When I was in elementary school, I remember my mother had some magnificent houseplants. The one I still can see when I close my eyes was a split-leaf philodendron, also (according to a quick check of houseplant411) called Monstera Deliciosa. We lived in a beautiful, modern 1970s tri-level in the Pacific Northwest, and the sunken living room had a vaulted ceiling and huge east-facing windows letting in the morning light. Monstera Deliciosa thrived in that front room. I remember it growing like a vine until it had to be supported with nails and string my dad rigged up. (Sure enough, houseplant411 says monstera deliciosa "needs to be aggressively trimmed or it can take over your room.")
My mom loved her houseplants back then, and as a child just watching her care for them, I learned a lot. One important point is after repotting, many plants will respond with a period of wilting, because of the shock to their roots. A few days ago I transplanted a couple of succulents from an overcrowded hanging garden, and the too-tall one now looks incredibly unhappy. When I slid the entire garden sideways out of the container, I found the roots of the one that had overgrown its companions wrapped all the way around the soil ball. I pried them loose as gently as I could and anchored the lanky plant into its new, spacious home with care. Right now, it's droopy and even with the support of a stick and some ties, leans precariously, but my hope is that once its traumatized roots have the chance to recover and then begin to grow into their new environment, it will again stand tall and strong on its own.
"I suffer from ... the tearing up of the roots of love,
and from my own inability to behave better under the stress."
(May Sarton, from Journal of a Solitude)
I suffer from transplant shock. I lived in one place, not free from challenge but having grown into it, adapting to its imperfect conditions. Blooming where I was planted.
Suddenly I was uprooted, and set down again in a barren place full of stones and briars, parched ground and blinding sky. I slumped over, unable to hold myself up. My cells leached their fluids and shriveled, thirsting for the nourishment my now-battered roots used to so easily absorb. This is a hostile place. How will I survive?
I live in a new place and I long for the old place. How quickly I would exchange the best of now for the worst of then, when the possibilities of the future lay still ahead. Before I was torn out by the roots.
"I suffer from my own inability to behave better under the stress." Inability. I am only now coming back to the hope of standing firm. My damaged roots stretch out into the poor soil, and soak up what little sustenance is to be found. I learn to live on what I can take in now, in such contrast to the easy abundance of that other place, however demanding life seemed at the time.
I have to make peace with the sharp rocks and the blazing sun. This is where I live now. I will my roots to grow deep. I will my leaves to reach high. Maybe, even, I'll bloom again.
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On gardeningknowhow.com, I found this list that is pretty easily applicable to people in transplant shock, as much as plants. So here it is:
How to Cure Plant Transplant Shock
While there is no sure-fire way to cure plant transplant shock, there are things you can do to minimize the transplant shock in plants.
Add some sugar — Believe or not, studies have shown that a weak sugar and water solution made with plain sugar from the grocery store given to a plant after transplanting can help recovery time for transplant shock in plants. It can also be used as a transplant shock preventer if applied at the time of transplanting. It only helps with some plants but, as this will not harm the plant, it is worth a try.
Trim back the plant — Trimming back the plant allows the plant to focus on regrowing its roots. In perennials, trim back about one-third of the plant. In annuals, if the plant is a bush type, trim back one-third of the plant. If it is a plant with a main stem, cut off half of each leaf.
Keep roots moist — Keep the soil well watered, but make sure that the plant has good drainage and is not in standing water.
Wait patiently — Sometimes a plant just needs a few days to recover from transplant shock. Give it some time and care for it as you normally would and it may come back on its own.
January 18, 2018