I have a problem with my indoor Stevia plant. Mine Looks like it is dying, woody stems, the leaves are dry, etc. I have kept it going just fine for the whole summer and all of a sudden, within days, it went downhill. It's still in the same spot, I make sure it has the right moisture level, nothing has changed.
Do I have to cut it down and if so at what level? I have the feeling it is going dormant, but I'm not sure. I'm determined to keep the plant alive. Any advice would be welcome.
Thank you so much.
Stevia is a tropical or at least semi-tropical plant so it won't live outdoors in Canada all winter. Sorry I can't be of much help because I brought mine inside and it did the exact same thing yours did. I have read you can root a cutting but mine died before I got around to it.
I cut my Stevia plant down and hung up the branches to dry and store away, and now my plant is starting to grow again. Here is a website that will tell you what you need to know about growing and harvesting your Stevia. http://www.stevia.net/growingstevia.htm
I don't know if this will work, but I read this tip years ago and saved a tall diffenbachia that only had 2 leaves left on it. Dampen the plant's soil thoroughly, but don't soak it; you just want the whole plant to come out in one piece. After it's sat for an hour, remove and place on plastic or paper. Knock out any soil and wash container, rinse.
Get a black plastic bag if possible [looks better] or couple of thin grocery bags and put plant and any extra potting soil needed, if you lost some taking it out. Bring the plastic bag up around the stem area of the plant and kind of loosely twist. Take a pencil or pen and poke holes in the plastic bag, maybe 8 or 10 for 4 inch planter. Pop back in pot. Loosely tie plastic bag in place near stem so that stem has maybe an inch or 2 of 'breathing space. Trim or fold down bag
This is not attractive, but we are trying to save the plant here. The idea is that the plastic holds in moisture and warmth while the plant recovers. Keep indoors, not near cold windows or cold floor or in unheated room, maybe around some other plants which are doing well [says something about light source].Check it for moisture, and try to keep at recommended optimum. Plastic slows evaporation so don't over water.
When I did this for my diffenbachia, within a month or 6 weeks, I had hundreds of new little leaves on it and it had really looked dead. After the plant revives then trim off clearly dead limbs; at this point you can never tell. This doesn't always work, but I've had enough good results to always try it first.
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