Why are you allowing animals to chew your plants?, use chicken wire or something. And to answer your question, most likely yes. I had a plant trampled by deer twice and eaten down to the stalk by aphids/mites 4 months ago. It's now my most prized plant(albeit a bit short on quantity).

Good luck,

Biz


Quote Originally Posted by sadfarmer
First off this is my first time on this site, I searched the forums for a similar topic but none seemed to cover the severity of my problem, I also posted this in "Plant Problems" but I figured more heads are better than one, apologies if I did not search thoroughly enough.

On to the problem: I have been growing a plant outdoors (flower bed), for about three months, our drought has made it difficult for the plant in the first place but she pulled through and was getting stronger every day for the last month. I had noticed some burned leaves and minimal insect damage but then lady bugs started to protect her and I would prune the dying leaves. Anyways, with the lack of rain and record heat only one main stalk grew to about 3.5 ft. and like I said before just started showing signs of flowering.

One day I went to check on her, I was in shock, something had gnawed the main stalk about 3 in. from the dirt. Totally severed. Stunned, I saw the stalk laying no more than a foot away from the cut root, so I immediately made a clean cut and spliced it back on securing it with duct tape; I was in a hurry as I was going out of town for a few days. Of course when I got home, same situation and again the stalk was not far away but this time basically stripped to a stick and completely dried out.

I have two questions that I could not find answers for anywhere online. The root system is still in tact, about three inches above ground, will this regenerate? If so, what can I do to ensure this?
It's only been about three days so any preventative measures I'm sure need to be done immediately. This is only my second plant, and she fought through one of our worst summers ever. I really don't wanna lose her any advice or help y'all can give is truly appreciated.

tl;dr : Main stalk was gnawed off shortly above the dirt, tried to splice/graft, had to leave town, got home and gnawed again, what can I do? Will the root survive and produce?

Pics from before the disaster: