You've found the famous Dave's Garden website! Join this friendly global community that shares tips and ideas for home and gardens, along with seeds and plants!
Check out the DG homepage for a brief overview of what you'll find in this gardening mega-site.
Login
If you don't have an account yet, visit the registration page to sign up.
There is a lot to be said about sick & dying plants. Sometimes we have to be ruthless & waste no time removing stricken individuals; especially in cases of pest or disease. Occasionally though, dormant vegetation is mistakenly sent to compost oblivion. And in other instances, seemingly expired plants may still be at death's door; awaiting a miraculous resurrection by way of correct love & care. The Plant Hospital series will look at different situations that threaten the lives of our plants & how we can help them cheat death. Drawing from personal experience & the wealth of knowledge contributed by DG members, various writers will show how to nurse sick plants, recover from gardening disasters & salvage life from discards.
I've had this Episcia for at least 7 years. He is the first one, Hubbys Mom gave me a small cutting. He doesn't have a name, but he has glorious leaves and bright red flowers most of the year. I've taken many, many stolons off of him to share with others. Unfortunately, he's been in the same hanging basket for the entire 7 years and is badly overgrown. Today it is time to breathe some life into this poor plant.
The photo to the left shows the poor plant as it is now. First, I'll remove any dead leaves. He has a lot of good, healthy growth at the ends of those straggly, bare stems.
Now we need a scissors. I'm going to cut off all of that good, healthy growth.
Don't be afraid, it is for the best!! Snip, snip, snip.
Now that you have a nice pile of cuttings on the floor, pick them up and remove the bottom sets of leaves. You need an inch or more of bare stem.
Insert the cutting into the soil up to the first available set of leaves. I use a regular store bought soil and add extra perlite.
Water them in well and place somewhere warm and shady. Using this method I have never lost a single cutting. I potted them all individually but you could easily put 5 cuttings into a 6" hanging basket, they will fill in quickly for a beautiful display.
Remember all of those bare stems? Cut them off as well. Yup, snip, snip, snip. The beauty of the Episcia is that a new plant will develop pretty much wherever a leaf once resided. I lay them on soil in a shallow container or in a terrarium and pin them down with hairpins. Once they have developed roots, I take the scissors and snip them into pot sized pieces, and pot them up.
Ta Da!!! One nicely rejuvenated Episcia. With the weight of those stems removed, and a top dressing of new soil added to the original plant, it will soon send out new, healthy stolons and fill in nicely.Technically, I should have tipped him out of the pot and given him all new soil, but, alas, I ran out of soil potting up all of those nice cuttings. I now have umpteen new plants to do with as I please, and he can make do with the top dressing until I get more soil.
I hope this "Back From the Brink" tutorial has been a useful aid in helping you realize that sometimes a little TLC is all that is needed. The task of chopping up a plant can be a daunting one at times. Hopefully this has helped explain, and given confidence to those who may be hesitant.
Special thanks must go to Ian(GranvilleSouth) for the Plant Hospital idea and the intro to this article!!
About Lee Anne Stark
I am an avid gardener who shares my gardens with 2 other equally avid gardeners. I garden for fun and relaxation, never paying attention to the rules!! During the long, cold winter months I occupy my time playing with over a hundred house plants, my six cats and two dogs.
Posted by 110743cgc (from Burlington, NC) on August 7, 2008 at 12:11 AM:
I've planted two this year. one has leaves that are turning brown around the edges but the rest of the leaf seems o.k. what's wrong and what can I do? I'm a new gardener and sorta dumb. Please help!! I'm not really sure this is the right name 'cause i've lost the tag. But, one had large blue blooms and the other one had large lavender blooms.
...
Posted by threegardeners (from North Augusta, ON) on August 7, 2008 at 6:14 AM:
I wish I could help...Hyacinthe's naturally die back after flowering, maybe it is just doing what it does?
...
Subject: Maybe I need an Episcia?
Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on July 5, 2008 at 11:57 AM:
I have to confess, I've never heard of this type of plant before. But it looks easy enough if it can withstand all that snip snip snipping! Thanks for a great article, Lee Anne!
...
Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on July 5, 2008 at 12:48 PM:
Great article, Lee Ann. And I do love the plant.
Thanks.
S
...
Posted by KyWoods (from Melbourne, KY) on July 5, 2008 at 7:14 PM:
Excellent! I've done that with an old Swedish Ivy--many friends got new plants.
I never heard of that one, either, so of course, I'll have to find one...thanks!
...
Posted by gessiegail (from Taft, TX) on July 5, 2008 at 7:28 PM:
Good article, Threegardeners! Not long ago as I was buying african violets from a lady locally, I noticed that she had about 7 scraggly great big old episcias. She sold them to me for practically nothing. I came home and started many a 6" basket and several vases. A happy camper I am!
Do you mind if i share just a couple? Oh, there is no place to upload photos here. I thank you for sharing a great idea.
...
Posted by threegardeners (from North Augusta, ON) on July 5, 2008 at 7:34 PM:
Glad you all liked the article. He was worth saving, they are one of the easiest house plants IMO.
...
Posted by sallyg (from Anne Arundel Co., MD) on July 5, 2008 at 9:02 PM:
Really nicely done with all the pictures.
...
Posted by dallen6500 (from Denver, CO) on July 7, 2008 at 9:34 AM:
I thought episcias had gone by wayside use to raise hybridize some had mail order business never see them any more
...
Posted by al448789 (from Charlotte, NC) on July 7, 2008 at 12:24 PM:
A sure fire method to root episcia or african violet cuttings is to use moist New Zealand sphagnum moss and place the cuttings in a plastic, transparent box on a sunny windowsill or under fluorescent lights. With 100% humidity, the cuttings will root faster than using soil and an open pot. You can also do this with a leaf stem and end up with more than one plant. Lowes sells small packages of the moss in their nursery section. Do not use sphagnum peat moss.
...
Posted by KyWoods (from Melbourne, KY) on July 7, 2008 at 4:44 PM:
added to the original plant, it will soon send out new, healthy 
