Revive a neglected plant, or decide not to

You came back from three weeks away, or inherited something badly treated.

Assess whether this neglected plant can be saved, and give me a realistic answer rather than an encouraging one.

1. **Triage.** From what I describe, say whether the plant is dead, probably dead, salvageable, or fine and just ugly. Tell me the test that confirms it: scratch the stem for green, check the roots for white and firm versus brown and mushy.
2. **If salvageable:** the immediate actions in order over the first hour, the first week, and the first month. Include how much top growth to remove and why cutting back helps a damaged root system.
3. **What not to do.** Do not feed a stressed plant, do not repot and prune and move it all at once, do not drown a dry plant.
4. **The timeline.** When I should see new growth, and what it means if I do not.
5. **The decision point.** A date by which, if nothing has changed, I should give up.

If it is dead, say so in the first line. Then tell me whether anything can be propagated from what is left.

Plant and what happened to it:
What it looks like now, including the roots if I have looked:

Diagnosis and rescue. Working out what is wrong with a plant, what is eating it, and whether it is worth saving at all.