Если корень здоровый, растение не засохнет даже летом.

In Russian, the verb to be is usually omitted in the present tense.

So:

• корень здоровый = the root is healthy
• literally, Russian says something like root healthy

This is very normal. You only use forms of быть in the past and future, or in certain special styles and meanings.

Compare:

• Корень здоровый. = The root is healthy.
• Корень был здоровым. = The root was healthy.
• Корень будет здоровым. = The root will be healthy.

So the first clause is completely standard Russian.

Both forms can be possible in Russian, but they are used a bit differently.

• здоровый = the long form adjective
• здоров = the short form adjective

In many everyday statements, especially descriptive ones, the long form is very common:

• корень здоровый = the root is healthy

The short form здоров can also mean healthy, but it often sounds a little more like a condition or state being stated more directly:

• Он здоров. = He is healthy.

With nouns like корень, the long form здоровый sounds very natural here. For a learner, the safest understanding is: Russian often uses the long adjective in simple descriptive present-tense sentences.

Because корень is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

The adjective has to agree with the noun.

So:

• здоровый корень = a healthy root
• корень здоровый = the root is healthy

Agreement here is:

• masculine singular nominative → -ый

A few comparison examples:

• здоровая ветка = a healthy branch
• здоровое растение = a healthy plant
• здоровые корни = healthy roots

Because Russian uses a comma between the if-clause and the main clause.

Structure:

• Если корень здоровый, растение не засохнет даже летом.

This is the same basic idea as English:

• If the root is healthy, the plant won’t dry out even in summer.

In Russian, when a sentence starts with Если ..., a comma normally separates the conditional clause from the result clause.

Если means if, while когда means when.

So:

• Если корень здоровый... = If the root is healthy...
• Когда корень здоровый... would mean When the root is healthy...

The difference is important:

• если introduces a condition
• когда introduces a time situation

Here the sentence is about a condition: the plant will not dry out provided that the root is healthy. So если is the correct choice.

Because the sentence is talking about what will happen / will not happen under a condition.

• засохнет = will dry up / will wither
• не засохнет = will not dry up

Russian often uses the future in this kind of real conditional sentence:

• Если X, Y не засохнет.
• If X happens/is true, Y will not dry up.

This is different from English, where the if-clause usually uses present tense:

• If the root is healthy, the plant won’t dry out.

Russian does the same here: the if-clause is present-like (корень здоровый), and the main result clause is future (не засохнет).

This is about aspect.

засохнуть is a perfective verb. Perfective verbs are often used when talking about a single completed result:

• засохнуть = to dry up / to wither completely

Its future form is simple:

• засохнет = will dry up

By contrast:

• сохнуть is imperfective: to be drying / to dry
• будет сохнуть means will be drying
• сохнет means is drying or dries

Here the sentence is about the final outcome, not the ongoing process. It means the plant won’t end up dried out. That is why perfective засохнет is the natural choice.

In this verb, за- helps create the perfective verb meaning to dry up completely / to become dried out.

Compare roughly:

• сохнуть = to dry / to be drying
• засохнуть = to dry up, wither, become dried out

So растение не засохнет means not just the plant won’t be drying, but rather the plant won’t dry up as a result.

For plants, засохнуть is a very common verb because it suggests drying out from lack of moisture and possibly dying or withering.

Russian has no articles like a and the.

So растение can mean:

• a plant
• the plant

The exact meaning depends on context.

In this sentence, it is generic and natural to understand it as:

• the plant in a general statement
• or a plant as a type of thing

Russian often leaves this to context, where English forces you to choose an article.

So:

• растение не засохнет = the plant won’t dry out / a plant won’t dry out

Both can fit depending on how the sentence is being presented.

Russian often uses the singular for a general or representative meaning.

So корень here can mean:

• the root system in a simplified way
• the root, as the essential root part of the plant

This is similar to how English sometimes says things like:

• If the root is healthy...
• even though in real life there may be many roots

If the speaker wanted to emphasize multiple roots, they could say:

• Если корни здоровы, ... = If the roots are healthy, ...

But the singular is perfectly natural in a general statement.

Летом is the instrumental case of лето.

In Russian, the names of seasons often appear in the instrumental case to mean in/during that season:

• зимой = in winter
• весной = in spring
• летом = in summer
• осенью = in autumn

So:

• даже летом = even in summer

The word даже means even, adding emphasis: the plant will not dry out even during summer, when drying out might be more likely.

Yes. Russian word order is more flexible than English, though the original sentence is very natural.

Original:

• Если корень здоровый, растение не засохнет даже летом.

You could also hear variations like:

• Растение не засохнет даже летом, если корень здоровый.
• Если корень здоровый, даже летом растение не засохнет.

The basic meaning stays the same, but the focus can shift slightly:

• placing даже летом earlier gives extra emphasis to even in summer
• placing the main clause first can sound a little more result-focused

For learners, the given version is a very good neutral model.

This is a real, possible condition, not an unreal or contrary-to-fact one.

• Если корень здоровый, растение не засохнет...
  = If the root is healthy, the plant won’t dry out...

This means the condition is presented as realistic.

Russian uses бы for hypothetical or unreal conditions:

• Если бы корень был здоровым, растение не засохло бы.
• If the root were healthy, the plant wouldn’t dry out.

That version suggests something more hypothetical or contrary to fact.

So the original sentence uses no бы because it is a normal factual conditional.

Yes, Russian can use здоровый for plants, roots, organs, and other living or biological things. It does not only apply to people.

Examples:

• здоровое растение = a healthy plant
• здоровые листья = healthy leaves
• здоровый корень = a healthy root

So in this sentence, здоровый is completely natural. It suggests the root is in good condition and functioning properly.