First, you must understand my cries for help. My once vibrant green leaves may now be turning yellow, brown, or crispy. This is a clear sign of distress, often related to water. If my leaves are wilting and the soil is dry and pulling away from the pot's edge, I am desperately thirsty. Conversely, if my stems feel mushy, my leaves are dropping, and the soil is constantly soggy, my roots are drowning and beginning to rot, unable to breathe. A lack of flowers, or leggy, sparse growth with large gaps between leaves, indicates I am starved for energy, likely from insufficient light.
Your immediate action must be to check my soil's moisture. Do not just water on a schedule; feel it. If I am too dry, place my entire pot in a basin of room-temperature water for 15-30 minutes. This allows me to soak up moisture from the bottom, rehydrating my root ball thoroughly without washing away the soil. If I am waterlogged, you must act decisively. Gently lift me from my pot. Examine my roots—healthy ones are firm and white or light brown. Soft, dark, smelly roots are rotten. Snip these away with sterile scissors. Repot me immediately into fresh, well-draining potting mix, ideally one with perlite or vermiculite. Ensure my new pot has excellent drainage holes.
Once my root crisis is managed, I need the correct conditions to generate energy and recover. I am a Lobelia; I thrive in bright, indirect light. Please place me where I can receive plenty of ambient sunlight, but shield me from the intense, scorching rays of a south-facing window, which can burn my already stressed leaves. A spot near an east or west-facing window is often ideal. I also prefer cooler temperatures. A room that is too hot, especially with dry air from heating vents, will cause me further stress and wilting. A cooler location, between 60-70°F (15-21°C), will help me conserve energy and focus on regenerating new, healthy growth.
Do not fertilize me immediately. I am in a weakened state, and fertilizer can chemically burn my damaged roots and add further stress. Only consider a half-strength dose of a balanced, water-soluble fertilizer once you see signs of new, healthy growth, indicating my root system is active again. To help me, you must also prune away the dead. Using clean shears, remove all the clearly dead, brown, and wilted foliage and flower stems. This redirects my precious energy away from trying to sustain dying parts and towards pushing out new shoots and leaves from my base and healthier stems.
