How to Revive a Wilted Plant

Revive drooping flowers with cool water and shade.

Whether potted or clustered in a vase, plants bring life and brightness to any room or décor. However, when those plants begin to wilt, they can be depressing. They no longer give your space a fresh feel and, what's more, potted plants only wilt as a sign that they're in trouble. Rescue your personal style and your indoor garden by reviving these plants at the first sign of wilt.

Things You'll Need

• Sharp knife
• Sink
• Cool water
• Clean vase
• Trowel

Instructions

Cut Flowers

1. Remove your wilting cut flower from its original vase. Fill your sink full of cool water and hold the end of the flower's stem under the water. Cut away about 1 inch of the stem at a 45 degree angle. This helps the flower drink.

2. Remove all leaves from the flower. Submerged leaves can cause a flower to wilt because the leaves absorb sunlight and carbon dioxide. Drowning the leaves will drown the blossom.

3. Fill a fresh, clean vase full of room temperature water. Place the wilted flower in the water and set it in a cool space away from direct sunlight.

4. Gently squeeze the flower's stem each hour to see if it's still soft and squishy. The flower should plump back up in 1 to 2-1/2 hours. Do not put it back in direct sunlight; let it rest in cool shade.

Potted Plants

1. Push the leaves and plant matter to one side of your pot. Push a trowel gently into the soil and twist. This should loosen the soil and allow drainage. Wilted potted plants usually signal soil that is too tightly packed around the roots, keeping them from absorbing water.

2. Loosen the soil all the way around your plant. Work slowly and gently, avoiding the roots and the base of the plant's stem.

3. Water your plant with room temperature water. Hold the plant up over your sink or the bare ground to see if water flows out the bottom. If not, gently poke your fingers up through the drain holes in the bottom of the pot. Wiggle your fingers to loosen the soil here, too.

4. Water your plant again. The water should flow in a free stream from the bottom of the pot. When the water stops flowing, place the plant back on its flood tray and care for it as normal.

References

• Rose Gardening 101: Reviving Wilted Roses
• Fooyoh: How to Revive Wilted Potted Plants