Just so you know, I've already nearly killed the strawberry plant. This may be a new record for me.

mariadnoca

Moderator
I assure you - my mom would not be surprised. Because as a teen no matter how many instructions she gave I almost always killed at least one of her houseplants when she went on vacation.

So. Here's how I'm killing it:

I planted it in the pot, with nearly 50/50 potting soil and worm castings. Then watered it till it ran through the pot. Though I tossed the extra water, the next afternoon the pot was still very wet and heavy, so mucb so the clay pot was damp on the outside. I worried about this much water so I replanted it with mostly potting soil, removed one dead looking leaf branch, and called it better. It was still damp when sticking my finger in so I didn't add more water.

I checked it every day and it still seemed damp to my finger test, but it was laying sorta limp. I thought maybe not enough sun since I wasn't getting direct sun on the porch. Yesterday I moved it out to to get a few hours of morning sun and removed another brown leaf section (I didn't like this, but both of these were a bit brown from travel)

Today it still looked limp, but no new water because it was still damp beneath the soil line. I move it further into the sun and about 2pm go out (notice it's pretty warm out) and the plant is still limp, but now the leaves are curled. I bring it in for water because clearly it needs something and notice the leaves are kinda crisp from just today's stint in the sun. So I've given it maybe a 1/2+ cup of water just over the roots (vs. the drench of the first time) and I've sprayed water on the leaves. I've now got it in the living rm window that's shaded by the tree out front, but...

...I think that little wannabe strawberry plant could now use some prayers.

 
Sounds like ordinary transplant shock, especially since you planted it twice. (Good call on mostly

potting soil--worm castings could burn the roots at this point.) Leave it outside where it will get only morning sun, if possible. Spray the leaves if the weather is warm. Forget the saucer--put it where the draining water won't matter.

You shouldn't need to water it much since the plant is not active. Give it time. If you see new leaves forming in the center you know it is growing roots and recovering.

I'm rooting (ahem) for it!

 
Dear God, Mother Nature, Buddha, Rachel Carson & Mr. GreenJeans,

Take pity and shine your benevolent light down upon me.

I am but a weak and struggling Fairfax Strawberry research sapling, obtained under false pretenses and lost amid the (rather disgusting) worm casings.

Grant me the strength to blossom in this garden.
The courage to send down roots and grow strong.
And the wisdom to one day firmly establish myself in some poor schmuck's sigmoid colon, where I will--hopefully--develop into a raging case of diverticulitis.

Amen.

Yours in cross-pollination,
CFRA138 Fairfax

 
Back
Top