TL;DR Do i risk shocking an already barely recovering plant (to which i am deeply emotionally attached) in order to try and nip this last bit of root rot in the bud, or do I just wait and hope for the best?
My bell pepper plant saga lives to see another day. This poor thing has survived so much trauma but SHE OUT HERE FIGHTING FOR HER LIFE, FAM. Help me save her 🥺
If you can't tell, I'm very new to hydro. When i first transplanted her to her "home reservoir," I didn't leave enough of an air gap and she developed root rot. I tried to triage with h2o2, but after another 4 or 5 days she was looking BAD. Wilted, all flowers dropped, stem almost brown in places, most leaves dropped. Roots were all but brown liquid. I was devastated because I have been trying really, really hard to help her grow.
About 8 days ago, I found a video with a guy who had a plant in similar shape, and i threw a hail mary. I cut off like 80% of her roots, leaving barely and inch and below the net pot. Another h2o2 soak while I sanitized everything, and I as gently as possible cleared the slime off her remaining roots. The whole process took an hour at least, like I was METHODICAL. I bought surgical grade sterile water and adding an extremely diluted (like 30%) nutrient solution. At this point, she still hadn't developed any air roots, and I was worried she was still going to drown. I was sure it was the end, but the video I was following said to wait a week before calling it.
Well, 8 days later and I'm literally going to cry because NOT ONLY is she standing upright again, but she's got new foliage, new roots, AND HER FIRST PROPER AIR ROOTS 😭😭😭😭 (yes I really am this emotional over this plant.)
Here's why I'm posting now, though. If you look in the photos, you can see her shiny white healthy new-root growth, but you can also see a few still affected by rot.
My question is, do I go back for a second pass with another h2o2 and root debriding? Or given her overall rebound, should I just leave it be and hope the healthy roots overtake the sickly ones? I don't want to stress her out anymore, but I'm also worried about the risk of rot spreading to her new roots.
WWKD ~¿
by b_list_buddha
1 Comment
Oh, also, the tiny jar is basically her ICU unit, and it is covered from light all the time except when I remove the cover to peek. I have a great big 20L bucket waiting for her that’s fully light-proof, I just don’t think i should transfer her there yet until she’s more stable.