Two
years ago, my well-loved mother-in-law plants grew seriously ill with root rot.
My own neglect, not moving them into larger pots and replacing their soil,
coupled with letting someone else water them for a few weeks after my knee
injury resulted in near disaster! I hurried out for pots with drainage and soil
with nutrients. Sitting outside in the shade of the live oak tree, with hose in
hand, I separated out the rotten parts. With optimism, the original plants went
into new, better homes and the undamaged rhizomes settled into different
containers with new soil. All of them
went onto the front porch with dappled sunlight. From my original two plants, I
propagated a total of eight possible survivors. By Christmas, they all looked
healthy enough that I gave away two as gifts for my sister.
Six
of the plants remained with me, coming inside during winter freezes to sit crowded
around the front window. Each week, I’d rotate them to make certain they’d get
enough light. To be honest, they snaked into the background of other plants
around the house. When we decided to move all of our pothos plants from water
jugs up high in the kitchen to pots out in the back yard, I placed my mother-in-law
plants back on the front porch with confidence that they’d thrive, and they
did!
Gardening takes patience. One plant, place inside or outside, may take several years to mature. Serenity becomes my companion whenever I putter in the gardens. My persistence, though, grows slowly with each new propagation.
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| Jan 2022 |
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| Jan 2022 |
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| June 2024 |
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| June 2024 |
Copyright 2024 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman
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