If I have early root rot , can I save my plant? help please

[kkamomma1]

ASAP PLEASE !!!!I had a healthy Strawberry vanilla Paniculata, in a row with Quick fire and Pinky Winky. It accidentally got over watered. I waited a couple of days to see if it would recover, but it only got worse. now all the leaves, even the new ones that were comoing out at the stem are wilting . Unfortunately, it was in clay soils, amended some , But I watched carefully and did not over water, but others did.
Here is my Question. I removed the plant and removed the soil and amended with bark and compost to make a looser soil . I then watered only the top , some this evening . But I kept on reading here and Luis had posted that maybe the best thing would be to trim to darker roots on the bottom and repot it and wait until fall to replant.
should I do that ? it was originally about a 2-3 gallon large one and it has 3 foot stems.
Should I trim the drooping blooms off of the end - it was covered with blooms .
Should I put it into its original pot , after trimming the roots, and use the good soil I have ?
Should I use peat moss? I have read not to so so here as it robs moisture , but in a pot , maybe not as much.
should I trim off the leaves it is such a large plant and trimming the lower darker 3 inches of roots- it still has a lot of good ones , should I go ahead and trim some stems , or would it shock it too much ?
I have it in a row with PInky Winky and quick fire who are happy with sun and my care so far- this one just got too much water from a daughter who did not understand afternoon wilting .

please help . I am going to do this tomorrow , either take it out and cut off the bad roots and put it back into the new amended soil,
or cut them off and put in a pot, with or without trimming stems ( wonder if the stems require too much support with all the wilted leaves ?
Or should I just leave it like it is in the ground after replanting it into amended soil . I think I do need to trim the brown roots unless you can assure me the good ones will take over ?
What say ? i would appreciate so much saving this one . I had a friend bring it to me from Missouri.

also looking for Harmony Oakleaf. Any where in the metroplex? I am in greenville, Texas

[kkamomma1]

well, this morning after replanting it in a really good soil mixture and just watering the top ( it has good drainage now) it seems , thank the Lord , whom I also asked for help - He did put Adam in the garden - that the top half has recovered with leaves elevated. The stems are upright , too .
I changed the soil and added compost , bark mulch and new dirt which I knew was clean and black , about 2 inches below and equally to it diameter on either side. I removed most of the dirt from the sick roots up to clan roots , which were about 1/3 of the original .
Ill try to now water only when it shows signs of stress. I check daily.

I am still interested in and appreciative of responses - always a learner.

[luis_pr]

Hello, kkamomma1. It is hard to tell if root rot can be controlled in an infected plant and if the plant can recover. Here are some thoughts on the subject...

* root rot occurs when the plant sits in wet soil for long periods of time. A single incident of overwatering would not cause a problem. But what is too much and how long is too long? Good question. I have not seen the answer to that yet. I had an oakleaf hydrangea that suffered thru an unheard set of months where we got 2-3" of rain weekly. That lasted for 3-4 months. The clay soil did not help although compost had been added to the soil to prevent problems. A sign of trouble is if you see standing water.

* root rot makes the plant always wilt, 24/7, as opposed to some of the time. At first, the problem may occur in a small number of stems until all stems and all leaves are affected. You can use this as an indication of root damage severity and as a way to determine if the problem can be controlled and the plant saved. A plant with a small number of leaves that remain wilted 24/7 suggests that only limited/selected roots have rotted but the others are not too badly affected.. yet. To determine if you have root rot, observe if the wilting occurs 24/7; if so, extract the plant and check the roots.

* rotted roots will look ugly and may stink or have a bad odor

* the normal color of the feeder roots should be off white and a brown color may spells trouble. But brown roots without 24/7 wilting would not be root rot.

* if you see rotting in the roots and 24/7 leaf wilting, cut the bad roots and transplant into a pot because watering is easier to control in a pot (although you have to water more often). Once the plant recovers, transplant it again into the ground.

* good sanitation techniques, good watering methods and fungicides can help improve plant health but up to a point. You can also use raised beds and lots of compost in clayish soil.

* some useful fungicides to control (not cure!) root rot fungi: Aliette can be used as a foliar feed; Banol 66; Banrot. Note: fosetyl-Al is a generic version of Aliette

* a new hydrangea needs about 1 gallon of water per watering. Water the soil (not the blooms or leaves) early in the morning.

About your other questions...

You can keep the blooms if you want although it may be best to deahead all of the browned out blooms just so the plant can forget about their upkeep and concentrate on the remaining leaves, stems and roots. I tend to do that with roses, meaning I do not encourage blooms on year one. If I get them, that is fine. If the plant is having trouble of any sort, I deahead them and do the same to flower buds. Again, I only do this on year one.

I do not peat moss in pots or trim the leaves. I "let the plant decide" what to do about the leaves.

If the plant wilts during the day but recovers on its own at night, the problem is not root rot; instead it is transplant shock and heat. A windy location can also trigger wilting. Wilting is a defense mechanism that bends the leaves and reduces the leaf surface being "baked" by the hot sun. If you see an extreme wilting episode, give the plant 1/2 gallon of water (assuming a newly planted hydrangea) immediately. Otherwise, test the soil with a finger and give the plant 1/2 gallon of water of the soil feels dry or almost dry. On regular watering times, give the plant 1 gallon of water. In the summer months, feel free to increase the amounts by 50-100%. Multiply the water amounts by an additional 50% if your soil is sandy.

Does that help?
Luis

[kkamomma1]

thank you so much for all of this great information . I wish you lived closer to Greenville, I would love to visit your garden and have you visit mine and give some pointers. Where might I get the Antifungals you mentioned? thank you again,

[luis_pr]

Mail order is usually best, as most local plant nurseries do not carry these products because the majority of persons dispose of the plants and because these products can be expensive. I would use a website like http://www.nextag.com

to compare prices on these fungicides.