Question
We have a coi pond in our backyard in which papyrus plant flourished in the summer.  I brought the plant indoors and it has been slowly dying.  On closer inspection, it appears that the roots are rotting.

I did the same thing with this plant last winter and it loved being indoors.  The plant is in the same spot this winter.  The only thing that I can positively identify as different, is that we switched from very fine aquatic planting medium to small pebbles.

At this rate, the plant will not make it through the winter.  Any suggestions?

Mary Rose

Answer
Mary Rose,

Allow it to dry out more and lower the temperature. Put it in a room where it will be sunny and in the 50-0 degree range. More what it would be in Florida during the winter. I would also try taking some cuttings off the top of any healthy stems and try rooting them in some of the very fine aquatic planting medium that you used before. By spring you should have a healthy new plant. Just cut off the top of some healthy stems and dip them in rooting hormone then insert them in a fresh pot of soil and set it in a sunny location. Treat it like an established plant and it should quickly root. Good luck.

Darlene