After the cold months and the fickle weather this spring, there may be some wilting blooms in your garden. But, don't give up on them just yet. A few simple steps is all it takes to revive these dying plants and bring them back to life for the season.
First, it's important to take a plant out of its pot and check the roots to see if they are rotting. How can you tell? Roots are normally a light color, so ones that are not are likely rotted. Generally, root rot happens for two reasons: Too much water, which can cause roots to die from lack of oxygen, and a dormant fungus that comes to life from overwatering and eats eats away at the roots. Take a pair of scissors and snip off the rotted parts of the roots, and then also cut a 1/2-inch into the good roots to make sure there is no lingering rot.
After that, check to see if there are any insects like ticks and ants buried in the soil. If so, use a plant insecticide. Then add potting soil to a new planter and put the plant inside. Fill the entire pot with potting soil until it's an inch from the top. (Tip: The new pot should be slightly smaller than the previous pot you used for the plant. This helps to increase foliage growth over root growth.) Finally add water to the pot until it overflows, and watch your plant slowly revitalize.
Check out the clip above for a video tutorial showing each of the steps. Do you know of other ways to revive dying plants? Let us know in comments below.