No matter how sturdy an elephant's foot is, if its trunk becomes soft, you should react immediately. The risk of the good piece dying is relatively high. Since an elephant's foot is easy to care for, something must have been going wrong for a while.
How to save a soft trunk elephant foot?
A soft trunk on an elephant's foot can be caused by too much water, fertilizer or incorrect hydroponics. To save the plant, it should be placed in fresh, dry soil and not watered for some time. Water and fertilize sparingly in the future.
Where does a soft trunk come from on an elephant's foot?
In most cases, an elephant's foot with a soft trunk has probably been watered too much and too abundantly. The amount of fertilizer may also play a role. An oversupply of both can do much more harm to the elephant's foot than a period of “hunger” and thirst. A soft stem can quickly occur, especially in hydroponics.
Possible reasons for soft trunk:
- too much water or fertilizer
- incorrectly carried out hydroponics
Can the elephant's foot still be saved?
If you have your elephant foot hydroponically, then you either have to adjust the care or plant the elephant foot in soil. This should be lean and loose enough so that irrigation water does not accumulate in it. The planter also needs a drainage hole in the bottom.
If your elephant's foot is in soil, then refrain from watering until the soil has dried out a little. If the plant is already doing quite poorly, it may even be necessary to repot the elephant's foot in fresh, dry soil. If it stays wet for too long, it can hardly be saved.
Possible relief measures:
- take from hydroponics
- fresh, dry earth
- don’t water for some time
How to prevent a soft stem in the future?
If you were able to save your elephant foot, make sure you take proper care of it in the future. Do not water the plant too often and only water it when the soil has dried out a little. You should also use fertilizer sparingly. The plant doesn't need too much of either.
Tip
A soft trunk of an elephant's foot is definitely a reason to examine the plant more closely. Without help, your elephant's foot will probably die.
