Rather than dumping on Dad, I think you should also consider that you didn't leave a particularly healthy plant in his care in the first place, and the way you left it was setting him up for failure.
"Three stubby roots" is insufficient for an otherwise healthy plant, and leaving the flower stalks on it was a sure way to let the plant waste its energy reserves when it had little potential of taking up more.
I can also guarantee you that his application of Miracle-Gro did NOT cause the plant to bloom. In its weakened state, it was probably a last-ditch attempt to "carry on the gene pool", independent of his care.
I can think of two potential routes to take to attempt to save the plant: as the remaining flower spike is green, you might consider applying Keiki-Grow to a node in order to induce the growth of a clone, but frankly, from your description, it sounds like the plant may not have that much time.
The other method I would employ would be to immerse the entire remaining plant (don't remove anything - all green tissue is part of the plant's reserves) for about an hour in a solution of tepid water containing a pretty hefty dose of rooting hormone (10 ml/L KelpMax or 1 ml/L fresh K-L-N), then put it in a clear plastic bag with a wet paper towel (to raise humidity, not to be in contact with the plant) in a very warm (25°-35°C), shady location. If you can keep the remaining plant tissue from desiccating while the natural recovery processes - kick-started by the hormones - do their work, you have a real chance of success.
|