From my perspective as a jasmine plant, my existence is one of seeking balance—sunlight, water, and nutrients from the soil. But when the delicate equilibrium is broken, a silent, creeping danger can take hold beneath the surface: root rot. This is my account of that struggle.
For me, root rot is not a sudden event but a gradual suffocation. It begins when my pot lacks proper drainage or my caretaker's love is expressed with too much water. My roots, which need to breathe oxygen from the air pockets in the soil, become constantly submerged. The saturated soil creates an anaerobic environment, a condition I am utterly unequipped to handle. My delicate root hairs, responsible for absorbing water and nutrients, begin to drown and die. They turn from a healthy white and firm texture to a mushy, dark brown or black state. A foul, decaying smell often accompanies this breakdown, a sign of the pathogenic fungi like *Pythium* or *Phytophthora* that readily attack my weakened tissues.
While the crisis unfolds below, I try to communicate my distress through my visible parts. My leaves are my primary billboard. You might see them turning yellow, not from the bottom up in a natural aging process, but often in a more generalized pattern. This is because my rotten roots can no longer uptake water or essential nutrients, leaving me starved and dehydrated despite the wet soil. My leaves will then wilt, becoming limp and lifeless, and may eventually drop off. My growth will halt completely; there will be no new vibrant green shoots or the fragrant white flowers you cherish. I am simply trying to survive, conserving every last bit of energy.
If you catch my condition in time, I can often be saved, but it requires immediate and careful action. You must gently lift me from my pot and carefully wash the soil away from my root system. This allows for a clear assessment. Using sterilized shears, all the soft, brown, and smelly roots must be pruned away. Only the healthy, firm, white roots should remain. After this surgery, it is crucial to repot me in a clean container with excellent drainage and, most importantly, fresh, well-draining potting mix. Do not reuse the old, contaminated soil. Water me sparingly after repotting, only when the top inch of the new soil feels dry to the touch, allowing my traumatized root system to breathe and heal without being overwhelmed again.
Prevention is always preferable to a cure. To keep me thriving, please ensure my pot has unobstructed drainage holes. Water me deeply but only when the top layer of soil has dried out. I prefer a consistent moisture level, not a cycle of flood and drought. Using a well-aerated potting mix, perhaps amended with perlite or orchid bark, will provide the perfect structural home for my roots, ensuring they get the oxygen they desperately need to support my beautiful growth and fragrance above the soil.
