For the Love of....Plants

I have mentioned before a few several times

that I used to work in a flower shop.

That was long ago and far away.

( Meatloaf reference... dated myself there huh ? )

Anyway...

I have a love for plants .

If I find a plant I do not have ,

I usually pick it up.

Not that I need it.

My house is kinda small for all my plants.

Some I have had for several years,

like this arbicola/spider combo.

It's huge.

I have it in a pot inside a 12 gallon Red Wing crock.

It was given to me more years ago than I can remember.

It has been moved so many times, I'm surprised it's still alive.

I actually TRIED to kill it once.

It had grown so lop sided and gangly that I set it out on the deck for the summer.

It was blown off the deck several times, but continued to thrive.

So when I brought it in ,in the fall and I gave it a severe "hair cut ", evened it out and it grew even more.

That is when I learned,

 Lesson 1

It is OK to give a plant a hair cut. It even helps it grow. We feel better after a good trim right ? So do plants.

Spider Plants are one of the most forgiving plants you can have.

They thrive absolutely anywhere.

( these pictures were taken at Christmas time , did you notice that )

This particular Spider Plant has lived in my bedroom ( shown here ),

the bathroom , the entry and even the living room.

Currently it is still in the bedroom.

It's happy anywhere.

The Split Leaf Philodendron is an easy plant too.

I love the large split leaves.

However it grows a little crazy.

It's way wider than it is tall. and tends to bend every which way.

This one takes up the entire corner in the living room.

It might be better if I rotated it more often so it wouldn't have to stretch for the sun.

Who knows, this one might get a "hair cut" this summer.

We will see.

Another easy peasy house plant  is a Dracena.

They come in a lot of different varieties and color variations.

Here's mine.

I move all of my plants around quite often.

Here it is the bathroom.

( from Christmas again )

It lives in the entry now...

Now this one can be a little " iffy".

Ivy.

This one happens to be a Oak Ivy ( which is my favorite )

Ivy can be a little temperamental.

They can grow happily for years and then all of a sudden die.

They are also very susceptible to spider mites.

I have better luck with the Oak leaf variety than I do English varieties.

But it could just be me.

Lesson 2 -

 some plants are worth the extra effort even if they don't last forever.

 Here is a new one I just acquired.

It's called a Sansevieria.

Which is on the same family as Mother-in-Laws Tongue.

Super easy.

Can tolerate low light and likes to stay on the dry side.

Lesson 3 -

 There IS a plant for everyone and every condition if you really want one .

I don't have luck with all plants.

For instance ,

ferns don't really like me.

I had a Bird's Nest Fern for several years but then it just died.

I would like to find another one.

Anyway...

Here is the problem fern living barely hanging on at my house right now.

 Part of the reason it looks so bad is ,

it's just a plain UGLY ugly plant.

It's a Rabbit's Foot Fern.

All the fuzzy looking brown things are actually the roots and are supposed to look like that.

( hence , the Rabbit's Foot )

Anyway...

I sent it to Em at work on her birthday (her golden birthday to be exact )

I wanted them to send an "unusual" plant.

Lesson 4 -

 (this one is for me in particular )

 Unusual is NOT always best.

Be aware of a plants needs and if you  ( or the recipient ) can meet them.

She thought she had killed it , so it came to me for intensive care.

It has not gotten a whole lot better.

I even tried some of this on it:

Worm Poop .

It was a Christmas gift from my niece.

Her church sells it as a fund raiser.

I was very excited about this gift.

( her sister ... not so much )

But alas...

it hasn't helped this particular plant much.

I think this summer it will go live in the back of the garden.

If it survives , OK.

If it doesn't, OK.

I just know to stay away from ferns...

Again , that's just me.

Do you have particular plants that grow better for you ?

Or do you have some you avoid like the plague?

I'd really love to know :)

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