General Chat

when I see plants for sale in shops that have died because no one there could be bothered to spend a couple of minutes watering them, today I bought a spider plant ( was supposed to be some sensible shoes...but woman cannot live by shoes alone ;-) ) and it was as dry as a bone, many of the other plants were too far gone to save, but they were all on mats on trays so could easily have been watered.

What a waste, of all the care that had gone into growing them, and money that the shop will just 'throw away' :-(

I so agree Rose, it is such a waste. Fortunately spider plants thrive on neglect. Wish you lived nearer - I have so many plants I could give you :-)

I know what you mean, but I have had many a bargain by pointing this out & offering silly prices for them.

I get even more peeved when rubbish plants are still priced as new.

I've been looking for a spider plant for ages, I had so many house plants which we sold or gave away before moving from Wales, so I'm pleased to get it in spite of the dead bits.

They had lots of tiny cacti for 10p each (they had Christmas hats on) but I'm not really fond of cacti, was I a bit tempted by the kalanchoe ( also from Christmas) for 50p, the flowers were dead, covered in glitter, but the lower leaves were ok....I might have to go back :-| but I try and avoid it as I have a tendency to buy the dying ones just to try and 'save' them, whether I want them or not lol.

Yes, you must go back Rose. Kalanchoes root really easily. Just cut off the healthy bits and put them in a little water and they will produce roots in a week or so and you can pot them up. You should end up with several plants. I love Kalanchoes.

I used to get annoyed when I went to my local garden centre (well known) and found the plants wilting from lack of water.

They're cheery aren't they Wend :-) , when Dan was young he used to plant cuttings and had quite a little business going, spider plants, kalanchoes, Christmas cactus, shrubs from cuttings, he did well at the local boot fair with them .

You'll notice its mainly the easy to propagate plants thats left to wilt.

Yes, Kay - I'm easy.

I used to think that I would save the life of a plant by leaving it on the shelf but apparently not :-S

"but woman cannot live by shoes alone"

This I must take issue with. Woman can easily live by shoes alone ;-) :-P

*Tries counting the number of pairs of shoes she has, runs out of fingers and toes and gives up*

:-D :-D

Two weeks ago I bought a Christmas arrangement in a naff sparkly basket from a well known DIY store forb £1.50, this included a Peace Lilly plus 3 others. All of the plants looked half dead but I only wanted the Peace Lilly. Thankfully the Lilly is now looking pretty healthy as are two of the others. The third one is a bit iffy but I will wait and see.

About 5 years ago I bought a similar arrngement in a well known supermarket for about £3 in the same condition, this also contained a Peace Lilly. This Lilly is now about 2 foot tall and produces just one huge bloom a year. Every little helps

:-D

OH repotted ours a few months ago and got 6/7 plants from it. Ours is in the lounge and in bloom - can't get rid of rest as everyone we knew has had plants from the last time we split!

Told OH to look after them and they can go in Church Plant Sale early summer.

I did appreciate the rose Ann as he will never cut a flower. He has a large piece on allotment with daffs for many years and I have to beg - when I was mobile, I used to nip over with scissors and swear I had bought them!!!!