Every Thing Has Its Time ..
There have been countless songs, countless poems, countless novels .. Written on this very subject. Some things live longer than others; some have an have a fleeting moment like a mayfly which may live only three days, and some seem to live forever like a glass sea sponge researchers believe is over 11,000 years old. The same rings true in my very own life, where some things seem like they will live forever and others are in their final moments.
This post is dedicated to @bozz. I'd like him to know he's not alone when it comes to the death of a plant.
Things Die ..
Its the tragic and unsettling part of life .. but it's a fact that we all must face at some point. This post isn't meant to be deep and sentimental, but rather humorous and lighthearted.
Not everything comes up roses.. I write a lot about my successes when it comes to our orchids or other plants in and around our home, but I rarely touch on the times where things just don't work out. This is one of those rare occasions I thought it was a good time to bring forth a few of the NOT SO GOOD things going on with my plants.
The Almost Dead ..
The worst of the bunch is my new Cyclamen.. I purchased it at the grocery store for three dollars and it was going strong for a good month or so. Then I don't know what the heck happened. I still don't know what happened. All I can think is maybe it had a reaction to a fertilizer I added to the water Recently. It's the only thing I can come up with but it went from looking OK, to near death, to well ... pretty much a goner.
Here it is after I brought it home..
And today ..
Next up is one of my Phalaenopsis orchids.. I shared this one with you guys a week ago but it's getting worse. The leaves (That are left) are shriveling, turning a lighter green color and some red tones are starting on the edges. It's not looking good. It's root system is pretty much nonexistent and I tried my best to nurse it back but I think the end is near. I guess there's always hope but not much in my mind. The bright side of it is that when this one expires I will just have to order a couple of more! He hee hee.
Our Spider plant may not be dead yet .. But it wasn't doing well a couple of weeks ago. I started noticing it drooping and looking sort of wilted even after I watered it thoroughly. I took a closer look and saw scale. Scale is in Mullusk like, super tiny insect that sucks the sap Out of the stems and leaves. I wasn't having that so I took it outside and sprayed it down with some Neem oil. I just gave it a second spraying the other day and things are looking better. Most of the scale are dead. Like I said everything has its time to live and die.
It was time for the scale to die ha ha ha.
The scale are those little light colored bumps on the green stem and leaves.
This is my spider plant today looking a little better..
Now for our Hibiscus tree .. I guess I can't ignore the fact that I sort of wanted to bring death to a hibiscus tree we purchased last spring. I say I sort of wanted to kill it because it was a pain in the butt to take care of. All summer long it dropped tons of leaves and flowers (that stained the concrete) all over the place and I was constantly cleaning up after it. It was a VERY MESSY Plant!
It also required daily watering if not twice a day watering. It's as if the soil would just not hold enough liquid. Since we paid $50 for it I figured maybe I try to get another season out of it. So I read somewhere that you just stick them in the basement and occasionally water them and they will go into some sort of dormancy. I guess it worked, but it looked like I just about got my death wish when I brought it up out of the depths of darkness. It looked dead.
Here it is last spring/summer
And here it is now after it's time in the dark, cool, lifeless basement
There Is Always Hope ..
Sometimes there's a little flicker of hope .. It appears not all is lost. Maybe when it comes to that orchid there is little hope, but the Cyclamen, the Hibiscus, and of course the spider plant may pull through. I'm not putting any money on it but I did see signs that things could be looking better.
The Cyclamen has a couple of new shoots coming up through the dead plant material…
And that hibiscus is a real tough cookie. Also new growth! I see signs of life and buds are beginning to open again.
I don't wanna count my eggs before they hatch, but I have some good feelings about that spider plant and hibiscus at least. We'll just have to wait and see how the orchid and Cyclamen fares.
See You're NOT Alone Bozz
Sometimes I Have Brown Thumbs Instead of Green
Thank you for swinging by my blog and checking out the post. Have a great day!
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Ah, I am glad I am not alone. It makes me feel a little bit better. Looking back over the years there are three plants that I am still kind of salty about losing. The first is a lucky bamboo plant that my friend got me. I kept that alive for many years, but slowly each of the stalks started turning yellow and dying. I am sure I should have taken the hit and done something differently with the first one, but I didn't. The second is an aloe plant I bought when I first moved out. I tried to keep that thing alive, but I failed. The third is a jade plant that was gifted to me. I loved that thing, but I wasn't able to keep it alive long.
You are not! lol.. I can kill them too. hehe.
Bamboo tends to be overwatered by people, aloe is tough to kill.. not sure what happened there (let's blame that on Jovi), and Jade is a hard plant to keep going. All is forgiven!
I think I didn't keep the roots clean on the bamboo and they ended up rotting. The aloe was way before Jovi existed so I am not even sure on that one. It just started turning brown and the leaves got really flat and it died. You should see the jade my buddy got from his grandma. It's beautiful.
Some of those Jade plants can get quite big. Come to think of it my grandparents had one too. Don't know what happened to it by now.. that was a long time ago.
His was in a pot the size of a washing machine drum. It was massive and beautiful.
Holy cow!
Orchids are notoriously finnicky! I hope it comes back stronger, that shoot gives you a sign of life! I've never had a scale problem, around here it's usually aphids or spider mites. Neem oil is great stuff!
I hope the hibiscus and spider plant do well. I had a little pepper plant on the window sill along with some herbs and it suddenly bit the dust. Still not sure why...
I'm going to have to start with some easy orchids and see how I do!
Neem oil is awesome. Smells a little weird but works good.
I really think that Orchid is a lost cause. It's even worse today.
I don't think those pepper plants are supposed to last all that long to begin with.. they are typically one season and done.
Best of luck with an Orchid if you go that route!
I love indoor plant and tend to ensure that my flowers as well as aloe vera live well with enough required nutrient.
Its sad seeing plant die.
Yeah.. indoor plants can be a little tricky for sure.
We just transferred to our new place (a condo in the city) and I'm planning to keep some indoor plants to add vibrance in our place, but looks like keeping them alive won't be easy hihi
hehehe.. yes, indoor plants are a lot of work. You will do fine, I am certain of it. Good luck with the new place!
That hibiscus looks fine to me, coming out of dormancy with gusto. Nice.
The new growth on the cyclamen is very encouraging. Try putting a copper spiral on it. That worked beautifully for me with a nearly dead flowering plant, and now it's gorgeous. Switch up the fertilizer for sure, I wouldn't fertilize it at all at this point though.
The orchid is dead. Sorry.
Yeah it is looking even more full of life today.. more green than brown.
I'll give the copper a try.
Yes.. Orchid is dead dead dead.
I also don't write about the plants I manage to kill. African violets top the list, followed by rosemary. Sometimes I can keep poinsettias alive a couple years. But it's during the summer that I lose them, as I just don't have the energy to care for them. I'm glad most of your "dead" are coming back to life!
Me too. I think the majority will survive. I just got a couple of African Violets from my mom.. we will see how I do with them.
It's just like plants when they get into such a situation they either get damaged or they reset if they are given a little more care.
That is right. Plant's have a mind of their own. I hope they pull through but it looks like the orchid is a gonner
Yeah you are right.
Lovely post!
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