A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum Please help identify?

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My grandmother left this plant, as well as several others to me in her will when she passed away recently. As you can see, the little guy is not doing well at all - He originally had two stems joined at the base, but the other half already rotted away and the second half is following close behind. I'm assuming it was the shock of moving him from my grandma's humid, warm apartment to my chilly dorm room.

He means a lot to me and I'd really hate to lose him, but since I have no idea what kind of plant he is, I'm having trouble providing him the care he needs.

Any help would be great. (:

I sure don't know what it is but if that pot doesn't have a drain hole in the bottom, it would help if you replanted it in a pot that does. And if when you pull the whole thing out of that pot (soil and all), if the roots are really dense and visible around the soil, then you probably should replant it in a bigger pot with more soil to give it room to grow.

Just an update: I carefully un-potted him earlier today, only to find that 70% of his root system was rotten! Turns out my grandmother had piled nearly two inches of rocks on top of a tiny drain hole. I snipped off the soggy, black roots, leaving about a half-inch of healthy portion. I'm not sure if it was a good idea, but in hopes of promoting new root growth, I dipped the severed end in a small amount of rooting hormone (cautiously avoiding the roots that were already there).

I transplanted him into a smaller terra cotta pot, propped him against a new plastic knife, and watered until it started leaking from the drainage holes. He's still pretty sad looking, but my fingers are crossed.

Any suggestions about a way I could have handled the situation better? I'm still very new at this.

Also, I still have no idea what he is. xD

Well I have always heard that it's good to put rocks at the bottom of pots to assist w/ drainage. But I've never done that, since eventually I'm sure the soil gets washed down in between the rocks and would seal it off a little anyway. Plus it just leaves less room for roots to grow. How is the plant doing now?

Yeah, I was always taught that gravel at the bottom helps drainage, but I read recently that it may just cause the water to pool on top of the rocks if there are too many. I don't know if that's true or not, but just to be sure, I use coffee filters instead.

As for the plant, he's doing very well! He perked up literally over night, and within twenty four hours, he did not even need the knife for support. He appears to be healthier now than when I initially took him with me, and there's signs of new growth. I'm so excited!

Does anybody have an idea as to whether or not I should fertilize him this summer, or if it would be healthier to wait until next year?