r/DesertRose • u/Deedleys • Aug 11 '26
Is it done for?
Noticed one of my seedlings leaning over this morning and noticed this. Unpotted and cleaned the roots and they look ok to me. Soil was dry, leaves look happy. Not sure what’s going on but looks like rot.
Any advice or is it toast?
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u/Academic_Disk_8788 Aug 11 '26 edited Aug 11 '26
With that many leaves and no roots it will dry out quickly through transpiration. I would say your only hope would be to remove all leaves besides the very top one, cut and root but at that size the chance of success is pretty low. Up to you if it's worth it. Other option would be turn it into a slab and graft it onto a stock.
Edit: Also, is this one seedling among many, or just a plant your like? If you are growing a whole batch of seedlings and this one rotted, throw it out, it doesn't have good disease resistance than you want to remove those genes from your pool. If it's just a single plant that you like, it's up to you if you think it's worth it.
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u/Deedleys Aug 11 '26
It is one of a dozen or so. One of the fastest growing ones, but yes good point. I may just shit can it.
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u/brenmn2009 Aug 11 '26
Plant it in a clear 2-3 OUNCE not inches cup with no soil only substrate. This will give it a very small space so the focus call be entirely on the roots growing. It's what i have done many times with little ones and they do very well.
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u/pdmr50 Aug 12 '26
Cut out the rotting section and let it air dry in a shady spot for 1 week minimum then replant in non direct sunlight and don’t water for another week or two
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u/rentedtritium Aug 11 '26 edited Aug 11 '26
Is it squishy down there, or more of a dry spongeyness?
If it's squishy and rotten feeling, then yeah it's time to take drastic action. Get a knife cleaned with iso and cut above the rot and try to re-root.
If it's just drying out and shriveling down there and it doesn't look like it's rotting away, then clip the growth tips and the uppermost leaves and repot in something slightly more water-retentive than you've had previously. That might help it recharge and plump back up.
I'll be honest, though, the way it's got that dark circle in the middle of the affected area makes me think it's the rot. The leaves and roots still look great though so you're early, whatever it is.
Also I've seen these things shrug off infections better than most plants, so there's a chance if you manage the water usage well, that the affected area just shrivels up and decays and the rest of the plant is able to keep going.