My beautiful plant is dying :(

Hello everyone!

I am happy to find such a helpful and joyous community! Unfortunately, i am here because of being in trouble.

I picked from the great outdoors this beautiful plant, around 2 weeks ago. Its natural habitat was a very rocky hot mountain, with very little vegetation, right at the edge of the sea, somewhere in a beautiful village in Turkey. So, let's say that its normality was very hot temperatures, a lot of salty humid air, and little water from precipitations during many months in summertime.

Unfortunately, i didn't have the possibility to plant it soon, so i kept it in a vase full of water, assuming that water will do it good. After about 5-6 days, i was finally able to plant it in a pot of soil. But it was already looking a bit sad, so i just assumed that it will feel better in the new pot. Just that it didn't. It got even sadder, and also very fast. The stems started looking all wrinkled and soft, some of them started to incline, about 45*, one almost close to the ground. The greenish healthy look also faded, as you can see now it looks white-ish and the dead-ish leaves at the bottom of the stems are reddish-brown.

So, i picked it up on the 17th this month. Today is the 30th. It spent about 4-5-6 days in the water vase, and then another week in the soil pot. And today i took it out of the pot. But that was enough to stress it to the point of... well, i guess the images speak for themselves. You can't even imagine how beautiful this plant looked like 2 weeks ago :(

I'm fairly guilty for keeping it so much in the water vase, and just now, when i took it out of the pot and checked its roots, understood that the root probably rotted.

So, i cut the biggest part of the root, and am planning to let the plant out, just sitting on a plate, for a couple of days, and afterwards to plant it in a very grainy mix of little soil, pelete and maybe some little rocks.

I wanted to ask you guys if you think that is a good strategy, if you think i have any chances to save this poor guy that i care about so much already, and if you have other tips on how to make it work.

Thank you so much in advance, and i am so happy to have come across you guys! All the best to you and all your projects!

Antonia

I think the first problem was digging it up. Most plants in arid climates have tap roots that go to the center of the earth.

The second was putting it in a vase of water. It appears to be a succulent of some sort. Succulents think they are always thirsty, because they are. Most plants, when they get watered, take up as much water as they need and then shut off the valve. Without that ability, they would literally explode. Succulents don't have a shut off - they just keep taking in water until something gives. In this case, it rotted.

Because it is a succulent, you may be able to save some pieces. Using a sharp knife, cut all the stems off the roots. If the stem is brown inside, cut off more. Keep cutting toward the tip of the branches until you find green healthy looking stems. Let the cuttings rest out of direct sunlight for a few days and than plant them. Use a potting medium as close to what the plant was growing in as possible. Water once and wait.

The cuttings may root or continue to rot but I suspect this is the only way to save your plant. Next time, look for seed pods or take small cuttings (if its permitted). Don't try to transplant a plant from the wild. It rarely works.

Daisy