How to know if the roots are rotten

Healthy root ball

Image - Flordeplanta.com.ar

One of the most common problems when caring for plants is excess watering or humidity. Whether we pour water on them too often or if we leave a full plate for them when they don't need it, it is very likely that sooner or later we will have to discard them.

Fungi are microorganisms that do not take long to appear at the slightest sign of weakness, so most of the time nothing can be done to save them. Therefore, below you will discover how to tell if the roots are rotten.

When to water?

Person watering with metal watering can

If we take into account that excess watering is the worst enemy of plants, it is therefore important to know when to water. And the truth is that it is complicated, because in gardening 2 and 2 are never 4. There is no universal rule to follow to have perfect plants. Only daily observation and, also, errors will help us to acquire the experience we need. Now, if you are new to this, don't worry. There are several tricks that will be very useful, which are these:

  • Check the humidity of the substrate before watering, in any of these ways:
    • Insert a thin wooden stick (the kind that you get in Japanese restaurants) to the bottom. If it comes out practically clean, it means that the soil is dry and therefore needs water.
    • Weigh the pot once it is watered and again after a few days: since wet soil weighs more than dry soil, this difference in weight will serve as a guide to know when to water.
    • Use a digital humidity meter: when you enter it, it will tell you how humid the portion of earth that has come into contact with it is. To make it more useful, you should introduce it in other areas (closer to the trunk of the plant, further away).
  • Don't put a plate under your plant, unless you remember to remove any excess water within ten minutes of watering.
  • Use a suitable substrate for each plant. For example, a cactus does not need the same soil as a petunia. Using a suitable mixture will avoid many problems. You have more information here.

How to know if the roots are wrong?

Healthy leaves of Fagus sylvatica

Healthy leaves of Fagus sylvatica (Is)

We all would like to have plants as healthy and beautiful as there are that you can see in the image above. However, when we overwater the roots weaken and many even die. But how can we know? What are the symptoms of overwatering?

  • Lower leaves turn yellow
  • No growth is seen
  • The ground turns green
  • Presence of fungi
  • The roots turn dark brown and then black

Can anything be done to save the plant?

If the trunk or stem is still green and is in a pot, yes. What we will do is take it out and wrap the root ball or earth bread in several layers of kitchen paper. We will have it like that for at least 24 hours and, the next day, we remove it and plant it again in the pot but we do not water for a few days.

In the event that it is on land, the only thing we can do is suspend watering and resume it when we see that the land is dry.

I hope it has been of interest to you 🙂.


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