The problem
You brush past a favourite plant and hear that horrible snap as a stem bends or breaks. The break is rarely clean enough to propagate, yet not detached enough to ignore. You are left with a drooping limb and a sinking feeling. People on Reddit swear by a first-aid kit of drinking straws and cinnamon – can it save the day?
The hack
A straw acts as a splint to hold a bent stem upright while it heals. Cinnamon is sprinkled on the wound as a natural antifungal, said to help keep rot at bay.
The method
Cut a drinking straw lengthwise so it opens up, dust the damaged area of the plant with cinnamon, wrap the straw around it, and secure it loosely with string. Add a stake if needed, and avoid disturbing the plant by moving it.
The test
I used the splint on a bent Monstera stem. After a few weeks, the damaged section had callused and firmed up, and I was able to remove the straw without the stem collapsing. On a more severely damaged begonia, the splint simply delayed the inevitable.
The verdict
Straws and cinnamon will not perform miracles on a serious snap, but can buy a plant time to repair minor damage.
