Success on the Window Sill

Rooted and roaring to go

It worked.  Well, part of the experiment worked.  The stalk did not grow roots or leaves, but the pretty green top grew the finest set of roots I ever seen. Even a wisdom tooth would be envious of these.

Before:  cut free of the shriveled neck but not
ready to quit.  Two months in water did the trick.

Around the first of February this blog described the demise of part of my dracaena plant.  One of the stalks just hung its head over and gave up.  The national/world news is bad, but not so awful as to cause house plants to throw in the towel.  I was certain that with a good dose water and hope that at least part of it would be willing to have another go at life.

Very short, but filled with hope and vitality

Now after two months, the rescued green top is filled with life and light and is going strong.  I've planted  this healthy top back in its pot with the taller brother and sister--so thrilled that this is one of the Things I get to do today.

Slug Hunter in My Bedroom!

Oops!  Cut it before taking its sad picture

I stopped dead in my tracks.  Dracaenas are erect-growing, sturdy plants. They do not, under healthy conditions, hang their bushy, green heads like a goose going after a slug. The dracaena in our bedroom was doing that--hanging its head but not really looking for slugs. If it was, I hope it didn't find any!

Dry or rotten--which is it?

Closer inspection revealed that there was a dry or rotten spot near the top of the stalk, just under the bushy head. My garden clippers made short work of the whole sprout. Not taking any chances on it finding slugs. Then I contemplated. The head seemed vital enough. The stalk looked healthy. Would they each take on a life of their own if given a chance?

Bushy Green getting a chance to root

   


                        So here is one more Handy Andy plant Things-I-get-to-do-today experiment for you to keep track off.  All the dead and near-dead foliage and stem were removed from the bushy head.  It was plunked into water. The stalk was also trimmed up clean and put in water. Now we will wait.  And I just checked--no slugs in the bedroom.

Stalk getting a chance to root