Hello all~ I have a small indoor spider plant that was viciously attacked by my cat when I forgot to put it back on its high shelf after watering. The poor thing is virtually leafless now, it has a few half-chewed stalks left that have turned brown. Is there any chance that my plant will survive and grow leaves again? How should I care for it if so? Thanks xx
As long as the roots are still good, the plant will come back. I would cut off the chewed/brown parts and put it back on it's shelf to see what happens. Don't over water or feed it at the present time, it is under enough stress too much water or fertilizer will stress it even more.
Whenever a plant seems to be on its last legs, whether the dog got to it or one of the grandchildren knocked it over and broke all the stalks, or it's something I rescued from somewhere because it was neglected and never watered, my thought process is "Well, it's going to die anyway unless I DO something! It may not be the right thing, but I'm going to give it a fighting chance!" Like toni said, I figure if the roots are OK (and of course often times we can't know that, we just have to assume or guess or hope!) then the plant has a chance of coming back. So I'll cut off all the broken or dead or chewed parts, so that the plant will output all its energy into growing new stuff rather than trying to revive the old, give it a bit of plant food in the water, allow it light and good air flow, and just wait. Mostly they come back...plants are amazingly resilient, just like children! Good luck!
