Plant Leaves drooping after transplant – reasons and tips for the quick fix.

Have you noticed that your plant leaves drooping or getting pale and discolored after you have transplanted them in a new place or pot? Well, this drooping of leaves or fainting, also known as wilting, is a cause of transplant shock to your plant. Like humans, the plant is living beings, and they too get affected by the change of place or environment.

Exposure to light and heat or the moisture level has a huge impact on causing transplant shock and may lead to permanent loss of foliage in the plant. If you want your plant to flourish as before or want to avoid leaves drooping after the transplant, then you are in the right place to get the solution.

We have brought you simple tips to avoid leaves drooping after transplanting plants and to cure such conditions it occurs. Keep a check on these things, and your plant will boom and bear flowers like it used to do before.

Why do plant leaves start drooping after transplant?

Before getting to the cure and prevention, let us dig into why wilting happens and how the transplanted plant gets affected. We often water the plant a lot and put all the minerals in the soil or keep changing the soil, but plant health won’t get better. So have a view on the core causes responsible for this fainting and damaged look of the plants.

Damage during transplant

While transplanting, usually the fine roots get damaged, which helps the plant to absorb most of the moisture. With this loss of roots, the plant cannot absorb the water from the soil no matter how much you water. Lack of moisture absorption consequently leads to wilting or drooping of leaves.

Condition of plant

Before planning a transplant, take into consideration the current condition of the plant. If the plant is already malnourished, dry, or damaged, transplanting it would cause severe wilting even loss of the leaves. Likewise, a younger plant that can grow new roots quickly performs better after transplant than an old plant. It is advised that before transplanting, the plant must be cured of damages, insects, or diseases and be properly moisturized. Replanting before the plant bears flowers is better for plant health, so plan a transplant accordingly.

Change in climate conditions

Like all living things, plants also get adapted to their environment. When you transplant them to a new place that is somehow different in sun exposure, temperature, or moisture in the air, then surely the plant will be affected and start drooping during adapting to the new environment. To keep the leaves from dropping, take into account the environmental condition and to give time to the plant for settling in the new place, keep it in light shade or spray little water on leaves to adjust the intense heat gradually.

Soil moisture level

The most common reason for the leaves to droop after transplanting is the lack of moisture in the soil, causing the roots to dry up. If the soil you are transplanting is dry, then it will absorb the moisture from the roots rather than supply, resulting in poor health of the plant and damaged roots; the leaves will start drooping and may get permanently pale or discolored.

Tips to prevent the leaves from drooping after transplant

Well, avoiding the transplant shock is quite impossible, but with proper care, you can minimize the effect and save the plant leaves from drooping. Follow these tips to prevent any wilting in your plant after the transplant.

Do not disturb the roots.

Take out the plant from the soil with extreme care and don’t shake or bump the roots. Keep the soil attached to roots as it is and the root ball intact. If the plant is root bound, then try to lose as little as possible and don’t let the roots get rough.

Take out most of the root while transplanting.

We don’t know which are roots are fine and more moisture absorbing, and we can’t afford to lose any. So try to dig up as deep as possible and pull most of the root with the plant up.

Water the soil to be transplanted in

Moisture is the best solution to avoid wilting, and for that, water the soil in which you are going to replant the plant. Moist soil will not let the roots dry up and lose moisture, plus they will benefit from avoiding any wilting after transplant.

Ample watering after transplant

Supplying the plant with plenty of water is a great way to save the plant from wilting. With proper moisture, the plant will settle in more quickly and show less sign of transplant shock.

Keep the root ball moist all the time.

Another important factor for keeping a plant in proper condition after transplanting is the root ball moisture. It is essential to keep the root ball moist while you pull out the plant and replant it so that the root ball doesn’t dry up and there is any root loss. Spray little water on the root ball so that it doesn’t dry up while carrying it to the new location.

Transplant at the right time

Planning a transplant at a proper time will save your plant from any damages and wilting. Always chose the less hot time with the sun low or at night, before the plant flower or fruit-bearing and in moist and moderate weather. This will affect the plant less due to transplant, and it will bloom beautifully at the new location.

Quick fixes for curing the leaves drooping after transplant

Wilting or leaves drooping in the plant after transplant is a very common phenomenon, and if you are frustrated with trying all you can, and still your plant looks dull and ill, then here are simple fixes to curing it of the transplant shocks.

Trimming

To let the plant regrow its roots, it is advisable to trim one-third of the plant after transplanting. This will initiate the growth, and with new roots, the moisture absorption will improve, causing the plant to recover quickly. Trim about 1/3 of the plant or half of each leaf to make the plant focus on growing.

Let it settle

After transplanting, leave the plant to settle in for some days and just water it properly and keep care of the plant, and it will regain its original condition. Transplant does stress the plants, and just adequate water and a bit of moderation in environmental conditions like shading may let it adapt quickly to the new environment.

Sugar solution

Simple sugar and water solution act as a tonic for plants to cure the transplant shock and stops the wilting of plants quickly, and let the leaves gain back their color and freshness. Light sugar and water solution, is sprayed on the roots while transplanting, will also be a preventer from wilting too.

Moist the roots

To cure the proper wilting supply of moisture to the roots is compulsory, so make sure the soil is moist all the time and water it frequently so that the plant has good absorption of water to regain its health.

FAQs

Do the drooping leaves recover after some time?

Yes, usually in the initial day’s plant is under stress due to change in environment and place, but once it adapts, the wilting will go.

Does watering the soil before replanting help in wilting?

Proper moisture is the key to good plant health, whether transplanted or not, so keep the soil adequately moist before you replant the plant.

How to get the most of the root while transplanting?

Dig deeper as much you can go while loosening the side soil enough, then pull the plant slowly so that the roots are brought up mostly intact and fewer roots are left behind.

Does temperature and sunlight exposure cause the leaves to droop?

Intense or low sunlight exposure, temperature differences, be it more or less, can affect the plant severely, with new conditions different from the one it is adapted to plant won’t flourish or do proper growth so while you transplant, make sure that there is not much difference in the environmental conditions.

Which kind of sugar is required to make the sugar solution for the plant?

Any regular sugar found in household or grocery stores is good enough to make the sugar solution to apply on plants for curing wilting.

Wrapping it up!

Leaves drooping after transplant is very common, and plants do get affected by the change in their conditions.

 So, don’t panic if your plants are wilting and they seem ill or faded after you have transplanted them. Or if you are conscious about transplanting your plants due to these effects and anxious about losing them completely.

Just keep proper care while you move your plant to avoid any damages. As for the already done damage, these simple hacks will ease your tension and boost up your plant’s health greatly and quickly.