarantee lol but mine was a few inches of dehydrated brittle stems rescued from an old neighbors window 3 years ago and now it looks like this

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    2 Mi piace
    • Veggie Lover

      They’re both fairly old plants. I think the one in the bonsai pot is over a decade old, and the other one is a cutting from the first one and at least 5 years old. I installed the Planta app a few weeks ago and before that my plant care has haphazard. My husband tries to help but he has a) a love for cacti and succulents, and b) a VERY heavy hand with the watering can. This is a catastrophic combination. My approach tends more towards benign neglect, which cacti and succulents seem to like. I have now told my husband not to water the plants at all ever unless I drop dead. So our combined cluelessness has led to the leggy state of the elephant plants. They have both looked much better than this in the past, but have declined over the last year perhaps. I’m inclined to start over with cuttings but if you have suggestions for rehabilitating these I’m all (elephant) ears

      1 mi piace
    • eatyacarbs

      I am laughing at your reply!! Husbands! 😂 Benign neglect - I very much relate to this with my succs. As far as the leggy-ness. I’m into it for an elephant bush. I don’t think you can mess it up, honestly, whatever you decide to do. (Your husband might be a different story & probably best to keep him away lol)

      1 mi piace
  3. Patty

    I will never purchase this plant again. I’ve tried to saved it and after the 2nd one died that’s it for me. Good luck saving it.

    2 Mi piace
    • Veggie Lover

      I’m like that with Boston ferns and any kind of lily.

      1 mi piace