30daysofwildparenting posted: " I have a new rescue project. I think this one may be beyond help but I'll give it a good try out of a perverse interest in whether the damage can be undone. I have been given this Senecio angel wings from my local houseplant shop. It isn't really a plant" Wild Parenting
I have a new rescue project. I think this one may be beyond help but I'll give it a good try out of a perverse interest in whether the damage can be undone. I have been given this Senecio angel wings from my local houseplant shop. It isn't really a plant I think of as a houseplant. I think of it more as a garden plant for sensory gardens and see it in a few gardens around me as it is tolerant of our salt winds. It originates from Patagonian region of Chile. Depending on where you read its hardiness goes from -5 in some sources while others say not below 0. It's generally seen growing in pots as a result where it can be brought in when cold weather strikes. Senecio angel wings are evergreen perennials that are usually short-lived. It's a succulent with velveteen leaves. I'd been warned this had been allowed to dry out and then watered, possibly too much so it's fallen into the common trap with succulents. You end up in a cycle of overwatering, and underwatering leading to a slow death.
I forgot to take a picture of how this started but placed back in the initial pot you can see it was a decent-sized pot. It had been top dressed with wood chips. The soil was probably too moisture retentive. This is a succulent that needs free draining soil. The moisture retentive soil with wood on top trapping more water probably wasn't a great combination for growing this.
I suspected it was suffering with root rot and just intended to inspect the soil by taking it out of the pot to check the roots. It came away from the pot. It appeared that this probably wasn't that well rooted when delivered from the nursery. It had a central core of roots going down and then circling the pot but not a decent network going through the pot. The plant came away leaving a short root network. The issues with this possibly go back to the nursery selling a plant before it was properly established but without seeing it earlier on I can't judge that fairly
I'm not convinced it has enough root left to survive but I'm going to chance it. I've potted it up in a mix made for succulents and cacti. This has a higher content of sand and grit to allow the water to drain. As it is succulent it doesn't need lots of water to survive so the limited root system may not be too much of an issue if I carefully make sure it gets water but doesn't end up waterlogged. I think it will be hard but it may be able to recover and form a stronger root network.
The potting up process was a bit messy leaving lots of the old compost mix stuck to the furry leaves. Some of the leaves had hardened off, possibly through being allowed to dry out too much before being overwatered or just getting old.
I've pruned off a few of the worst leaves to reduce the strain on the root system. Fewer leaves mean less photosynthesis so less need for water.
It's not looking pretty right now and I don't think this ones going to be recovering anytime soon, if at all. It will need mollycoddling through winter and then might manage to put on fresh growth in spring. For now I'm going to place it outside on dry days to get some more light and then bring it in on wet days and place near the grow lights. I think it probably needs more light than it was getting as a houseplant. If plants don't have enough light they don't use water as quickly for photosynthesis. Online sources suggested 6 hours of sunlight a day but as this more often grows outside I think much more than that to really thrive.
So, having addressed the wet compost mix I've got to balance the watering, light and heat now for it to stand a chance. It may not survive but that doesn't mean I can't learn about what would make it thrive if I end up with another. I probably wouldn't grow it as a houseplant I reckon it would favour being outside for most of the year and just in for winter. The velvet leaves are quite nice but Stachys can give me the same effect in the garden without being as particular. Tradescantia sillamonata has a similar feel as a houseplant while being more straightforward to keep alive and propagate me, so I'm not sure this has a purpose in my collection but it's interesting to know more about it.
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