February 8, 2011

Houseplant 9-1-1

We have a few houseplants that are in a bit of a state of emergency right now.

I have a thirsty little fern recuperating in our shower since the rest of our house seems to have no humidity despite the whole-house humidifier being turned up to its highest setting.

I have an aloe plant in desperate need of replanting into a larger pot.

And then I have this plant, which up until yesterday was thriving.  See it there in happier times, just trying to mind its own business on a table in our living room.  It has actually grown quite a bit since this picture was taken and is now really filling out.


Then yesterday afternoon my son came upstairs while I was working on my computer and said, "I have a surprise for you!  Close your eyes..."  When I opened them I saw this:


Do those leaves look familiar???  I came downstairs and found this sad specimen on the coffee table:


 My best guess for why he did this is that he was trying to put the leaves into one of our Tupperware containers like the rest of our produce.  They look a lot like spinach leaves, if spinach leaves were variegated.


I asked him why he cut all the leaves off and he said, "Well, I didn't cut them all off..."  (This is technically true, I suppose.)  Then he said, "I had to cut them.  It was my job!"  (Not really sure where that excuse came from.)

Does anyone know what to do with such a drastic plant haircut?  I am not sure if it will survive or not.  I guess we'll see...

2 comments:

Kara K said...

Unfortunately, I have experience in houseplant scalpings. My coworker Kristen and I both had some tragic experiences with peace lilies at work. She cut hers down so it was basically even with the soil and miraculously it came back and even had the nerve to thrive. It might be a little touch and go for awhile, but I think your plant should make it.
I also have a fern that looks horrible. I would like to dump it, but Lance won't let me. In fact, for the most part I hate all of our houseplants presently. I wonder if Lance would miss them if they disappeared ...

Karen, Mom said...

What a delightfully cute story!

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