Tuesday, December 7, 2010

7 - just another dead houseplant

-7-
 I think I'm a houseplant serial killer. This one supposed to be those "easy ones." It's a lie! I think they are the worst.



More suffering plants, mourning their fate in the candlelight...

"Help! Anyone? Is all the water in the world frozen? We haven't seen any lately...Ouch, those little fire-things burn!" 

UPDATE:  17.49 Rescue mission. The Curmudgeon gave us excellent advice in comments, so we decided to give a change:
"Trim it down, distribute across maybe three pots, and in a few weeks they'll be gorgeous again!" Sounds great. 

Yes, it's definitely "wandering jew", we call it "juoru" in Finland, and that means "Gossip"
It should spread like one. Yeah... this one doesn't wander or spread so much. 

"Mom, are you sure you can save it?" My little assistant asks.

There's nothing green or moist left....maybe we should just give up? I just have a feeling that even few weeks intensive care wouldn't make this one gorgeous. 

38 comments:

  1. I'm a houseplant serial killer too =( I think I use too much water and sunlight.

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  2. 3 of us, then!!!! even the cactus die on my hands....... :S

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  3. I kill every plant that ever enter my home... somehow...
    I try to tell myself that it's cause I live in a basement and that there's not enough light for them

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  4. I always said I could raise children or houseplants, but not both. Now that my children have grown, my houseplants have a much higher survival rate. It wasn't my childrens' fault.

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  5. Same here! I always assume houseplants will be fine on their own, which is sadly not true.

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  6. Yes! I'm not alone... and pooor plants. :D

    I've killed cactus too! And yucca. Somehow I manage to kept alive one Aloe Vera nearly 12 years, but now even that one shows signs of dying. I believe falling(jumping?) down from the pot is one of the most clear ones..Well, I put it back to the pot to show me some good withering first. After 12 years together I deserve that! ;D

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  7. If I'm seeing correctly, that's a Wandering Jew - I have several and love them!

    If it's not rude to offer a little un-asked for advice - that one's having trouble because it's overcrowded. Trim it down, distribute across maybe three pots, and in a few weeks they'll be gorgeous again!

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  8. don't feel bad...I can't even keep a cactus alive.

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  9. A case of sun-deprivation perhaps?! House plans are so finicky...many an African violet has met it's end in this house!

    I am enjoying your Christmas countdown photo calendar very much. So I've taken you up on your suggestion and started one of my own! It's here: http://www.mananamama.blogspot.com/

    I look forward to the rest of your December photos. And good luck with your surviving plants!
    ~Mama

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  10. The Curmudgeon : As you can see, I tried! I really tried! :D
    Well, maybe next time I'll remember your advices before it's too late.

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  11. I commend your efforts for trying to revive your plant! I know myself well, and know to never let any live plants into the house :)

    I am also enjoying your photo countdown, it's so fun seeing you post pictures again. You have a very lovely family!

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  12. I really try to have plants in my home…..but they also don’t resist!
    And I’m in Portugal, whit lot’s of sun light, and isn’t sufficient! I love your blog!

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  13. I used to have that "green thumb" and I had nearly a jungle in my apartment with my ex-boyfriend. But when I met my husband, all of those plants died one after one... I think it ment that there was not love enough for those plants anymore :) So, if you are houseplant serialkiller; You must love your family so much that there is no love for plants anymore

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  14. Get one of these:
    http://www.easytogrowbulbs.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=899

    The thing is, they open in sunlight and close at night. If they are closed in the daytime, it means you need to water them. I never could keep plants alive until I had one of these. Since it gives some warning before it dies, I am reminded to water the other plants, too.

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  15. Jos pienet kukat on ikkunalaudalla, niin saattavat kärsiä kylmyydestä... Ja siksi kuolevat.

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  16. For indoors I like the artificial type. Always looks great

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  17. last plant I killed was a beautiful little bonsai tree. i used to kill a lot of plants, but I am trying to get better. :-D

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  18. No, Curmudgeon is right... I know those... I'm not really a serial killer, but as my daughter Annika is just a few weeks younger as Mila and I'm working again, I don't have that much time for my plants and they look a bit sad, too.

    I can see green bits on the last picture and that is all you need. Try to take those parts as the one on the third tile on the left, second row from the bottom. Only the two leaves and maybe 10cm of the "trunk" and put them into a glass with water. As soon as they grow roots, put them in soil again. After that give them a bit of water once in a while :-)

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  19. I've killed a cactus. And my lucky bamboo? Not so lucky. *sigh*

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  20. So I shouldn't tell you that I still have the plant my mother received as a gift when i was born 30 some years ago? I was going to tell you to propagate a cutting off the green part, but I see that someone has already mentioned that. Good Luck!

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  21. I feel so much better knowing I am not the only one that can't keep a houseplant alive. I just managed to kill off the catnip plant. Poor kitty.

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  22. Annika, those green parts were only some leaves, plant stem's were all dried up totally... I hope it will rest in piece in bio garbage.

    Btw, I have tried that water glass -thing few times before. It doesn't have that happy end with the tiny roots and the new soil in the pot... water evaporates and what green was left from the plant is rotten or wizened brown. :D I'm helpless!

    I'm only good with those plants you usually don't grow in your home. (At least in Finland) Example Mango. I just put the seed in the pot with soil and now I have had that little vital tree growing since Mila was born. In the candlelight picture it's the first plant from the right. Maybe it is that love thing. I love that little plant more than others. It would be only one that I would miss really bad if it dies during our vacation. (My hubby's bro is going to live in our place, so no mercy for the green living things!)

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  23. Täällä toinen kasvien sarjamurhaaja.
    Mikään ei pysy elossa.
    Olin jo ihan fiiliksissä kun löysin Ikeasta The Vesikasvin. Ajattelin, että tuota minäkään en voi tappaa. Mutta, ilmeisesti ne kasvit tarvitsevat valoakin, mikä on ihan typerää, koska se kasvi nyt vain ei sopinut ikkunalaudallemme, näytti paljon paremmalta tuolla lipaston päällä, piristi pimeää nurkkaa...
    Neljä kasvia on elossa, niitä ei koskaan tarvitse kastella, ne eivät tarvitse valoa, eivätkä hoitoa. Me <3 Plastic!

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  24. Aw, poor plant. :) I think the last-ditch option would be to cut off any parts that are still living and put them in pots of water for a few weeks to grow roots - then you can replant.

    Good luck!

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  25. Sorry, just saw that @Annika already mentioned the clipping trick! Should've read all the way through before posting.

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  26. try philodendron! they are very sturdy and don't need much light! You DO, however need to water them but often every other week or so is fine!

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  27. I don't know if anyone has mentioned this but wandering jews don't need or want direct sun light. They prefer a shady shot. ours is not very "lively" and is hardly ever water but still lives I think mostly because it's not in the direct sun.

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  28. ok, I see... already too late :-)

    Try an avocado - if you love mangos, this will be a nice one, too. Just put the seed into soil, best into a pot where you already have another plant which you water once in a while...

    Then just forget about it.

    After a few months you will wonder, what this nice little seedling is - as soon as it comes out, it grows rapidly. (ok you could do something with three toothpicks, put the lower half into water and wait until roots grow, but then you have to face that evaporating or rottening water problem again...)

    I'm a professional banana tree killer... I had so many already and just look to the right to that brown thing over there :-´(

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  29. I, too, am a plant serial killer.

    One time I bought a lovely plant to give my friend as a gift. I took it to her home, it was Friday evening. I learned she had gone out of town to celebrate. By Monday the plant was dead - dried and black.

    Another time, after trying many different ways to save a plant, I put it outside on the balcony railing to get some extra sun and fresh air. Within hours, it had fallen to the ground from the second story. At first, my friends teased me that the plant committed suicide to get away from me. Until the plant, left on it's own on the ground started growing like crazy. Then they said that what really happened was the plant escaped from me so it could live!

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  30. Spathiphyllum. They just require lots of water and a sunny spot. They can be completely dead-looking and come back! No mystery. Plus they are an instant gratification plant. If the leaves are drooping to the floor and it gets water, the leaves perk up within a short period and you feel less like a plant killer! :D

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  32. out of all the houseplants i have, and i can keep most alive. i have NEVER been able to keep a wandering jew alive. they ARE NOT the easiest!

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  33. I love that saying...
    I'm a houseplant serial killer too :P
    LOL that's too funny!!!

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  34. I like to say that the plants committed suicide. It's not your fault.

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  35. I can grow them outside......inside? No.

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  36. Wandering Jews are certainly a more finicky plant.

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