How to Save a Plant with Root Rot (Part 5)

Another check in with Henry, the plant we saved from root rot. He has put on new growth and is looking good. See his progress in 13 months.

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Video Transcript

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Hello and welcome to HealthyHouseplants.com, where we teach you all about gardening in the great indoors. If you’d like to support our show, please use our Amazon affiliate link below.

Today we are checking in with Henry here, who we started a revival on because he was suffering from root rot. It’s been about 13 months now, and he is doing great. As you can see, he has grown recently—probably just within the last couple of months—another six inches, so he’s getting nice and big and tall and healthy. You can see up here he’s got new growth coming on as well; see that nice new pretty leaf there?

He is a Ficus elastica, a rubber tree. When the rubber trees get their new leaves, they actually are red in color and then turn to a deep green, as you see with the other leaves. It’s a really cool transformation to see happen. When he was revived, he wasn’t doing very well, so I’m really happy that he is still doing really well.

He is in the same pot as I had him in when I put him in during the revival, at the time of the initial revival. He is not quite ready yet for a new pot. When you revive a plant with root rot, and you get it out of the root rot dilemma, you definitely do not want to pot it up into a bigger pot too soon. You don’t want to do that with any plants because that’s how root rot starts in the first place, but definitely not with a plant that has had the issue of root rot.

Today, however, it is time for him to get a little fertilizer. I am guesstimating that in another three to six months, he will need potting up. The good ratio here—the ratio I always talk about—is two-thirds plant to one-third pot combination. You might look at him and think, “Okay, well, he is getting ready to surpass that two-thirds one-third, getting closer to three-quarters one-quarter,” but as mentioned, it’s better to err on the side of caution as far as not potting up too soon.

I am doing that with him, and he is still, as you can see, even this branching as well is also getting some new growth—a baby new leaf there. He is still growing really well. If he were to slow down in growth, and if he were to need watering much more frequently, that’s when I would start looking at him needing to go up a pot size. But for right now, he is not doing that, so I am going to leave him be for a while longer.

However, you do want to fertilize when they’re waiting to go up to the next pot size. So you do want to give them nutrients—the plants nutrients—not too often. With a plant that has been root-rotted, I would suggest fertilizing about every three months. As you start to see more and more growth, you can go to two months, but try not to over-fertilize them because that can put them into a bit of shock if they’re just getting too many nutrients, or the nutrients will just wash out, and you’re wasting your time and money.

Depending on what you’re using to fertilize with, it can also make the soil more salty and cause salinity buildup in the soil, and that can lead to root rot again. So over-fertilizing (and I have a video on that) is not a good idea. More is not necessarily better. If you’re worried that your plants are going to starve to death or something, keep in mind that fertilizer gives them nutrients for growth, but it does not cause them to grow.

What causes plants to grow is photosynthesizing, and what they need for photosynthesizing is not nutrients. They do need a certain range of nutrients for the photosynthesis to go well, but what starts off the photosynthesizing process is light. So make sure your plant that you are reviving from root rot has really good lighting, and that will give the plant everything it needs to grow, and then you supplement with some fertilizing.

I’m going to be using today my Green Gourmet houseplant food. I’ll put a link of that below; you can see it here. Then, I am going to, as mentioned, let him sit for another three to six months. I’m guessing it’ll probably be closer to three months because he’s been growing even more quickly lately.

As I always suggest for putting in a granular fertilizer, first of all, you need to water the soil first. You don’t want to fertilize a dry plant or dry soil. When the plant has dry soil, you want to water first, which I actually did yesterday to get him to soak up nice moisture. Now I’m going to go ahead and give him some fertilizer.

What I do with this is I make holes. It depends on the size; how deep will depend on the size of the pot. But in this size pot, at least an inch down, maybe an inch and a half down, to get the fertilizer to the root zone, then cover it back up with soil. In him, I’m going to do four holes. Make sure you follow package directions as to how much fertilizer. I do know by looking, but when you’re new to this, try to follow the directions as much as you can.

So, I’m putting in here about an eighth of a teaspoon—maybe a teeny bit more—into each hole and covering. My fertilizer does have mycorrhizae in it; I have a video on that, and that needs to be at the root zone to be activated and work. So that’s why you want to get it down there like that.

Okay, so I’ve got the fertilizer holes in, and now I am going to go ahead and water him again because when you do fertilize, you do want to water again. Once you fertilize, for one, you want to activate the fertilizer. For two, you don’t want that dry fertilizer in there potentially getting to the roots and harming them. This will get things nice and moist and get the plant absorbing nutrients and growing even healthier.

So that is it. Always also water with warm water—warm to tepid water. I have a video on that as well and why you want to do that. That will help houseplants like that, and not doing that can cause root dieback, which is another thing you don’t want with a plant that has had a problem with root rot. So we will check back in with Henry when it is time to re-pot him.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting him! He’s happy to be here, definitely happy to be alive, and I’m happy about that too. Thank you for stopping by today! Please leave any comments about any indoor gardening tutorials you’d like to see. Remember to like, comment, subscribe, and share this video. And please check the bell if you’d like to be notified when new videos are released!

FAQ's - How to Save Plants with Root Rot 101

FAQ about Reviving a Ficus Elastica (Rubber Tree)

How long has Henry been recovering from root rot?

Henry has been recovering for about 13 months now.

What kind of plant is Henry?

Henry is a Ficus elastica, commonly known as a rubber tree.

What color are new leaves on a rubber tree?

New leaves on a rubber tree start off red and then turn to a deep green as they mature.

Why shouldn’t I repot a plant that has had root rot too soon?

Repotting a plant that has had root rot too soon can lead to the same issue reoccurring, as it can stress the plant and promote further root problems.

How often should I fertilize a recovering plant?

For a plant recovering from root rot, it’s suggested to fertilize about every three months, increasing to every two months as the plant shows more growth.