Real World Gardener Bring Plants Back to Life in Plant Doctor

PLANT DOCTOR <p style="font-weight:400;">Can you bring a plant back to life? </p> <p>We all love our garden, but sometimes a hiccup in garden maintenance brings distastrous results.</p> <p>Take this next scenario:</p> <p>You've come home from a couple of week's holiday and found that your treasured Spathyphyllum sp. or peace lily seems to have melted over the sides of the pot. It was a hot summer and the house-sitter didn't think to water it. </p> <ul><li>What can you do to revive your dying plant? </li> </ul> <p>Most people immediately assume that they should water it, but an extra dose of water can actually harm a plant that doesn’t need it. </p> <ul><li>However, in this case, a good dunk in a bucket of water will remove most of the plant. There will be some dead leaves of course.</li> </ul> <p>Out in the garden, there's a similar scenario, with small shrubs looking dried with burnt and scorched leaves.</p> <p>They're not necessarily dead yet, so how can you tell?</p> <p>The first thing to do is scratch the bark with your fingernail to see if there's some green underneath the outer layer.</p> <p>If yes, then happy days, because with a bit of TLC, this plant will be brought back from the brink.</p> <p>Also test if the limb or branchlet is still supple or snaps when you bend it.</p> <p>If the stems are brittle, and brown inside when you cut it with a pair of secateurs, then the plant is dead and can’t be saved.</p> <ul><li>Perhaps your buxus hedge is only half dead. Trim back the dead stems and give it a good water, adding a seaweed drink to the watering can. That can revive the plants no end. <a href='https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HYfKoF2ZnF8/XuHZ433esKI/AAAAAAAAiG4/uj6Pty4nO5Q0KvUWEDFP9qjr23HBoKFwQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Buxus%2Bwith%2Bdead%2Bbranchlets%2B3.jpg'></a> Dead branchlets on my buxus hedge </li> </ul> <p>One last chance.</p> <p>When the plant above ground is all dried up and dead looking, there is a chance that new growth will spring from the roots, depending on what it is of c