I rescued a Schefflera about 2 months ago that someone up rooted and left for dead. When I first saw it, I had to check it out and I could see that it had some diseased leaves on it and assumed that someone didn’t want it to infect their other plants, so I propped it up against some shrubs where its roots had a chance to root itself in case in rained and it was meant to live. I walked by it several days in a row and I kept looking at this one baby shoot to see if it was still growing, but the trauma of being uprooted must have stopped it cold in its tracks. After looking at this baby shoot for almost a week, I finally decided to take it home with me to see if I could revive it.

Well, it didn’t look good at first as it started to lose all of those diseased leaves while the baby shoot didn’t budge a millimeter. After several weeks and losing most of its leaves that baby shoot finally started to grow and slowly but surely new shoots would come out every week or so. And then, I was looking at it the other day and counted how many old leaves survived and how many new ones have come in and I then hugged my Schefflera with both hands like holding a baseball bat and I told her how much I loved her and much I appreciated that she was part of my life and how happy I was that I decided to bring her home with me.

When I woke up the next day, I could hardly believe my eyes. Not only was she growing another shoot, but there were multiple shoots. And the same thing happened the next and the next and now, she has 16 new shoots to add to the 4 that survived and the 19 that she’s added since I brought her home. Of course, this could be a coincidence, but it reminds me back in the early 1990s when I read The Celestine Prophecy and how we can give our energy to plants and I gave my energy to a rose when I was out walking one day. And then, when I came back several months later and the weather was colder, the rose that I gave energy to was the only rose that was still alive out of the hundred or so roses that where in that area.

Anyway, here are a couple pictures that illustrate the Power of Love…







Peace and Love..........John

That's a wonderful experirence, John! I think plants are emotional and they grow better for emotional type people. Also, you said your plant wasn't growing so great outside - I think some houseplants do poorly outside because they're not protected from extremes in temperature and light as they are indoors.

My favorite houseplant right now is the Neon Pothos because of its beautiful chartreuse color and how well it grows with little light.



The Celestine Prophecy was my inspiration to go raw. I was reading the book and was into eating edible flowers around the same time. So I was in the backyard eating flowers and I was reminded of the energy field around plants as referenced in the book and a lightbulb went off in my head - "I should eat everything raw," so I went 100% raw overnight.

Yeah, now we have to resort to asking politely not to be banned If we don't use the O-word, we may get a pass.

Sigh. I was loving this thread for about a minute and a half. What is wrong with you guys?

Anyhow, plants. John, that monster is an indoor rain forest on it's own! Incredible.
We just moved. I don't like to take plants for long car rides, I think it's very disturbing for them. But you can't just give a plant to any old anybody so I try to adopt them out to people who have been around them regularly and love plants themselves. I gave some beautiful spiders, pothos, wandering jew, and a jade to a good friend before we left and they are doing wonderfully at her house.
For our new place I picked up some more pothos (they are my favourite philodendron but not the chartreuse because their light colour always makes me think they're ailing! I don't know why but I find that colour disturbing in a plant, it's a gorgeous shade of green), wandering jew, jade, a mixed bunch of sweet succulents, and I'm going to find a spider. I've got them re-potted into beautiful ceramics and all over living room. They are so incredibly lovely. And in case they don't know it already, I tell them I love them .
Now I'd like to take on the challenge of a giant monstera but... I'm not confident in my ability to care for a "life" plant. Those things take commitment! I am astonished by their gloriousness though, aren't they amazing?

Hey KR,

Your plants look really healthy and that's an interesting story about how The Celestine Prophecy inspired you to become RAW! There was only one mention of Raw Foods in the book and I wonder how many people even picked up on it.

Hey coco,

I agree with you that you don't want to give your plants away to just anyone just like you wouldn't want give puppies away to just anyone. When my mom died back in 1992, no one else wanted her plants and I'm glad they didn't because most of them are still alive despite the fact that they had to travel over 200 miles to their new home. I remember something in a Movie called Mind Walk about how everything is so interconnected that we're exchanging atoms with EVERYTHING around us, so that's how I looked at all of my mom's plants - I felt that part of her is still in those plants and I frequently touch them knowing I'm touching her. I have most of her plants surrounding my bed and they now I love them which is why I'm sure they're still alive.

Peace and Love..........John

Somehow I posted the same image twice, so here is the other angle...

That's a nice idea John. My mom feels especially connected to Africa violets because her mother always had some on the window sill. They take a very special touch to flourish.
I have friends who seemingly have a natural green thumb and can raise any sort of plant, rescue as you did and bring back to life what looks dead. I have to work at it myself, I don't have that natural touch. I try to be conscientious in my care of the green things, from sprouts to lawn, but I don't find it easy.
That must be why I like those easy house plants so much, the ones I listed are simple to care for. I forgot to mention I picked up a small mother in law's tongue too, that's what they are referred to as but I'm sure they have another name. Most of the ones I have are good for cleaning indoor air too which is a bonus for me .
I'll take a picture of my greenery when I've got them all repotted and set up in their spots.
House plant porn, lol. I'm sure there's a site for just that thing somewhere online, ha!

freakin awesome

reminds me of bamboo, sort of

gorgeous absolutely gorgeous

We've been up in NJ for a week now, so when I get back to VA, I'll be greeted by a bunch of wilted or dead plants on my deck and probably a few inside the house - although I watered them before I left, the ones outdoors will be pretty bad. I should have asked our neighbor who is taking care of the cats to water them for me. The New Guinea Impatiens and the dark purple Angelonia (they're related to snap dragons) flowered and lasted the longest for me this summer because of the cooler wet weather. I also like the Ivy Geranium plants for outside.

very pretty

I killed my three beautiful New Guinea Impatiens. We just got back to VA today and this is what I found -



I had watered them totally and put them in the shade when I left and I thought I was going to be gone for five days. But it turned out We were away for ten days and they didn't make it. I feel guilty

that's sad

Well, I did load them with water again today, so maybe they'll perk up, but all the beautiful flowers will be dead. I wish I had thought to have my neighbor water them for me - John's post here should have been a reminder to me. The Boston Ferns and Ivy Geraniums survived, but the Angelonia doesn't look so good, either. The indoor plants were OK.

Oh no, what a shame! Do you know about those automatic watering bulbs? I have even seen them for sale at dollar stores. Perhaps they'll come back ok, I hope they do. We can all send healing plant vibes your way today, that might be too airy fairy to actually do anything but who knows. Plants are so sensitive, maybe they feel it and it helps.

[www.amazon.com]

I've got a large one my mom just gave me which I'm going to use for the giant golden pothos I brought home this weekend. It's SUCH a beauty, I couldn't resist. Even though it had to come in the car with us :/. I know I said I don't like to put healthy plants through that kind of ordeal but it spoke to me and asked me to take it home. Every time we stopped I bathed it in love. I'm going over to stroke it's leaves and speak to it right now in fact, I adore this plant.

hey coco

pics please

I'm working on it! Just picked up some pots and will be putting the babies into their new homes soon. The kids want to help so it may take a while. And be very messy, lol.

Kid, are your plants recovering at all?

I found 2 beauties at the market, I'm going to pick them up tomorrow or the next day. A monstera philodendron and a gorgeous "black magic" flamingo plant that has breathtaking colour, I fell in Love!

Here are some pics of the repotted babies we've got here now. My small girl helped with this on our balcony, it and her were filthy with good clean dirt by the time we were through, ha ha.

Baby spider in the kitchen hanging baskets, by next year it should be hanging down to at least the second basket.



Baby pothos by the balcony door, this is my favourite plant ever in this shade of deep lovely green.


The big hanging golden pothos I brought home from afar, it seems to have weathered the trip ok, has lost only 4 leaves. I'm looking for a good hanger to put it up in the window.


Jade. Big plant that was stuffed into a wee pot. Hopefully will flourish in this bigger space.


Mother in law's tongue that has 2 little babies at her sides, just like me .


And the rest on the mantle. The wandering jew is wild already.

Thanks for asking, coco. They're recovered a bit, but they'll never be the same. The top leaves are good and new flowers are coming out, but the rest of the plant has lost all it's leaves. I hate to spend the money, but if I can still find them, I may buy three more to replace those because they'll last until the end of October. Other outdoor plants that'll last until the frost would be the boston ferns, regular impatiens and begonias. Every nursery around here is loaded up with mums, but there's something about mums that I don't like the look of. I think it's just the uniform roundness - if they were just irregular like other flowering plants, I'd love them.

Those watering bulbs you had mentioned would have been perfect. I had seen them and had thought of buying them for some of my plants for when I go away, but never did.

One of my daughters who lives in NYC just moved into a new apartment with a tiny balcony and she's loaded it up with plants, a fountain, flameless candles, a bistro table and chairs, floor mat, etc. It looks good. She has a flowering Purslane, which I really want to get, so I can eat some, too. But I guess it would have to be an organic plant and I'm not sure where to buy one.

You're mother must have a green thumb, because I've tried the violets a couple times, and they die for me, but I remember growing up, my grandmother had a bay window with loads of beautiful violets in it.

Your mantle looks lovely.

Thanks .
A friend was by today, she has some watering bulbs she's going to give me as she said they haven't worked for her. They've gotten plugged up with soil so the water didn't come out which sounds weird to me, wouldn't the plug of water just get wet and wick the moisture out as it's supposed to? Hmm...

I'm glad to hear your plants are coming back a bit but sorry it's not a terrific recovery. See if you can find those bulbs and if they'll help.

I've got to work on the balcony here, it's not very nice at the moment.
And now I'm looking up flowering Purslane, if it's the same as the wild thing I'd love some too.

My gran had a way with the violets and apparently there's a trick. I don't have a window by the kitchen sink which is where I'd try it if I was going to give it a go. Maybe another time though... I'll have to ask mom what the secret is again.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/11/2013 05:39PM by coco.

coco

i like the jade a lot

Right now my favorite indoor flowering plant is the Rieger Begonia. They flower in the winter, which I love.