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Thread: Can you get too attached to a plant ?

  1. #1
    Registered User stewart38's Avatar
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    Can you get too attached to a plant ?

    I’ve had a plant for about 12 years , it moved with me put up with my goings on

    Was moved from kitchen to bathroom and back . Never made a fuss

    Would go without water for weeks with out complaining probably never got enough light etc Just stood there looking bedraggled in the kitchen corner in a big naff looking pot

    Anyway someone put it outside side a few months ago when I was on holiday and I guess the cold ‘shocked’ it and it loss all its leaves. Its 4ft tall will long spiky leaves the ones you see in garden centres

    A few months later it still has no leaves but doesn’t look totally dead

    It really does look sad now

    I cant ‘kill’ a plant ive had 12yrs that doesn’t ‘look dead’ ie when I bend the bare branches they ‘feel’ alive ?

    Any solutions ? plant feed more light or just kill the bugger

    Its funny how I could get attached to the stupid thing its done 4 house moves with me

  2. #2
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    Re: Can you get too attached to a plant ?

    I'm very attached to the petrochemical plant at Fawley...it looks lovely at sunset.

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    Registered User Twirly's Avatar
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    Re: Can you get too attached to a plant ?

    Can you get attached to plants? Yes, particularly if they've got spikes on and you get too close to them!

    But seriously, yes, I'd have thought so. Have had most of my plants for about 20 years or more, and have one Christmas cactus that was my mum's that's older than I am! I'd be gutted if anything happened to them. They've moved with me all round London. Several are now monster sized - next time I move, am going to have to find somewhere big enough to accomdate them all

    I've had a couple in the same state that yours seems to be in, one's that I've "rescued" which have been little more than sticks. Just keep watering gently (not too much, or you'll water-log it and the roots will rot - remember it won't be using as much as usual as it's got no leaves to lose it through). Not sure about feeding. Keep it somewhere where it will get plenty of light to stimulate growth, but not too much or anything new might get scorched. One of my rescues now has to be cut back annually as it's got so big, and last year I managed to propogate a new one from it (so if yours dies, you're welcome to a baby umbrella plant if you like - I need to cut the parent back again!). So yours could well be nursed back to health. Do you know what it's called or can you find a picture of it online?

    And don't let anyone else interfere with your plants! I had someone look after mine for a couple of years when I couldn't fit them in where I was renting - they came back full of some nasty bugs which still recur nearly 10 years later!

    I wonder if I missed my calling to Gardener's Question time in R4

  4. #4

    Re: Can you get too attached to a plant ?

    Quote Originally Posted by Twirly View Post
    Can you get attached to plants? Yes...

    My nana planted a bonsai tree when my cousin was born about 30 years ago, and she handed it on to me to look after about 2 or 3 years ago. And it's my job to keep it safe until it's time to hand it on to the next person in the family.

    Can't help you with any advice for your plant unfortunately , but I do hope your plant recovers .

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    Re: Can you get too attached to a plant ?

    I used to have a cactus next to my old 'Green Screen' monitor at work. Within a month the whole part facing the screen turned brown and shrivelled. Make you wonder what was being emitted from the monitor.

  6. #6
    purplehyacinth
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    Re: Can you get too attached to a plant ?

    Stewart38

    What kind of a plant is it. 4ft tall and spiky leaves (ok, not the most detailed of descriptions). Two possibilities spring to my mind:

    1. Does it look something like this



    If so, it is probably a yucca plant.

    2. Or does it look like this?



    If so, it is a mother-in-law's tongue.

    Would recommend you get yourself a copy of the Houseplant Expert by Hessayon (or it could be the Houseplant Expert book 2 - there are now 2 volumes), which covers care and common problems for most popular houseplants. I don't have a copy to hand while writing, but I would be very surprised if it didn't cover both of the above plants. It contains very good and easy-to-follow advice.

    And by the way, yes, you can get very attached to houseplants. My collection is now such that I have had to place an embargo on new plants, otherwise I'm going to need a bigger flat with more windowsills. I have had some of my plants for nearly 15 years now, and they have moved flat with me.

    Hope all goes well with your plant.

    I'm just off to "deal with" some rather inconsiderate greenfly which have just infested one of my plants.
    Last edited by ducasi; 10th-August-2007 at 08:20 AM. Reason: trying to fix images

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    Registered User Twirly's Avatar
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    Re: Can you get too attached to a plant ?

    Quote Originally Posted by purpleheather View Post
    I'm just off to "deal with" some rather inconsiderate greenfly which have just infested one of my plants.
    How are you doing that? I have given up on my herb filled window boxes as the greenfly arrived every year and had such a feast that nothing much was left Since I was supposed to be eating the herbs, I couldn't use much more than washing up liquid as a deterrent. Any ideas?

    S38 - I think you might have started a very useful thread here!

  8. #8
    purplehyacinth
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    Re: Can you get too attached to a plant ?

    There are a number of ways of dealing with greenfly.

    Personally, I'm going to opt for a systemic insecticide (ie you put it in the pot, and it's absorbed through the plant, so that you aren't having to spray nasty chemicals around and breathe them in). e.g. Phostrogen plant pins - my plants are all ornamental plants like geraniums, gerberas, umbrella plants and the like.

    For edible plants, the crucial thing with insecticides is to find one that is suitable for using on things that are to be eaten - and also suitable for the particular edible thing you are growing. There are some on the market which can be used for spraying things like tomato plants. I don't know if there are any suitable for herbs. Seek advice from a friendly garden centre! (and be careful - the last thing you want to do is poison yourself).

    A rather old-fashioned remedy for greenfly which is a bit more human and environment friendly is to spray with soapy water (or washing up liquid, as you did). This one is so old-fashioned that I don't know if it actually works, but I have read of it in some older books. I think you may need to spray with a fair degree of pressure to skoosh the greenfly off the plant. I haven't actually tried this one myself so I'm not clear on either the underlying theory or the practice).

    On aphids generally (greenfly included), try this link:

    Royal Horticultural Society - Advice: Aphids
    Last edited by purplehyacinth; 9th-August-2007 at 02:34 PM.

  9. #9
    Registered User stewart38's Avatar
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    Re: Can you get too attached to a plant ?

    Quote Originally Posted by Twirly View Post
    S38 - I think you might have started a very useful thread here!
    Ive never been accused of that

    It doesnt look like either of pics but will try and find out it name and if im really sad most a pic

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    Re: Can you get too attached to a plant ?

    I was recommended paraffin and soft soap to deal with whatever was eating the leaves on my tomatoes. However I found that washing up liquid worked just as well.

    Complementary planting is supposed to be another way of detering some bugs, the idea being that the smell of these plants will draw the pests off of what you are trying to protect. I put a basil plant next to the toamtoes and it seems to have helped.

  11. #11

    Re: Can you get too attached to a plant ?

    If you really want to sort out your aphids/greenfly and don't like chemicals, put on some gloves and go out and squish 'em! Very satisfying! (And my mum's so tough she doesn't even wear gloves to do it! )

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    Not a spoon! Lou's Avatar
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    Re: Can you get too attached to a plant ?

    Quote Originally Posted by stewart38 View Post
    It doesnt look like either of pics but will try and find out it name and if im really sad most a pic
    Does it look like this...


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