I was in Lowe's.They always have this shelf with discounted plants.I like to refer to it as the "dead plant shelf".The plants always look like they are going to be completely dead in a matter of hours.But they are super cheap as well they should be.I have had good luck in the past reviving them.Usually,just prune them way back,repot and fertilize and in time they come back from the dead.Anyway,purchased an AV for 50 cents.I have never owned an AV before.I thought I would treat it the same as other "dead plants".I read somewhere that you need to cut off the roots and let the plant reroot to bring it back from the dead.Is this really necessary? Sounds really drastic too me.Your comments,please.
Lowe's discount shelf
Checking the roots will let you know what to do (root rot vs. healthy big root ball), whether it's simple repotting or something more drastic like re-rooting a pruned back plant. Take off all the leaves that don't look salvageable, and remove any blooms to reduce the risk of thrips being present. www.robsviolet.com has good culture pages and lessons on re-rooting crowns, repotting, and propagating by leaf. If there are a couple of good looking leaves, your best bet might be growing new plants by putting down a leaf or two. Good luck!