Late last week, an email came through from a coworker asking for a plantsitter for the week. She and her family would be on vacation, and the last time she left her two plants for a week sans an official watering agent, they nearly keeled over from dehydration.
I will admit not immediately hitting reply to the email. I sat. I pondered. I considered the number of plants I’ve killed through watering and not watering. I wondered whether she had read about this on my blog. And then I decided to volunteer.
That meant, this week, I’ve had two officeguests on my windowsill: a bonsai-like tree and a bigger plant with large leaves that have a light-colored border.
See? See how well I know plants? Did you READ that description? I probably couldn’t even pick these plants out of a line-up, and I’ve been looking at them all week.
I had plans to tell you about my officemates earlier in the week, but I kept hesitating. My coworker returns to the office Monday, and I was afraid writing about the plants would jinx this operation. I might end up telling you about my responsibility and then shirking it. I might just plain old forget to bring water anywhere near the plants.
Which, well, I kind of did. The plants arrived in my office last Thursday, and I was going to be out for a quick vacation day on Monday. My plan? Water on Friday before I walked out the door.
About an hour after walking out said door on Friday, I realized I had, indeed, not watered. That meant I made a quick stop-through on Saturday, ignoring the quizzical security guard who probably thought I was there to shred incriminating documents or something, not to address my own lack of concentration when it comes to potted plants.
But the week is almost over, and my tenure as a plantsitter is about to come to an end. The plants appear to be thriving on my windowsill, and I have managed to avoid both under- and over-watering. As long as they survive the weekend, I’m in the clear.
In the clear, and, well, in need of some replacement plants. Because I think I’m going to miss them when they go back to their rightful owner.
on Aug 7th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Might I recommend a peace lily? Easiest. Houseplant. Ever. It will tell you when it needs water by drooping its leaves–gently at first, but goes into all out collapse after a few days. But then you water it, and it totally forgives you. It perks right back up again. If it was only drooping a little, it’ll probably be totally perky within the hour; if it completely collapsed, it may take a day for it to regain its composure. But there’s no guesswork about it.
It does best with indirect light, though, so you’d want to keep it farther from the window.
on Aug 7th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
I can’t tell quite what the bonsai is from the picture, but the other plant is a variegated rubber plant, Ficus elastica ‘Tineke’ (sometimes ‘Sylvie’). In case you (or the owner) want to know.
on Aug 7th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Zannie, interesting…I always figured peace lilies would be all difficult, since they look so delicate. Perhaps I will have to give that a try…
Mr. Subjunctive, ha! There is a funny story coming regarding just that. But thank you for IDing the Sylvie for me!
on Aug 7th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Yes to the peace lily! That plant lets me know when everything needs water. It is my indoor water guage.
And I’ve got xmas cactus and snake’s (orMIL) tongue that can surely be divided. Surprised I didn’t break some off and stuff it in your hands when you were here.
The cactus, btw, is prone to blooming at times of the year if I just alter the light a bit.
on Aug 9th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
Deb, good to know on that peace lily. I might need to pick me up one of those…
on Aug 14th, 2009 at 12:22 am
I bought my peace lily on a whim in a 4″ pot from Food4Less about six years ago. Now it’s about 3′ in all directions. Clearly it could be divided into smaller plants, but I haven’t been brave enough yet to attempt it.
If it hadn’t been for my peace lily, I’d probably still think that I was unable to keep any kind of living creature in my care alive. Instead, I’m now a pretty avid gardener.
It is toxic to cats, however, which is why it now lives at my office instead of at home.
on Aug 14th, 2009 at 6:33 am
Zannie, that’s amazing — and who would have thought a peace lily could be so influential!