The Root Rot Prevention Hack That Just Needs A Little Rope

If you're trying to diagnose an unhealthy plant, the symptoms can often point to both underwatering or overwatering. Indicators like yellow or dry leaves or sudden leaf drop can give you a clue, but sometimes pulling the plant out of its pot is the only way to get to the root of the problem (and, yes, pun intended!). A wilted plant may appear to be dying due to the lack of moisture — like its foliage doesn't have enough water to perk up — but you may actually be dealing with root rot caused by excessive moisture in the soil. Root rot is a disease that is primarily caused by overwatering. When a plant sits in excess water, the soil doesn't get enough oxygen — it's the perfect environment for fungi to grow and thrive. Firm white roots turn mushy and brown and often emit a stinky odor. 

Kellyn, creator of the channel @easygrowing_, introduced a rope hack on Instagram that seems to help prevent root rot. When you run a rope through the length of a vase and the potting medium, the plant requires less frequent watering (which lowers the risk of overwatering) and ends up with more evenly distributed moisture throughout the soil. 

In her video, Kellyn first centers a rope inside a vase, leaving several inches of each end dangling outside. She fills the vase halfway with Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate (LECA), a potting soil replacement that plant enthusiasts are loving, before adding sphagnum moss and potting soil. She plants an Alocasia blizzard in the soil and loosely wraps the extra rope around the base of the plant before adding another layer of soil. LECA retains water, so the rope draws moisture up from the medium and slowly disperses it throughout the soil and around the plant's roots.

Although half the appeal of this hack is the aesthetic of a "glass plant parfait," opting for a plastic or ceramic pot with drainage holes may be a better bet if you attempt this hack. The drainage holes reduce your chance of having a waterlogged plant in a vase that has no outlet for water. Likewise, be sure to use a rope made from synthetic material, like nylon, which is resistant to mold and mildew.

Also, you may want to consider leaving out the LECA, which requires a monthly flush to get rid of mineral build-up. These flushes are easy if your plant is growing only in LECA, but less so when the clay balls are sitting beneath layers of moss and soil. If you're going with sphagnum moss, use it as a top dressing above the soil and lightly pack it down around the plant. Remember that your plant will need less water than if it were potted only in soil, since moss has an impressive ability to retain water. 

While this rope hack may give you an extra layer of protection against root rot, it's important to take additional preventative measures to keep your plant roots healthy. For starters, be choosy when buying plants. Avoid getting those that show signs of existing root rot, like wilted leaves, mushy stems, or wet and rot-smelling soil. You can't save them all — and you don't want to waste your money trying.

Now, there are a few steps you can take to make sure you never overwater your plant again. These include being aware of the soil's wetness, draining excess water, and making use of self-watering systems. For extra accuracy, a tool like this Gouevn Soil Moisture Meter can tell you when your plant is ready to be watered.

Finally, do your best to prevent contaminating healthy plants with root rot fungi. Don't reuse water that ends up in the saucer after you water a plant. If one of your houseplants develops root rot, discard its growing medium and thoroughly sanitize any tools you've used to treat it.