How to save a plant when it's dried out in it's center.
For my daughter, last April I began rooting three starts from my magnificent 50-year-old Christmas cactus. Two weeks ago, I potted up the starts. They still need to be staked. Christmas Cactus roots grow very slowly. If a start falls over, it will tear out the roots. Potted them with the stakes and set the pot under a grow light bulb.
But the hot grow bulb quickly dried out the soil. Putting ice cubes atop the soil (but not touching the plant) moistens the soil with slowly trickling water. A plant dried out in its heart will do poorly and die.
Another trick is to submerge the plant in a tub of water with water over the the pot rim. Let the pot soak for several hours after it stops bubbling. Drain thoroughly.
I often put ice chips and cubes on the soil of my big Christmas Cactus. Ice cubes are great for dried out hanging baskets.
With Claire's new plant, I raised the lamp with "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare," a Christmas gift from my parents when I was 16. Still enjoy reading Shakespeare's sonnets and comedies. It's amazing how many of his phrases are still used today.
"Neither rhyme nor reason," "too much of a good thing," "I have not slept one wink," "pure as the driven snow, "wild goose chase," "break the ice" and "We have seen better days" first appeared in Shakespeare's plays.
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4 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.That's amazing and clever
terenaskaws
Level 4
Aug 28, 2022
1
@terenaskaw
Thank you.
Ice cubes are especially good for dried out hanging baskets.
Fernapple
Level 9
Aug 27, 2022
1
Exactly.
And my all time favorite..."a pound of flesh" 
phoenixone1
Level 8
Aug 26, 2022
1
@phoeniixone1
Well done. I forgot "a pound of flesh" was from Shakespeare. Thanks.
@LiterateHiker That play helped me so much when I took Business Law 101 and 102 in College. I read Merchant of Venice Freshman year HS(along with 3 others) and Shakespeare had such a profound impact. Once someone yields to the infinite depth of his words, wisdom and humor...your life changes forever. You view the world with a more critical eye...more objectively.
That's wonderful. Shakespeare had a profound impact on me, too.
I haven't had a christmas cactus in years, my house does not have good light and then the cats. As for Shakespeare, I haven't read his works since high school, I really couldn't get into him.
HippieChick58
Level 9
Aug 26, 2022
1
What do cats do to houseplants? I never lived with a cat because their dander triggers my asthma.
@LiterateHiker They eat them, and then regurgitate nearby... Or they dig up the dirt just for fun. When my spider plant had babies, the babies were hanging kinda low and the cats would jump at them and try to grab them, and succeed too often. The babies have now been planted and are hanging out of reach again. The plants I do have are either hanging or in my sewing room. I keep that door shut because the cats also will play with and eat thread, and that can cause many problems.
@HippieChick58 we had a cat once that was an outdoor cat...except at night...so we set up a cat pan for him. We bought a small 2' Live Chrismas tree that year instead of getting a big tree(small apartment). The Tree died sometime that winter. Found out when I went to throw it out that the cat liked the dirt in the pot more than the litter pan(and I am a big about keeping it clean so NO it wasn't from a dirty litter pan)...lets just say that the tree didn't need watering 
. Gotta love the cat though...at least he didn't use the carpet 
.
Cats eat the plant
I think the kitty saw it as a good meal
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