A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum Cacti and Succulents Indoors please help I think my Panda Plant is dying... =(

hello...im new to this site just made my introduction on the new members forum but do also have a question...sorry it may get kinda long but just want to give as much detail as I can...
last may my sister gave me a beautiful panda plant for my birthday...its huge I had never seen another one like it...it has 2 thick stems that come out from the soil which are about 6 or 7 inches long and attached to those are (or were) 2 artichoke-ish looking bunches of fuzzy leaves and then growing up out of those are 2 looooong stems that go up about 2 feet into the air...when i first had gotten it there were flowers blooming on the tops of those long stems which lasted for a while probably 8 months and then started slowly drying and falling off which I expected to happen...there are little baby leaves there now trying to grow though...i was told that it needs to get completely dry before watering it so thats what i was doing..was watering about once a month and honestly sometimes it would go a little longer..Its still in the same pot/soil it came in I never changed it cuz it looked healthy where it was...I do have to say that the pot is kinda small but I had looked that up and had said that panda plants like to be root bound (well thats what I read)..and I have never given it any fertilizer or anything which I know thats my fault =/
ok soooo about a month ago I noticed that the leaves were slowly drying up and falling off...i watered it more but no change...then a few days ago I squeezed the 2 bottom thick stems and one of them felt kinda soft but not the other...i was basically able to peel the first layer of bark off (but I stopped rite away)..
ugh I dont know what to do I have been trying to search and search on google but there isnt much info on the symptoms of whats happening to my plant...the leaves that are left are so soft and just totally not healthy at all...there was new growth a few months ago that started and it was doing good but now looks like it came to a stop...I want to try and save it somehow what if I cut one of the long stems coming out of the bunches of leaves and try to root that...I have to try and save some part of this plant cuz it does have meaning to me also..
at 1st i thought it was root rot but I dont see how that could of happened being that I dont water it much at all..

ok thank you to anyone who can give me any kind of advice on what I should do...

-Romina

these are also know as,,, the
Kalanchoe tomentosa

50-75°F, 10-24°C
Humidity: Medium humidity
Lighting Needs: Does best in full sunlight coming from the South/East/West
Soil Type: A GOOD general purpose potting soil (a soil that retains water yet drains well) with a little added sand or if you want to mix your own take: 3 parts coarse sand or perlite, 2 parts garden soil, 2 parts humus (leaf mold), 1 part rinsed aquarium charcoal chips and a dusting of bone meal and limestone or a couple of eggshells (which can be substituted for limestone). Always use a pot with a hole.
Watering: Drench the soil and let it become barely moist between waterings. If you use rainwater, be careful as it could be acidic. Use warm water.
Fertilizer: Feed only twice a year, once in April and once in July with a water soluble fertilizer.
Plant Pests: Prone to mealy bugs and rarely scale.
seeds and leaf cuttings/ stem cuttings (let the cut end dry out first) in the late spring through summer. Propagate them in evenly moist soil, mist occasionally and keep in filtered sunlight until they are growing.
Avoid getting water on the leaves. Requires good ventilation and reduced watering in the winter. Be careful not to over-water. Put a layer of small gravel at the bottom of the pot and also one inch on the top of the soil to prevent stem rot. Keep cool and dry in the winter.


I don't know if any of this helped you I sure hope so,, I know how you feel in wanting to save a loved plant

thank you so much angelblossom =) I am actually going to lowes tomorrow to get new soil and sand and stuff and try and repot it to see if that helps...im also going to take a cutting and see if I can root another part of the plant just in case (but hopefully not) the rest of it doesnt make it...i will update on what happens...

if anyone else has any other advice please feel free to post that lol thanks again..



-Romina

remember to let the cut end dry out first,, some call it "callous over" before you attempt to start another plant from a cutting from this plant :wink:

ok so I had to perform serious surgery on my poor panda plant =(
when I went to repot it I noticed that alllllll the roots were totally dried out and hollow as were most of the 2 thick stems coming up from the soil...so I had to amputate...i took a few leaves off (the healthy ones that were left) and cut the stems that looked like they were still ok....I planted half and let half dry out for a couple days and just planted those last nite (well not planted but u know just kinda gently placed it in the soil so it can root) should I buy something to help it root or do u think it wil be ok just like that?.....omgggg i hope they growwww...i mean even though I lost most of the plant maybe a part of it will live and start growing again...hopefully
ugh I cannot believe everything was dry like that..i dont understand how that happened I was watering it at least once a month...could it of been some kind of disease?

hmmmmmmm


-romina

Hmmmmmm I don't know if it could have been a disease or not,, I'm rather puzzled too since it was so dried out yet you've been watering it,, was it sitting near a heat vent?
I Hope ( keeping my fingers crossed for you) that the pieces take root for you!
After some of the other pieces dry out and callous over you can try ROOT MEDIUM,, some call it Root TONE and lightly dip the calloused end in it and then Plant it,, I've used that often,, and it seems to do the trick in helping plant root quicker!