Question
dying plant
Hi,
Can you please help identifying what kind of plant I have? I attached a picture of the side of the plant that looks like it is dying (the other side oddly looks fine) :(
I bought the plant last June from a greenhouse and actually nursed it to health. At the greenhouse when i bought it, the tips were dry and brown but after a couple months, the leaves started looking healthy with minimal bry drown spots. I have been keeping the plant on my windowsill and watering regularly. But, all of a sudden a few days ago(literally I came to my plant one morning) an entire half of
the plant was limp and droopy and quite honestly dead looking. I can't think of anything new that I did. i live in boston and it has been super cold and windy the past few days but like i said, the plant has been on the windowsill all winter with similar days like the past few days and seemed like it was fine...any help on how to revive my plant??
Thanks in advance!
Marie
AnswerHi Marie,
Your plant is a Tricolor Oyster Plant (Tradescantia Rhoeo Spathacea). This plant is also known by several common names. Moses In A Basket, Moses In A Boat and Boat Lily are a few of the most common names this plant is known by. It is in the same family as Wandering Jew.
From looking at the damaged part of the plant, my guess would be that the damage was caused by a cold or freezing injury.
Was the half of the plant that is damaged on the side that was towards the window? Even though the plant has been in the window all winter, it could be that the plant somehow got moved too close to the window and that side of the plant had gotten too cold. If any of the leaves had been touching the window, they could have even became frozen.
There is really nothing you can do to save the half of the plant that is damaged. That part is dead and beyond recovery.
You should remove the dead part of the plant as soon as possible, before it can affect the rest of the plant. Move the plant to a place that has good light but is free from cold drafts.
Give the plant a couple of weeks to recover from the stress and then repot the plant in a smaller pot. Also be especially careful not to over-water this plant. As a general rule, you should allow the top 1-2 inches of soil to dry between watering. Then water the plant until a small amount of water drains from the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot.
I hope this helps. If you have any questions or need additional information please don't hesitate to ask.
Thanks
Tracy
