Did earthworms kill my potted plant?

Discussion in 'Garden Pest Management and Identification' started by mvista888, Jul 15, 2008.

  1. mvista888

    mvista888 Member

    Messages:
    18
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Vancouver BC
    A couple of months ago, I bought a fuchsia plant which I transferred to a pot. I used potting soil to fill in the pot. The plant was doing well and even flowered. However, the plant slowly started to wilt and eventually died. When I was cleaning the pot, I found 2 earthworms in the soil (Since I used potting soil straight from the bag, I have no idea how they found their way into the pot). Could anyone tell me if the earthworms killed my plant? I was wondering, if there was no food for the earthworms in the pot, was it possible that they started to feed on the plant's roots. Now I am worried about my other plants.
     
  2. growing4it

    growing4it Active Member 10 Years

    Messages:
    322
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    vancouver to langley, bc
    That's too bad about your fuchsia. Was it a hardy fuchsia or an annual one? In what size pot was your fuchsia? Plants in containers need frequent water and fuchsia's need light but shelter from full sun.

    Earthworms ingest soil and plant debris. I doubt they would have killed your plant. They might nibble on it after it's dead.
     
  3. mvista888

    mvista888 Member

    Messages:
    18
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Vancouver BC
    Hi there. Thanks for your reply. I'm not sure if it was a hardy or an annual fuchsia, but it was the "Pink Galore" variety. It was in a 6 inch plastic pot and I placed it by a south-facing window. The window has curtains so it was getting lots of bright, filtered light. Before the soil completely dries out, I water my plants one by one in the sink and make sure the water drains properly before returning them to the window. I occasionally mist the leaves of my plants whenever it looks like it will be a hot day. I do this for my other plants and they all seem to be very happy. I thought the same thing about the fuchsia plant because it looked rather healthy and each branch was beginning to flower. When the fuchsia plant started to wilt, I thought the buds were straining the plant so I actually pinched off all the buds. That didn't help and eventually the plant died. It's really too bad. I just want to understand what happened so I can prevent it from happening again.

    Anyway, I tried to research on earthworms and found out that some people actually add earthworms to their indoor plants. But knowing they are there, I read that they do add organic material to make sure the worms have something to eat. What would happen to the worms if they had nothing to eat? Assuming the plant in the pot is healthy, would the worms just eventually die without harming the plant?
     
  4. punkin patch

    punkin patch Member

    Messages:
    19
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Richmond, Va USA
    I read something, not sure if it was on here, about some worms eating roots. I hate to give you a half answer but I did read it. maybe google "worms eating roots" or "root eating worms" there are lots of kinds of "earthworms" and I'm sure some may eat roots.

    an animal's only instinctual goals in life are to survive and procreate. If it came down to a live plant and the worm's life, no doubt he'd eat the plant. Only makes sense. Good luck!

    Jeff
     

Share This Page