Having a thriving plant in your home is one of the most satisfying things ever. There's nothing quite like watching it grow from a sprout to a mature flowering plant, beautifying your space, and giving you all those benefits you always just read about.
But sometimes things happen. And you may find your plant slowly waning and struggling to stay 'alive'. But all may not be lost! Your plants can have a second life and return to their greenest, most abundant form if you carefully and conscientiously follow these eight hacks for reviving a dead plant.
Essential Plant-Saver Tips on How to Revive a Dead Plant
Although appearances on plants can be deceiving, even if a plant looks dead, it doesn't mean it is 100% dead. There is a much greater chance that you can revive it. All you have to do is give these professional gardening tricks on how to revive a dead plant first, instead of tossing it out firsthand.
1. Look for Signs of Life
When it comes to plants, the term 'dead' is completely relative. At times, your plant may look like it is completely gone and is ready to be thrown away. But if you take a closer look, that may not be the case. It may still have some signs of life. So, always check if there's still some green left in the plant because this is a good sign, which essentially means not everything is lost.
Make sure to also check the roots of the plants. As the plant’s main support system, the roots provide a lot more information about the state of its overall health.
2. Check if You Have Overwatered Your Plant
If you have been hydrating your plant with too much water, you'll need to change this instantly. Indeed, plants need water to survive and thrive, but it’s possible to give a plant too much water, which isn't always right. You will tell that they are overwatered if they start showing brown or yellow wilted leaves with moist soil. This will affect the roots, causing them to rot, which essentially leads to the plant dying.
So, how to revive this dead-looking plant? Simple! According to professional gardeners, you should remove the plant from direct sunlight and stop watering it until the soil dries out. It will soon spring back to life if you follow the right hacks.
3. On the Same Note, Check if You Have Underwatered
Sometimes you may find yourself entirely forgetting to water your plant for several days. So, how do you revive a dead plant if you notice that it is underwatered? Gardening professionals recommend letting your plant soak in water for a few hours for it to get its hydration properties back to life again.
When searching for signs to see if your plant is underwatered, you'll probably notice the plant wilting, plus its leaves will start to dry out and brown at the tips, and then turn brown, die, and drop off. Follow the great advice of letting the plant soak in water so you can revive your dead-looking plant.
4. Remove Dead Leaves
If you're still keen to know more on how to revive a dead plant, here goes another great tip. Plants that are deteriorating will likely have dead leaves, and you’ll need to get rid of them to get your plant revived. If you notice leaves are completely brown, let them go, because they are not coming back.
On the contrary, you'll want to focus on new growth instead. To remove these dead leaves, snip them with a pair of scissors, or gently pinch the dead leaves with your fingertips, making sure not to form a 'scar' on the plant.
5. Cut Back the Stems
When strumming the leaves or stems of a plant, of course, this will help revive a dead plant, but progress takes time. Don't get scared or flushed away if you don't see immediate results in your plant's revival process.
How to revive the dying plant, in this case, means you'll want to start by trimming back the dead leaves, and then take off dead bits of the stem as well. Ideally, you want to take it back to the healthiest bits of the plant, but if the stems are dead, then leave at least two inches of them above the soil.
6. Be Cautious About the Lighting
Lighting is an important factor for the health of your houseplants, so you’ll need to make sure that your plant is getting the optimal amount. Once you know if your houseplant prefers full sun, partial sun, direct sunlight, or indirect sunlight, then you can move it to a more suitable area of your home.
This is one of the greatest tips on reviving a dead plant. If your plant isn’t getting enough light, simply move it to a location where it will enjoy optimal amounts of sunlight, without exaggerating.
7. Provide Additional Nutrients
Feeding your plant is especially important during the growing seasons of spring and summer. A malnourished plant will instantly show weak stems or discolored leaves, so to revive this seemingly dying plant, you’ll need compost manure or fertilizer.
Simply repotting your dying plant is a great hack to revive this plant. Soil can decrease the amount of nutrients over time, so repotting every few years is always a good idea.
8. Wait at Least a Month
Patience is key when you're a plant parent looking at how to revive a dead plant. Keep a close eye on your plant for a few weeks and then reevaluate its state. It's very important to be conscious of the fact that once you’ve taken steps to revive a dying plant, it can take up to a month before you start to see an improvement or new growth.
In that case, don't give up on your plant too soon; it needs you! If you follow these amazing tips on how to revive a dead plant, we're sure you'll retrieve its beautiful green leaves and stems in due course.
