Identification: HELP! My 29 Year Old Plant is Dying!!!

HELP! My 29 Year Old Plant is Dying!!! What is It?

I am going to be so terribly sick if this plant dies on me! I don't even know what it is called (looks like a lipstick plant but does not flower and never has) but I have had it for 29 years now (it was a present to my mother when I was in kindergarten) and I just can't let it die! I just re-potted it yesterday in hopes that it will perk up as it had NEVER been re-potted in the 29 years we have had it! I may have over fertilized it with miracle grow? I had watered it a few weeks back with the miracle grow but it wasn't doing very well then either. I had never fertilized this plant, it always flourished on it's own as you can see from the photo from last summer. It was an easy to maintain plant and all I ever needed to do was water it. As you can see from the photo taken today it is not well at all. If anyone has any suggestions I would surely appreciate it! Since I don't know what this plant is called I have no idea if I can take a cutting and start a new plant from it? Please anyone, help me! I am desperate!!!

http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/br/brendalynnkay/Plant.jpg

 

You should be able to take some clippings from it and put them in some water to root, this way if you lose the original you still have a another one. Was the plant root bound when you transplanted it? if that is the problem you may have fixed it just by repotting it, I would avoid putting any miracle grow or anything like that due to the shock of repotting. Good Luck!!!! Hope this helps

 

Thank you for your reply :o) It was root bound since it had been in the same pot for all the time! I may have over watered it or the miracle grow may have damaged the roots, I am not sure but it sure is pathetic looking right now. It has not seemed to perk up since re-potting it 2 days ago. I did take one vine and placed it in water but the vines are not "woody" and they may just rot in the water. I wish I knew what kind of plant this is so I could look up how to care for it and try growing more from clippings or shoots.

 

Take it to an independent greenhouse or garden center with a big line of tropicals and ask about it there. A place where they actually propagate and produce the plants themselves would be optimal, as you are probably more likely to find someone who has an intimate acquaintance with such plants as yours.

 

Hi Tinkerbella,

Looks like a Peperomia to me. I agree with Ron, if it is really that precious to you then take it to a local expert and they will probably be able to help. I would also take a few cuttings, dip them in rootone (or similar) and put them in a moist (not wet) sandy potting medium, under a grow-light if possible. Good luck!

 

What would be a good potting medium to buy? What should it have in it? I will take a few cuttings and hope that they take root :o) Thank you again to all of you helping me out!!!

 

Hi Tinkerbella,

That's an interesting question, and one that could open a whole new thread of responses. As far as commercially prepared potting mixtures goes, I have always been very impressed with "Supersoil" brand by Mclellan Industries. You can find it at a lot of major chains including Home Depot. Most brands are basically a mix of peat, sand and added nutrients.... but I swear that Supersoil just works better for me than any of the others by far. For the purposes of rooting cuttings, it is kind of on the sandy side, which is perfect. More important (especially at this time of year) is a lot of light, and ideally some steady, but very moderate, warmth from below. Obviously these conditions are not easy to provide in an average house/apt. situation. One tip that I might suggest is taking a large plastic juice bottle and cutting the top off with kitchen scissors, burn about a dozen small holes in it (around the bottom) with a hot screwdriver (or similar) and place it upside down over your pots that have the cuttings in them. This will provide a humid microclimate that will greatly improve your rooting success with many types of cuttings. Good luck!

 

Dying plant

Hi! I saw your message about your dieing plant, and I wanted to help you. I am pretty sure that your plant is also called a Peperomia Clussiifolia. The problem probably was that it was pot bound, and it might pick up in a coupple weeks. Now that you probably know the name of your plant, you could go to www.google.com or www.yahoo.com to find tons of info on them. If you go to the Image section on Google or Yahoo, you could try to Identify it better. I hope this message helps, Luke.