Question
My boyfriend bought me my first plant, I believe it is a defenbachia. It is in a 4" pot and is quite small with one main stalk with  several comining off ot it directly and two around it. He told me it needed direct sunlight-which now I know is untrue by reading your q&a. Anyway, I took it outside and unfortunately left it out over night. It is still freezing at night here so when I got up this morning it was dead...at least I think it is! All the leaves have turned light yellow and are very soft and their stems are completely soft and bent...I took the bad leaves off at the stalk but i don't know if that was the correct thing to do. Can it be brought back to life??? Or should I go buy another one so my boyfreind doesn't get his feelings hurt??? Like I said this is my very first plant, so if you can be as specific as possible I would appreciate it! Thank You!

Answer
Hi Rayne,

If the temps did not go below freezing, then there is a reasonably chance that the roots were protected by the surrounding soil and may be OK. The damaged leaves and stems will not recover and you did the right thing in trimming them off. As long as the roots are still healthy, then new growth should emerge within a couple of weeks.

Provide lots of bright, but indirect light. Do not move it into a larger pot and do not fertilize it. Allow the soil to get quite dry in between waterings.

As for your boyfriend, I hope that he will understand that we all make mistakes sometimes and that he should not take personally your forgetting to bring your plant inside. Obviously, you care a great deal about this gift plant from him or you would not be taking the trouble to write me about it.

Good luck and let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions.
   
Regards,
Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC

You can E-mail me directly at: [email protected]

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