How To Tell if a Plant Is Dead or Dormant

I’ve always been a bit self-conscious about my plant care habits. Over the years, too many have fallen victim to neglect from my frequent travels. But it turns out I’m not alone. Even the pros get it wrong sometimes.

Lisa Eldred Steinkopf, aka The Houseplant Guru, was years into plant parenting when she finally discovered cyclamen go dormant. “Oops, I’d already thrown out many, thinking I couldn’t grow them,” she says. “When the leaves began to yellow and die, I thought I had done something wrong. Finally, I figured it out.”

Another plant expert, Laura Walsh with Oasis Forage Products, built a privacy garden that included purple fountain grass. “It was beautiful all summer and into fall,” she says. “Then I waited for the grass to grow back in spring. And waited, and waited.

“It finally got to June when it occurred to me… this is an annual. I replanted with a perennial grass, Karl Foerster, the following fall!”

If you’ve got a tree, houseplant or other plant you’re unsure about, here’s some expert advice for determining whether it’s dead or dormant. We asked Steinkopf, Walsh and Kathy Glassey, a senior consultant at Inspire Green.

What Is a Dormant Plant?

Dormancy is state of rest or reduced metabolic activity when a plant is not actively growing. During this time, it might display concerning signs like wilting leaves or dead stems. Or it might just stop growing new leaves for a few weeks or months.

Many perennials go dormant during unfavorable conditions, like winter, says Glassey. “It’s an essential part of a plant’s adaptability and resilience in the face of changing conditions,” she says.

Why Do Plants Go Dormant?

It’s a survival strategy, especially when plants need to conserve energy and resources until better growing conditions return. Common reasons plants go dormant include:

• Extreme cold, like winter in northern climates;
• Extreme heat, which includes summer dormancy in hotter regions;
• Reduced light, which prohibits photosynthesis needed for active growth;
• Drought, as plants conserve moisture by losing leaves;
• Poor soil quality or lack of nutrients;
• Stress from herbivores, pests and disease;
• Reproductive timing.

What Plants Go Dormant?

Some of the most obvious ones are deciduous trees like maples, oaks and birches, which lose their leaves and become dormant over winter.

“Some of my favorite perennial flowers for indoor arrangements, such as coreopsis, phlox and coneflowers, also shed their color and go to sleep for the winter,” says Walsh.

Other plants that commonly enter periods of dormancy include:

• Flower bulbs like tulips, daffodils and lilies;
• Turf grass and decorative grasses;
• Shrubs, including hydrangea, azalea, forsythia and spiraea;
• Houseplants, including climbing onion (Boweiea volubilis), rex begonias, oxalis (shamrock), amaryllis (Hippeastrum) and yes, cyclamens.

Cyclamens typically go dormant in hotter seasons, Steinkopf says.

“You will find them to buy in the late fall and early winter when their gorgeous flowers are putting on a show, but when it gets warm in the late spring, the leaves turn yellow and die down,” she says.

“But don’t worry. Underneath the soil is a corm that is resting and will begin to grow again when the temperatures cool down.”

What Do Dormant Plants Look Like?

They may appear dead or dying. Leaves may wilt, curl, turn yellow or brown, become dry and brittle, or fall off completely. Branches and stems may also become brittle or bare.

“I saw a quote the other day that said we are entering the season of browns,” says Walsh. “And there is something so beautiful in that. There are many shades and hues of browns in dormant plants.”

How To Tell the Difference Between a Dormant and Dead Plant

It can be difficult to tell if a plant is dead or dormant.

“The most important thing is to know your plant and the conditions it needs,” says Steinkopf. “If you remove the plant from the pot and the roots are still firm and the right color, even though there isn’t anything above the soil line, the plant may still be alive.”

Here are some other ways to tell if a plant is dormant, not dead:

• Examine it for living, green tissue or buds on any branches or leaves, which would signal it’s still alive.
• For bushes, snap off a small twig. If it doesn’t snap off easily or has a green or white center, then it’s likely just dormant.
• For trees, carefully bend the end of a branch. If it’s somewhat pliable, it has life left. “If it snaps and breaks, that could indicate that nutrients and water are no longer getting to the tips, which signals a decline or worse,” says Glassey.
• Gently inspect the roots. “If they are firm, white or light-colored and have a fresh, earthy smell, they are healthy,” says Walsh. “Rotten or mushy roots may indicate a dead plant.”
• Scratch a small part of the stem with a knife or your fingernail. Green or white coloring below the outer layer means it’s likely alive. “But please be cautious as additional wounds can cause more problems, especially with trees,” says Glassey.
• Look for cavities, cracks or mushrooms on the trunk, which could indicate fungi are decomposing the tree.
• Consult a gardening expert, nursery or arborist for specific insights about your local conditions and plants.

When in doubt, wait until conditions change before giving up on a plant.

“If your tree looks dead but you’ve recently experienced a major wind, snow or ice storm, it may just not be used to those conditions,” says Glassey. “In that case, the best thing to do is nothing, as it might take six months or more for it to recoup.”

If you think your plant may be dormant, don’t add fertilizer. That can stress it out even more.

About The Experts

• Kathy Glassey is an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) certified arborist and plant care expert at Inspire Green. She previously worked at numerous landscaping companies, including Monster Tree service.
• Laura Walsh, CFD, AAF, PFCI, serves as a director at Smithers-Oasis North America, a leader in the world of horticulture and floriculture. She’s a certified floral designer and a member of the Academy of Floriculture.
• Lisa Eldred Steinkopf founded The Houseplant Guru, a website devoted to teaching people how to care for their plants. She’s also a writer, lecturer and author of Houseplants: The Complete Guide.