Great subject. I sometimes feel ashamed when I am silently glad a plant finally dies. I try to avoid them dying but it can be a struggle and it is better to let someone else try. Luckily I have lots of plants that do well and I love.
The best part of rehoming plants that no longer bring you joy is that there is someone out there that absolutely loves that particular plant. You loved that plant for a time and now it's time to move on. 💚
I got rid of like 60% of my collection. It was hard for me to choose what plants to give away and which to keep. But ever since doing so, I've cut down 60% of my plant chores and I've been able to enjoy my plants so much more.
Claire! Don't chop the peduncles please. The foiliage is dying off probably due to flat or broad mites. This was happening to my hopya collection (150 Hoya) and i invested in a microscope...lo and behold there they were! Since treating with sulphur most of my collection is growing again. People wait years for their Hoya to bloom, please know it could take years before you see them again. I have always loved that plant since you got it! We all feel this way by the way. It;s ok to vent.
I think it is important to let go of the plants that stress us, i gave away or trashed about 50 plants/propagations over the summer. I am feeling a lot better with having less and i hope i can downsize a bit more, i think 100 to 150 is the maximum i can take care of.
Hey Claire, It is so relieving to hear such “normal” emotions from a plant parent. You sound so realistic and that’s what makes your channel a welcoming one! About Pink princess, it looks AMAZING, it is a dream plant for many, please keep it! You may try making it fuller and changing its place later maybe.
Yes! This message is so true. People change and there is nothing wrong with deciding that a plant isn’t right for you! We all get rosey glasses on at the nursery and bring home what looks amazing, but sometimes they don’t fit with our personal environment and that’s okay!
Great video! Perfect timing too, ive been doing some purging myself. Its hard, but sometimes it has to be done. I usually pass them along to my husband and he takes them to work. He has a collection there, and has cultivated a cute little plant community at work from the plants I send. We spread them around to anybody who wants them. A few of the ladies there have even started collections at their houses and have started watching RUclips plant creators. It feels good to share plant love 💜
i love these kind of videos. it shows the other side of plant parenthood and having an influencer talk about it makes me really happy. I have difficulties letting go of plants so this has a therapeutical vibe to me haha
GIRL YES! I have been having a bad day today, and while I hate that you were having a frustrating day too, seeing this topic and the way you described it in the beginning made me feel like I could relate so much More! We love positivity, but sometimes, damnit, we just need a day to be moody and get out our frustrations! If the plant ain't doing it for ya, gift it to someone or throw the darn thing away!!! And that's okay!!! 🎉🎉🎉
Great to see a video that's not all enthusiasm - we all have plants we end up not loving after a bit. For the Hoya Sarawak - maybe look into how you're feeding it and move towards feeding more for vegetative growth than for blooms or root growth? (I think that's more N vs P vs K, but I may have it wrong.)
Several years ago we sold our house downsized and went full time RVing. The only things I had a hard time letting go of were my plants. I cried over them. I could only keep one so that was a difficult decision to make. We now have roots again and I have plants again. I sometimes look at my 35 plants an ask myself if I could only keep one again which one would it be? Try asking yourself and you’ll see how difficult it is. It will probably happen to all of us sooner or later. Donna
Hi Claire. I agree with the Marie Kondo idea. If it does not spark joy, get rid of it. I have a blue star fern, which I grow in pure orchid bark. This fern is epiphytic, so a bark soil makes sense. I water this fern regularly, spray mist for a bit of humidity as well as fish fertilize, and it looks so happy. Omg!! Keep your Ficus - Tineke and Philodendron - Pink Princess, they look so good.
If a plant has sentimental value, just give yourself a good cutting and start it over. As we're going into fall here in the US I'm refining my plant collection because I live in a small apartment. I have lots of friends and family, and often when I gift a plant they do much better with that plant than I do. Keep the ones that work for you and when they get too big keep nice a cutting for yourself❤ and give away the rest🎉
Im not in love with monstera for some reason. Every one was crazy about it and I was excited to get some... , now i have 2 big ones and 2 small, and... I don't feel this excitement anymore😢even new leave won't make me happy. I'm into cactus now, unusual, weird looking ones, funky euphorbias lately and bonsai alike plants. I still have foliage plants, syngonoim, some philodendrons give me joy, ferns won't last long at mine unfortunately 🙈 but some suculents like pearls you've shown, tears, string of pearls bringing me joy❤. I love morning tour with coffee to inspect them for water, bugs and searching new grown 😊
this was just the video i needed to watch today. i've had my first bitchy day after expanding my collection a lot over the last 6 months and it was so refreshing to hear you feel the same sometimes and to hear someone else say it's ok to give up on plants that doesn't give you joy. first thing tomorrow i'm gonna take a look at my collection and see what plants i have on the bottom of my list and see about giving them away. thank you so much for this video 🙏❤
Hello there, love. I can truly appreciate this video. You shouldn't feel bad about this kind of video. This is our reality as plant parents. Especially if you have a large collection. I go through the same motions. I am going through the same phase right now. I'm getting rid of the plants that I take care of out of pity, but not bringing me any joy. I'm done with them. That's it. I've always had this outlook pretty much with all areas of my life. If it's not making me happy, it's gotta go!!😆 But when it came to my plants, I had a hard time letting some of them go. I feel so much better now that I'm finding them new homes.
This has happened to me too. I recently purged about 30 plants that didnt make me happy, and now im down to 10 plants. I even waited awhile to find or buy the plants that i truly wanted instead of just splurging on plants that didnt make me happy. Gave some away to neighbors, my mom, and put some into nature. I just recently bought 3 plants (a fig tree my husband bought me for valentines day), a milk confetti syngonium and a zebrina alocasia are the ones ive been looking at for over a year. Just recently gave away my PPP and Monstera Thai Con due to not liking them as much as i thought i would. Now about to give my Hoya Chelsea to nature. Have had it for 6 months now and its not doing anything. Just keeps dying and so im ready to throw it out. Time for the hubby to do the dirty work so i dont feel as bad
You know, it is a positive thing actually admit to frustrations. It's good for especially beginners but advanced hobbyists also to see someone going through the same feelings of overwhelm and having to force it with some plants. It's a positive thing to make space for what brings the most joy, and it definitely doesn't mean you've given up or failed. You can just go "You know what? This is as far as I'm willing to go with this. Someone else might be happy to continue from here." Ugh I have a lot. A tradescantia zebrina that threatens to take over my entire life with the amount of propagated duplicates I have now. Especially the mother plant somewhat feels like I'm just keeping out of guilt and for the chance of it surviving the winter for me to propagate further in the spring. A speckled Gold dust dracena I've neglected in hopes of it turning out too bad to keep but that thing still keeps going. It was I gift, so it doesn't feel right sell but I can't really swap for either because space. A bunch of propagations and divisions I can't get sold because apparently people don't want plants here in the north weeks away from winter. A couple ones I bought and divided in hopes of selling part of and getting back at least a portion of what I bought them for. That's something I really have to consider, as lovely as it would be to just be able to give stuff away for the kindness of it. My tiny apartment is in chaos and the holidays will be an absolute massacre if there's too much for my to-be vacation waterer to keep on check. Just stuff I really liked but never intended to keep all of, and that's just kind of there taking my enjoyment away from the stuff I'm actually so happy to have gotten this far into the autumn. I only have myself to blame, really. Though that's not a productive way to think of it either. But I'm just really longing for some clarity, which I think the frustration ultimately comes from.
I totally get how you feel! I've been thinking for a while that there's a few plants I'm just keeping for the sake of it and I really do just need to move them on to a new home so this was really motivating to watch. The Esqueleto and Verrucosum have also been massive struggle plants for me, I've been growing an Esqueleto from a wet stick for over a year and it's only recently put out a second leaf and I'm sick of it. I got rid of the Verru a while back because even in my cabinet on a pole it just would not size up and look nice. Can totally relate to wanting rid of those two!
I finally tossed an olive tree that was on its last leg that looked awful. I wasn’t getting it back and it was stressing me out. My plants aren’t supposed to stress me. I was never going to be able to bring it back. It made me sad to chuck it but I felt better once I did it.
I’d inspect the new vines on the Sarawak with a jewellers loupe or stronger because new growth falling off is a classic flat mite symptom. I’ve had a massive run in with flat mites and anthurium thrips lately and I suddenly realised I was just not willing to fight to save many of my plants. I threw a lot of the pest plants into the garden under my front steps. The whole drama prompted me to take a long hard look at the rest, and I realised I was keeping a lot of plants I didn’t love, so I started giving them away to the local hospice shop garden centre. It felt AMAZING. Plants I love that got too big got propped and I sold the mother plant. I gave my neighbour several for her back deck. I got rid of over 20% of my collection and now I’m surrounded by plants I adore. It’s going to be an ongoing process. No more hoarding plants. If I fall out of love, out it goes. And now I have room for my favourites to get nice and big ❤
I’m feeling this way about my p. Birkin. I’m just so over it, it’s never been the happiest plant for me and when it finally produces a new leaf it is the weirdest leaf. I’m giving it one final shot and then it’s going to someone else who actually wants it.
I felt the same about my Birkin, it was never healthy no matter what I did. I thought I'll give it one last chance and just cut off the top of it. The new shoots look so good, like a completely different plant! Sometimes when you can't get further the best option is to go back and start fresh 😉
Not feeling up to posting online, managing selling, packing, then traveling to post (and waiting in a long, slow line if it's anything like the U.S.) is NOT lazy! That's a lot of time and work. (IMHO anyway). Also, plant swap plan is better--because it's more efficient and a time saver since you're going anyway. I think your subconscious is pressing you for efficiency, not laziness. ❤
Rants are good. Let it out Claire, we all can't have all of our plants amazing! If I look back on my planta app I've got 150 current and 65 in graveyard. So sad yes, but I reach the stage of giving up if I try and try and they just don't like me. I know the ones to avoid in future, calethea looking at you! Interesting about your tineke, I love mine and ficus seem to like me the best and put out the most new growth. If you do a plant swap down Sussex way I might pop along.
You must really feel for them if you remember how many you've lost. I'm the same, but that's nature. Some plants simply don't thrive in your environment.💚
Good on you for this video! I do like my esqueleto, but I got mine big. If you ever try an esqueleto again, see if you can get an established plant and put it straight onto a moss pole. With my plant I had three growth points, and even though one ran after I first put it on the moss pole, the other two kept the moss pole full anyway so it wasn't a big deal. Now all three growth points are putting out leaves!
Completely understand the overwhelming feeling with having many plants. I’ve been having the same issue with some of my Hoyas as you are with your Sarawak. Mine are in semi-hydroponics and am changing the amounts of the nutrient mixture to get more foliage (so far so good). I have my fingers crossed for your beautiful Hoya!
It seems to me that letting go of the plants that are not bringing you joy is an opportunity to invite new plants into your space. We have a limited amount of space and so making space for new plants makes sense to me and on the way, you get to bring someone else joy. Thanks for bringing us along.
Might want to check your Sarawak for flat mites. I read somewhere that they can cause odd peduncle growth as well as make the new leaves fall off. Good luck! Love your videos.
I needed t hear this, so thank you. Very refreshing and good to know I’m not alone thinking like this sometimes. Esqueleto YES and Phil Verycosum YES!!!!!!! I also am ready to say good bye to my rhap tetrasperma as well 🙏🏾💕
It’s totally ok to let go of plants that don’t give you joy. I donate plants I no longer love to senior citizens centres or apartments. People in those settings appreciate new plants and I find have the time to give them the love and care they need.
i think the leaves dying off on your sarawak might be a nutrient issue. I had the same problem with an anthurium that i grew in pon and it died all the way back. I re-rooted the chunk, moved it to soil and now it’s growing beautifully
It might be relaxing to have some things but it is even more therapeutic to let things go. It might also be why some plants we encounter are just the things we pass by; we enjoy them at a passing glance. Holding onto some might be rewarding momentarily yet somethings do overstay their welcome. ...they were the friends we met along the way.
About the Hoya…I feel like they want more water when trying to put baby leaves on. I’ve had so many die off until I learned this. And I would probably chop that runner off if all the leaves died off. I am feeling frustrated with Hoyas in general, though. I’m ready to be done with them and probably won’t get any more. I hate the runners.
Ooo I've been feeling the same with some plants. But was feeling so so guilty about letting some of them (my oldest) go (or when I was secretly happy that a plant I no longer liked was slowly dying). But I've made the decision that some will be going to my mother in law and friends. And with some plants I just don't know what to do as they are sooo beautiful but keep being dramatic/ a magnet to spidermites and thrips. Love to hear your thoughts about these topics in this video, and if the plant isn't doing it for you anymore that's okay! Sometimes it's just okay to get rid of things that don't bring you joy anymore.💚
I have purged alot of plants this Summer. Is normal to not love your plants at some stage. I also get rid of plants that are sad looking. I like keeping a minimalist look. I don’t bother rescue a plant and don’t do any propagations things like that. Even vines that are so long and have no growth or taking space i just cut them. There is no harm as the vines do grow back also it encourages growth too. I hate anything that gets too crowded i like a clean and tidy look of my home.
The hoya you spoke of with dying new growth around the 26-minute mark looks like a specific type of mite or spider mite that seems to only impact Hoya. Treat the plant with a miticide, or however you typically treat your mite pests and the next vine should be more successful. Wishing you plenty of healthy new growth! 💚
Love this! "Planty rant" is definitely going to be that a term that I steal❤. Some days it definitely feels way more like a chore and less like a hobby, and foliage frustration is very real 💯.
I put my verrucosum in my high humidity greenhouse cabinet and let it grow up one of those plastic moss poles that have the open grid on the front and then a rounded closed back. It put amazing roots into the pole and started climbing super quickly and sizing up a TON. The leaves are probably more than double or maybe even triple the size now! It also grows REALLY fast in the high humidity. I think i might even start transitioning it out into my living room now that it's so big and strong. Highly recommend using your cabinet for this one!!
I have several plants that received in a grab bag of minis that I grew because they are there- but I didn’t actually choose them. Now that my collection is larger I want to pass some of them on. It’s good to let things go when they are no longer bringing you joy.
I totally understand where you are coming from! I don’t love my pink princess and yes I did chop it and put the cuttings back with the mother plant,and its fuller but I still don’t love it,it’s stressing me out, also my Monstera Adonsonii, I love other peoples that are healthy looking,mine are crispy and leaves drop off,Grrrr! Cheers Natalie ❤
Thank you for this video! You've given me permission to say farewell to plants that aren't bringing me joy which will make room for some new interests! I'm bonkers for Aeonium and Monstera and a bit obsessed with Philodendron. At the same time I've got a bookshelf full of smaller cacti and succulents that aren't making me smile. I could see a bonsai or two, perhaps some crawlers... Anyone in Tucson want some succulents? 😅 Thanks, Claire. You always make me smile 😊
Claire, give some of them a good toss in the trash bin! If you just don’t love it, it’s stressing you out, it’s not healthy, and there are a million other plants you like better and a million other things you’d rather be doing than tending to it, then feel no guilt by taking the whole damn thing and tossing it. It’s quite cathartic! ❤
Idk who needs to hear this, but IT'S OKAY TO THROW PLANTS IN THE TRASH! If you are just too overwhelmed by the idea of giving them away, or selling them. Just toss them. I've downsized my collection a lot in the past year because I just couldn't handle it anymore. I've given away and sold most of them, but also thrown out some because they were just a pain (like the string of pearls prop from Claire). Plants are a hobby, they shouldn't cost you your sanity.
I´m so happy to see this. Over the past weeks I went from 50+ plants to 27. And it feels so so so nice and comforting to only have plants I really love. I swapped a lot of plants. Most of the time 3 or 4 of mine for 1 plant I loved so much.
For plants going from complete humidity to low humidity, it may help to slowly introduce the plant to humidity. As in, put it in a container and every few days slide the lid open a bit more until it is completely open. Then the plant should be fine in open air.
Oh wow I now what you mean. I have so many monstera peru cutings and I don't know what to do with them. I would place the sarawac against a wall and attach the tendral to the wall. For more stability. Maybe then she won't shed the leaves.🤔
So glad (I mean, not glad it’s happening to you but glad it’s not ONLY ME) you’re having the weird Hoya leaf issue!! I have an obscura doing the same exact thing! It puts out these adorable little leaves, two in a row will come out curved (but still cute!) and as soon as they start actually growing, they turn bright yellow starting from the inside of the leaf, then as they start growing they turn completely yellow and fall off!! Next, a single leaf will grow and become absolutely ginormous (like three times the size of the original leaves from the cutting …and it all starts over again!! It is soOooo WEIRD!!! 😅🤷🏼♀️🫠
What type of light is your Sarawak in? Tons of peduncles! Mine wasn’t doing good but I put it outside and now it’s thriving. What are you feeding it? Also sometimes it takes a minute for it to adjust on a trellis. Beefy Hoyas like that do better on like a latter or something with just support rather then twirling around if that makes sense. It may need more food and light that isn’t super close to new leaves. 💕💕
I remember video with unpacking your hoya. ❤ Hehe. What i would do, i would cut this long stem and.. Propagate. This hoya has big leaves, looks like it cumulates ita energy now into 2 steams (with big leaves and growing long sideway stem). I would cut this long perky stem and propagate, and focus the energy for current and new leaves in 1 stem. Im not into hoya, but I've learned that from monsteras, that when small leaves grow sideways, its better to cut them off to force plant focus on grow upwards not sideways.
I’ve been going through EXACTLY the same thing!! I’m so sad that you live so far away cuz I bet we could do some great plant trading. Not only am I in the states but in California! So…hecka far away! This is def feeling like one more push for me towards finally either giving the plants away I’m no longer thrilled about or finding someone to trade with. Love your videos!!!! You have a comforting face lol😊
Great video, now that my plants are getting so big I’m finding it easier to move some plants along to others that don’t make me particularly happy. We have a plant swap in my area coming up this coming Saturday so I’m excited for that
This really reaonates with me. I have a few plants just for the sake of having them. I dont enjoy them. I just have them. I just discovered a local monthly plant swap, every month is themed. So it can be tricky timing getting rid of plants there. But November is "Free for all" month!! Gonna be some very happy swappers when they see how much stuff i bring! Extras are free-bee's at these swaps, so anything left over is fairgame. So i dont have to worry about them not finding homes. Everything goes. So Im cleaning house(plants) next month!!
My verrucossum has been a NIGHTMARE!! I got 2 TINY babies and planted them together. Leaves keep browning and dying….new leaves are even tinier….I’m SO frustrated. They never have looked good at all and I’ve had them since early spring….fall and winter are not looking promising. I keep it under a grow light right in front of a humidifier. I check the moisture twice a week….I’m at a loss at this point.
I have had plants that do not grow or decline for a year before taking off. I have thought it is because of the horrible shock they went through during the shipping process. I also believe the roots need to really get established and mature before new leaves appear.@@lyndseymoye12
I’m in love with the tineke! I think the leaves are just so gorgeous. I can’t speak to the care though, I’ve never had one because my house has pretty low lighting 😢
I'm so guilty of keeping onto plants that I don't like anymore. For the reasons I can't explain it's always such a fight with myself to part with any. However, I've been strong recently and after over a year of debating I gave up six plants. No more waiting for a plant swap or hoping I start liking them again, I posted them on plant facebook group and someone took them next day. Honestly, it's been a relief.
I feel ya. Alot of my plants grew so big and wide that they will be staying outside in Michigan Winter. I just don't have room for them inside. So out of sight out of mind😮
It was good to see also this kinda video from you. Don't feel like u were being too negative because trust me, we get the struggle 😂💀🥀 and we also know how incredibly lovely and positive person you are otherwise 😊❤
I have a Hoya that wasn’t doing anything and had a naked tendril. I finally got sick of it and chopped it off. It started growing leaves right where I cut it.🤷♀️
Have you tried re-styling the plant? New pot, different growing area, different growing conditions. Like, grow it upside down, or as a trailing plant, or maybe climb it up one of your supports. That's what I do when I'm bored of a plant, I try restyling it in a way that may look good. It just helps refresh your perspective on it a little, y'know?
My plant that I’m not in love with and I don’t even like anymore, but can’t part with is my Phal Orchid. My husband bought it for me and soon after, he passed away. About 3 months later the Orchid was showing visible signs of dying. It gave me a Keiki which I have been nursing along. It doesn’t grow much, it has never bloomed, and I’m doing something wrong because I can’t seem to keep healthy roots. I unpotted it, cut all the rotted roots off and had 1 stump of a root left. I was about to throw it away and something told me to give it one more chance. I’m currently water propagating the thing and I have 5 healthy new roots. I’m going to pot it up this coming weekend, and see how I do with it now. I’ve been binge watching MissOrchidGirl, Orchideria, and Orchid Whisperer and I pray that I can get it to thrive this time, I want to love it again.
I love these videos because it helps me know what to steer clear of.🙅♀😆 Claire, do you think there are just bad plants, like one specimen that no matter what you do to make it happy it just won't thrive? I have some that I'm afraid to even give away because they just seem to want to die. And they look it. Lol And I've never heard anyone say just look at my beautiful, lush Amydrium Medium Silver. Everyone I know with that plant has the same struggles you're experiencing. Lastly, you've probably already thought of this, but have you checked your Hoya for flat mites?😵💫
I'm kinda feeling the same way about my monstera deliciosa. I don't have a very big collection because I'm new to the house plant community but I got a deliciosa from a big box store and a larger cutting from a friend that has been getting on great, I just am starting to feel like I have to many of them cause I separated the one from the box store because it was not in a good soil and now i feel like keeping them just because I don't have much of a collection and i want a big collection. Than again im getting a lot of joy from alocasias lately. I have baby "Frydek" im worried about and I want to pay more attention to. I absolutely love yours Claire, your "frydek" is the reason i got mine. I saw it and fell in love.
I love your videos but I think this one is my favorite! I have never related to something more. Some of my plants are not bringing me joy and I chop them and now have multiples of them and don’t know what to do with any of them!
This was such a great topic. Let me tell you that I have bought my now second alocasia. I absolutely love them but what I'm thinking is that they do not love me. And I said to myself if I don't keep this one alive after doing everything I possibly can I'm just going to assume that it's not meant to be because it is really irritating
I have a Ficus Tineke that I got from a neighbor who was moving. I have had this guy for months in a South facing window with bright indirect light and it does nothing. I keep checking to see if it's even alive, not a hint of growth. I was thinking about letting it go to someone else but then I had the idea to treat it for flat mites. So, two days ago I gave it a full bath with 60 percent alcohol and then a good spray with water. Maybe it will grow? I did read that flat mites will affect growth rate and particularly in hoya, cause them to tendril a lot but not put out healthy leaves. When this happened with my gracilis, i treated her for flat mites every two weeks for 6 weeks and now she is actually putting out new leaves everywhere!
I seem to always go through a little “Houseplant Detox” as i call it twords the Fall time when i know my plants are slowing down on growth for a lot of my philos and etc! I think I tend to selfishly hold onto a plant for the “upsizing appeal” for a lot but I’ve found I need to be i love with it from a smaller form to really keep my interest some times! I’ve recently gotten into more Hoya so I’m definitely interested to see how that will affect it aswell! Awesome video as always! 🫶🏼☺️🪴
I have some from when I first began collecting that I potted into beautiful pots. I don't want to give the pot away and I'm afraid of damaging the plant or making it go into shock if I pop it into a grow pot to give away 😅
Just started watching your channel and really enjoying it, thanks for sharing your thoughts, info and wisdom. Your tenacity is really inspiring my beginner efforts, but I agree with you, when you’re expertise hasn’t fixed it, I think you’re right to give them a kiss and set them free. Or you buy the apartment next door and hire help but where’s the fun in that…😂 My blue star fern was like yours, nothing I did helped, eventually I put it outside by the damp shady compost heap and forgot about it through Storm Agnes. Suddenly it’s thriving, all bushy and blue, but I’m not replicating that indoors! She obviously loves it there, and is supposed to be frost hardy to minus 6c, so I’ll tuck her in and hope for the best. Have a great day 😁
This video is fab and definitely shouldn’t feel guilty !!! That is a lot of monstera albos, it’s a plant that’s top of my wish list but you have so many I can understand your points 100%
I’ve got rid of most of my philodendrons - maybe I just bought ones that were too juvenile but none of them looked good and the leaves always got stuck. Replacing them slowly with aglaonema’s.
I just gave away a string of turtles that I’ve had for almost 2 years. That was about 6 feet long but I just didn’t care anymore. So I totally understand giving away plants that just don’t do it for you.
You really do need to read The Secret Life of Plants by Peter Tompkins. You'll see your plants in a whole new way. I've set a rule for myself to only have what I can provide the best care for, so I have 60+ plants and that's it!
It's definitely not lazy not to want to package and post. For me, with adhd, I find packaging a real faff and it's one of the jobs I procrastinate about more than anything.
Today I have learned that propagating plants is fun but as in your monsters albo case - having too much plants, in my case givin burn out. I also thought about potting few plants in one pot - did this twice this month and helped to maintain them. Gave away propagations for friends. I said good bye to plants like phil. Majesty, different syngoniums, alocasia alzanii - I already forgot that I no longer have them. From other side I still regret selling Phil. Plowmanii - thinking about buying one at least once for month or two :D.
i have had several plants that I got tired of because they did nothing. I put some of them outside where I had hanging pots on the carport, and I think the most aggravating thing about it was that they started growing after I got them out there. :D But oh well. I still have others that grow and look beautiful. I do have one that I am still aggravated at that seems to have started growing now. I didnt put it outside yet, and probably won't. I finally got a tineke to grow in my house and I love it. it is so beautiful. I think I have thinned mine out to the ones that are going to look beautiful and keep growing. Actually there is a plant that I keep because it is just so beautiful even though I dont really enjoy it anymore, and every time I see it, I think I could have another plant hanging there, and it's my English Ivy. It is gorgeous but I am really not enjoying it anymore. :( But it is so pretty i just can't throw it out
I have a love-hate relationship with peace lillies. I love how easy to keep they are, but at the same time I despise how finnicky they can get when it comes to flowering.
That happens a lot to me I have limited space but can't help going to plant shops I tell myself not to buy sometimes it works sometimes I come home with one then I get home and usually wish I hadn't because of space and now that winter is coming I struggle with we're to put them but plants make me very happy soooo it's a viscous cycle😂
Great subject. I sometimes feel ashamed when I am silently glad a plant finally dies. I try to avoid them dying but it can be a struggle and it is better to let someone else try. Luckily I have lots of plants that do well and I love.
But have you ever tried murdering a plant you hate? Muahaha! I am the plant natzee survival of the fittest plants 🤣
The best part of rehoming plants that no longer bring you joy is that there is someone out there that absolutely loves that particular plant. You loved that plant for a time and now it's time to move on. 💚
I got rid of like 60% of my collection. It was hard for me to choose what plants to give away and which to keep. But ever since doing so, I've cut down 60% of my plant chores and I've been able to enjoy my plants so much more.
Claire! Don't chop the peduncles please. The foiliage is dying off probably due to flat or broad mites. This was happening to my hopya collection (150 Hoya) and i invested in a microscope...lo and behold there they were! Since treating with sulphur most of my collection is growing again. People wait years for their Hoya to bloom, please know it could take years before you see them again. I have always loved that plant since you got it! We all feel this way by the way. It;s ok to vent.
Came here to say- sounds like flat mites! I’m no expert by any means, but what you’re describing sounds dead on for flat mites!
Complains are my favourite kind of videos because life is struggle and we should talk about it more
I think it is important to let go of the plants that stress us, i gave away or trashed about 50 plants/propagations over the summer. I am feeling a lot better with having less and i hope i can downsize a bit more, i think 100 to 150 is the maximum i can take care of.
Hey Claire, It is so relieving to hear such “normal” emotions from a plant parent. You sound so realistic and that’s what makes your channel a welcoming one! About Pink princess, it looks AMAZING, it is a dream plant for many, please keep it! You may try making it fuller and changing its place later maybe.
Yes! This message is so true. People change and there is nothing wrong with deciding that a plant isn’t right for you! We all get rosey glasses on at the nursery and bring home what looks amazing, but sometimes they don’t fit with our personal environment and that’s okay!
Great video!
Perfect timing too, ive been doing some purging myself. Its hard, but sometimes it has to be done.
I usually pass them along to my husband and he takes them to work. He has a collection there, and has cultivated a cute little plant community at work from the plants I send. We spread them around to anybody who wants them. A few of the ladies there have even started collections at their houses and have started watching RUclips plant creators. It feels good to share plant love 💜
i love these kind of videos. it shows the other side of plant parenthood and having an influencer talk about it makes me really happy. I have difficulties letting go of plants so this has a therapeutical vibe to me haha
GIRL YES! I have been having a bad day today, and while I hate that you were having a frustrating day too, seeing this topic and the way you described it in the beginning made me feel like I could relate so much More! We love positivity, but sometimes, damnit, we just need a day to be moody and get out our frustrations! If the plant ain't doing it for ya, gift it to someone or throw the darn thing away!!! And that's okay!!! 🎉🎉🎉
All plants deserve parents but not all parents deserve plants
Yes yes yes. You are not alone. Listening to you validates my feels of some of my plants. ❤
You are such a delight Claire. Even when you are not impressed you are still kind. Keep doing what you’re doing ❤❤
Great to see a video that's not all enthusiasm - we all have plants we end up not loving after a bit.
For the Hoya Sarawak - maybe look into how you're feeding it and move towards feeding more for vegetative growth than for blooms or root growth? (I think that's more N vs P vs K, but I may have it wrong.)
You are correct.
Several years ago we sold our house downsized and went full time RVing. The only things I had a hard time letting go of were my plants. I cried over them. I could only keep one so that was a difficult decision to make. We now have roots again and I have plants again. I sometimes look at my 35 plants an ask myself if I could only keep one again which one would it be? Try asking yourself and you’ll see how difficult it is. It will probably happen to all of us sooner or later. Donna
Hi Claire. I agree with the Marie Kondo idea. If it does not spark joy, get rid of it. I have a blue star fern, which I grow in pure orchid bark. This fern is epiphytic, so a bark soil makes sense. I water this fern regularly, spray mist for a bit of humidity as well as fish fertilize, and it looks so happy. Omg!! Keep your Ficus - Tineke and Philodendron - Pink Princess, they look so good.
If a plant has sentimental value, just give yourself a good cutting and start it over. As we're going into fall here in the US I'm refining my plant collection because I live in a small apartment. I have lots of friends and family, and often when I gift a plant they do much better with that plant than I do. Keep the ones that work for you and when they get too big keep nice a cutting for yourself❤ and give away the rest🎉
Im not in love with monstera for some reason. Every one was crazy about it and I was excited to get some... , now i have 2 big ones and 2 small, and... I don't feel this excitement anymore😢even new leave won't make me happy. I'm into cactus now, unusual, weird looking ones, funky euphorbias lately and bonsai alike plants. I still have foliage plants, syngonoim, some philodendrons give me joy, ferns won't last long at mine unfortunately 🙈 but some suculents like pearls you've shown, tears, string of pearls bringing me joy❤. I love morning tour with coffee to inspect them for water, bugs and searching new grown 😊
this was just the video i needed to watch today. i've had my first bitchy day after expanding my collection a lot over the last 6 months and it was so refreshing to hear you feel the same sometimes and to hear someone else say it's ok to give up on plants that doesn't give you joy. first thing tomorrow i'm gonna take a look at my collection and see what plants i have on the bottom of my list and see about giving them away. thank you so much for this video 🙏❤
Hello there, love. I can truly appreciate this video. You shouldn't feel bad about this kind of video. This is our reality as plant parents. Especially if you have a large collection. I go through the same motions. I am going through the same phase right now. I'm getting rid of the plants that I take care of out of pity, but not bringing me any joy. I'm done with them. That's it. I've always had this outlook pretty much with all areas of my life. If it's not making me happy, it's gotta go!!😆 But when it came to my plants, I had a hard time letting some of them go. I feel so much better now that I'm finding them new homes.
This has happened to me too. I recently purged about 30 plants that didnt make me happy, and now im down to 10 plants. I even waited awhile to find or buy the plants that i truly wanted instead of just splurging on plants that didnt make me happy. Gave some away to neighbors, my mom, and put some into nature. I just recently bought 3 plants (a fig tree my husband bought me for valentines day), a milk confetti syngonium and a zebrina alocasia are the ones ive been looking at for over a year. Just recently gave away my PPP and Monstera Thai Con due to not liking them as much as i thought i would.
Now about to give my Hoya Chelsea to nature. Have had it for 6 months now and its not doing anything. Just keeps dying and so im ready to throw it out. Time for the hubby to do the dirty work so i dont feel as bad
You know, it is a positive thing actually admit to frustrations. It's good for especially beginners but advanced hobbyists also to see someone going through the same feelings of overwhelm and having to force it with some plants. It's a positive thing to make space for what brings the most joy, and it definitely doesn't mean you've given up or failed. You can just go "You know what? This is as far as I'm willing to go with this. Someone else might be happy to continue from here."
Ugh I have a lot. A tradescantia zebrina that threatens to take over my entire life with the amount of propagated duplicates I have now. Especially the mother plant somewhat feels like I'm just keeping out of guilt and for the chance of it surviving the winter for me to propagate further in the spring. A speckled Gold dust dracena I've neglected in hopes of it turning out too bad to keep but that thing still keeps going. It was I gift, so it doesn't feel right sell but I can't really swap for either because space. A bunch of propagations and divisions I can't get sold because apparently people don't want plants here in the north weeks away from winter. A couple ones I bought and divided in hopes of selling part of and getting back at least a portion of what I bought them for. That's something I really have to consider, as lovely as it would be to just be able to give stuff away for the kindness of it. My tiny apartment is in chaos and the holidays will be an absolute massacre if there's too much for my to-be vacation waterer to keep on check. Just stuff I really liked but never intended to keep all of, and that's just kind of there taking my enjoyment away from the stuff I'm actually so happy to have gotten this far into the autumn. I only have myself to blame, really. Though that's not a productive way to think of it either. But I'm just really longing for some clarity, which I think the frustration ultimately comes from.
I totally get how you feel! I've been thinking for a while that there's a few plants I'm just keeping for the sake of it and I really do just need to move them on to a new home so this was really motivating to watch.
The Esqueleto and Verrucosum have also been massive struggle plants for me, I've been growing an Esqueleto from a wet stick for over a year and it's only recently put out a second leaf and I'm sick of it. I got rid of the Verru a while back because even in my cabinet on a pole it just would not size up and look nice. Can totally relate to wanting rid of those two!
I finally tossed an olive tree that was on its last leg that looked awful. I wasn’t getting it back and it was stressing me out. My plants aren’t supposed to stress me. I was never going to be able to bring it back. It made me sad to chuck it but I felt better once I did it.
I’d inspect the new vines on the Sarawak with a jewellers loupe or stronger because new growth falling off is a classic flat mite symptom. I’ve had a massive run in with flat mites and anthurium thrips lately and I suddenly realised I was just not willing to fight to save many of my plants. I threw a lot of the pest plants into the garden under my front steps. The whole drama prompted me to take a long hard look at the rest, and I realised I was keeping a lot of plants I didn’t love, so I started giving them away to the local hospice shop garden centre. It felt AMAZING. Plants I love that got too big got propped and I sold the mother plant. I gave my neighbour several for her back deck. I got rid of over 20% of my collection and now I’m surrounded by plants I adore. It’s going to be an ongoing process. No more hoarding plants. If I fall out of love, out it goes. And now I have room for my favourites to get nice and big ❤
no shame in this at all, its good to know we are not alone in feeling not all 'positive' towards plants the whole time xx
I’m feeling this way about my p. Birkin. I’m just so over it, it’s never been the happiest plant for me and when it finally produces a new leaf it is the weirdest leaf. I’m giving it one final shot and then it’s going to someone else who actually wants it.
I’m the same with my birkin tbh, it isn’t so variegated any more and just looks a bit rubbish 😂
I do totally agree 😂 I bought my Birkin and Philodendron Green Princess at the beginning of my plant journey, but now I kind of regret them
I felt the same about my Birkin, it was never healthy no matter what I did. I thought I'll give it one last chance and just cut off the top of it. The new shoots look so good, like a completely different plant! Sometimes when you can't get further the best option is to go back and start fresh 😉
Not feeling up to posting online, managing selling, packing, then traveling to post (and waiting in a long, slow line if it's anything like the U.S.) is NOT lazy! That's a lot of time and work. (IMHO anyway). Also, plant swap plan is better--because it's more efficient and a time saver since you're going anyway. I think your subconscious is pressing you for efficiency, not laziness. ❤
Rants are good. Let it out Claire, we all can't have all of our plants amazing! If I look back on my planta app I've got 150 current and 65 in graveyard. So sad yes, but I reach the stage of giving up if I try and try and they just don't like me. I know the ones to avoid in future, calethea looking at you!
Interesting about your tineke, I love mine and ficus seem to like me the best and put out the most new growth. If you do a plant swap down Sussex way I might pop along.
You must really feel for them if you remember how many you've lost. I'm the same, but that's nature. Some plants simply don't thrive in your environment.💚
Good on you for this video! I do like my esqueleto, but I got mine big. If you ever try an esqueleto again, see if you can get an established plant and put it straight onto a moss pole. With my plant I had three growth points, and even though one ran after I first put it on the moss pole, the other two kept the moss pole full anyway so it wasn't a big deal. Now all three growth points are putting out leaves!
Completely understand the overwhelming feeling with having many plants. I’ve been having the same issue with some of my Hoyas as you are with your Sarawak. Mine are in semi-hydroponics and am changing the amounts of the nutrient mixture to get more foliage (so far so good). I have my fingers crossed for your beautiful Hoya!
Can I ask what fertiliser you are using? I’m just getting into Hoya but I don’t know how to fertilise cuttings.
It seems to me that letting go of the plants that are not bringing you joy is an opportunity to invite new plants into your space. We have a limited amount of space and so making space for new plants makes sense to me and on the way, you get to bring someone else joy. Thanks for bringing us along.
Might want to check your Sarawak for flat mites. I read somewhere that they can cause odd peduncle growth as well as make the new leaves fall off. Good luck! Love your videos.
That ficus tineke is gorgeous. I have a tiny one and can’t wait for mine to get that big for my living room.
Thanks for this video❤❤ I have many times felt that some plants stopped bringing me joy and instead made me rather upset and stressed out.
I needed t hear this, so thank you. Very refreshing and good to know I’m not alone thinking like this sometimes. Esqueleto YES and Phil Verycosum YES!!!!!!! I also am ready to say good bye to my rhap tetrasperma as well 🙏🏾💕
I have so many rhaps that I can't stand it. They get to big, to fast so you have to cut them ,then again and again. It's a game I don't like anymore
It’s totally ok to let go of plants that don’t give you joy. I donate plants I no longer love to senior citizens centres or apartments. People in those settings appreciate new plants and I find have the time to give them the love and care they need.
Danke!
Hank you for your honesty. There are days! Weeks! Plants! That you are just done with the plant for whatever the reason..Mary in Denver.
i think the leaves dying off on your sarawak might be a nutrient issue. I had the same problem with an anthurium that i grew in pon and it died all the way back. I re-rooted the chunk, moved it to soil and now it’s growing beautifully
It might be relaxing to have some things but it is even more therapeutic to let things go. It might also be why some plants we encounter are just the things we pass by; we enjoy them at a passing glance. Holding onto some might be rewarding momentarily yet somethings do overstay their welcome.
...they were the friends we met along the way.
About the Hoya…I feel like they want more water when trying to put baby leaves on. I’ve had so many die off until I learned this. And I would probably chop that runner off if all the leaves died off. I am feeling frustrated with Hoyas in general, though. I’m ready to be done with them and probably won’t get any more. I hate the runners.
Ooo I've been feeling the same with some plants. But was feeling so so guilty about letting some of them (my oldest) go (or when I was secretly happy that a plant I no longer liked was slowly dying). But I've made the decision that some will be going to my mother in law and friends. And with some plants I just don't know what to do as they are sooo beautiful but keep being dramatic/ a magnet to spidermites and thrips.
Love to hear your thoughts about these topics in this video, and if the plant isn't doing it for you anymore that's okay! Sometimes it's just okay to get rid of things that don't bring you joy anymore.💚
Claire thanks for sharing this video with us 👍
I have purged alot of plants this Summer. Is normal to not love your plants at some stage. I also get rid of plants that are sad looking. I like keeping a minimalist look. I don’t bother rescue a plant and don’t do any propagations things like that. Even vines that are so long and have no growth or taking space i just cut them. There is no harm as the vines do grow back also it encourages growth too. I hate anything that gets too crowded i like a clean and tidy look of my home.
The hoya you spoke of with dying new growth around the 26-minute mark looks like a specific type of mite or spider mite that seems to only impact Hoya. Treat the plant with a miticide, or however you typically treat your mite pests and the next vine should be more successful. Wishing you plenty of healthy new growth! 💚
Love this! "Planty rant" is definitely going to be that a term that I steal❤. Some days it definitely feels way more like a chore and less like a hobby, and foliage frustration is very real 💯.
I put my verrucosum in my high humidity greenhouse cabinet and let it grow up one of those plastic moss poles that have the open grid on the front and then a rounded closed back. It put amazing roots into the pole and started climbing super quickly and sizing up a TON. The leaves are probably more than double or maybe even triple the size now! It also grows REALLY fast in the high humidity. I think i might even start transitioning it out into my living room now that it's so big and strong. Highly recommend using your cabinet for this one!!
I just got rid of 50, sold some, gave some away and straight binned a few.. i still have over 150 but it was a good thing to do..
I had these same exact thoughts yesterday about my goldfish plant, tradiscantia zebrina and polka-dot plant. They just don't bring me joy at all. 😢
Claire, I would attach that tendril on the bamboo stick you have on the Sarawak or insert another one for it. I feel that might solve the problem.
Thanks for presenting this side of plant parenting!
I have several plants that received in a grab bag of minis that I grew because they are there- but I didn’t actually choose them. Now that my collection is larger I want to pass some of them on. It’s good to let things go when they are no longer bringing you joy.
I totally understand where you are coming from! I don’t love my pink princess and yes I did chop it and put the cuttings back with the mother plant,and its fuller but I still don’t love it,it’s stressing me out, also my Monstera Adonsonii, I love other peoples that are healthy looking,mine are crispy and leaves drop off,Grrrr! Cheers Natalie ❤
Thank you for this video! You've given me permission to say farewell to plants that aren't bringing me joy which will make room for some new interests! I'm bonkers for Aeonium and Monstera and a bit obsessed with Philodendron. At the same time I've got a bookshelf full of smaller cacti and succulents that aren't making me smile. I could see a bonsai or two, perhaps some crawlers... Anyone in Tucson want some succulents? 😅 Thanks, Claire. You always make me smile 😊
I’m glad you talked about this! I do this too and I hate it! It’s a waste of energy !
Claire, give some of them a good toss in the trash bin! If you just don’t love it, it’s stressing you out, it’s not healthy, and there are a million other plants you like better and a million other things you’d rather be doing than tending to it, then feel no guilt by taking the whole damn thing and tossing it. It’s quite cathartic! ❤
Idk who needs to hear this, but IT'S OKAY TO THROW PLANTS IN THE TRASH!
If you are just too overwhelmed by the idea of giving them away, or selling them. Just toss them.
I've downsized my collection a lot in the past year because I just couldn't handle it anymore. I've given away and sold most of them, but also thrown out some because they were just a pain (like the string of pearls prop from Claire).
Plants are a hobby, they shouldn't cost you your sanity.
I´m so happy to see this. Over the past weeks I went from 50+ plants to 27. And it feels so so so nice and comforting to only have plants I really love. I swapped a lot of plants. Most of the time 3 or 4 of mine for 1 plant I loved so much.
For plants going from complete humidity to low humidity, it may help to slowly introduce the plant to humidity. As in, put it in a container and every few days slide the lid open a bit more until it is completely open. Then the plant should be fine in open air.
Oh wow I now what you mean. I have so many monstera peru cutings and I don't know what to do with them. I would place the sarawac against a wall and attach the tendral to the wall. For more stability. Maybe then she won't shed the leaves.🤔
So glad (I mean, not glad it’s happening to you but glad it’s not ONLY ME) you’re having the weird Hoya leaf issue!! I have an obscura doing the same exact thing! It puts out these adorable little leaves, two in a row will come out curved (but still cute!) and as soon as they start actually growing, they turn bright yellow starting from the inside of the leaf, then as they start growing they turn completely yellow and fall off!! Next, a single leaf will grow and become absolutely ginormous (like three times the size of the original leaves from the cutting …and it all starts over again!! It is soOooo WEIRD!!! 😅🤷🏼♀️🫠
Really appreciate your honesty! Awesome video. I can’t wait to see more of your channel!
What type of light is your Sarawak in? Tons of peduncles! Mine wasn’t doing good but I put it outside and now it’s thriving. What are you feeding it? Also sometimes it takes a minute for it to adjust on a trellis. Beefy Hoyas like that do better on like a latter or something with just support rather then twirling around if that makes sense. It may need more food and light that isn’t super close to new leaves. 💕💕
I remember video with unpacking your hoya. ❤ Hehe. What i would do, i would cut this long stem and.. Propagate. This hoya has big leaves, looks like it cumulates ita energy now into 2 steams (with big leaves and growing long sideway stem). I would cut this long perky stem and propagate, and focus the energy for current and new leaves in 1 stem. Im not into hoya, but I've learned that from monsteras, that when small leaves grow sideways, its better to cut them off to force plant focus on grow upwards not sideways.
TFS Claire 🌹 Hi Jolie ❤
I’ve been going through EXACTLY the same thing!! I’m so sad that you live so far away cuz I bet we could do some great plant trading. Not only am I in the states but in California! So…hecka far away! This is def feeling like one more push for me towards finally either giving the plants away I’m no longer thrilled about or finding someone to trade with. Love your videos!!!! You have a comforting face lol😊
Great video, now that my plants are getting so big I’m finding it easier to move some plants along to others that don’t make me particularly happy. We have a plant swap in my area coming up this coming Saturday so I’m excited for that
This really reaonates with me. I have a few plants just for the sake of having them. I dont enjoy them. I just have them. I just discovered a local monthly plant swap, every month is themed. So it can be tricky timing getting rid of plants there. But November is "Free for all" month!! Gonna be some very happy swappers when they see how much stuff i bring!
Extras are free-bee's at these swaps, so anything left over is fairgame. So i dont have to worry about them not finding homes. Everything goes. So Im cleaning house(plants) next month!!
🪴just watched whilst cleaning my plant room and it was nice listening/watching you at the same time, made the time go so well 🪴🪴🪴🪴
My verrucossum has been a NIGHTMARE!! I got 2 TINY babies and planted them together. Leaves keep browning and dying….new leaves are even tinier….I’m SO frustrated. They never have looked good at all and I’ve had them since early spring….fall and winter are not looking promising. I keep it under a grow light right in front of a humidifier. I check the moisture twice a week….I’m at a loss at this point.
Also my white wizard….hasn’t grown at all.
I have had plants that do not grow or decline for a year before taking off. I have thought it is because of the horrible shock they went through during the shipping process. I also believe the roots need to really get established and mature before new leaves appear.@@lyndseymoye12
I’m in love with the tineke! I think the leaves are just so gorgeous. I can’t speak to the care though, I’ve never had one because my house has pretty low lighting 😢
I'm so guilty of keeping onto plants that I don't like anymore. For the reasons I can't explain it's always such a fight with myself to part with any. However, I've been strong recently and after over a year of debating I gave up six plants. No more waiting for a plant swap or hoping I start liking them again, I posted them on plant facebook group and someone took them next day. Honestly, it's been a relief.
I feel ya. Alot of my plants grew so big and wide that they will be staying outside in Michigan Winter. I just don't have room for them inside. So out of sight out of mind😮
It was good to see also this kinda video from you. Don't feel like u were being too negative because trust me, we get the struggle 😂💀🥀 and we also know how incredibly lovely and positive person you are otherwise 😊❤
I have a Hoya that wasn’t doing anything and had a naked tendril. I finally got sick of it and chopped it off. It started growing leaves right where I cut it.🤷♀️
Have you tried re-styling the plant? New pot, different growing area, different growing conditions. Like, grow it upside down, or as a trailing plant, or maybe climb it up one of your supports.
That's what I do when I'm bored of a plant, I try restyling it in a way that may look good. It just helps refresh your perspective on it a little, y'know?
My plant that I’m not in love with and I don’t even like anymore, but can’t part with is my Phal Orchid. My husband bought it for me and soon after, he passed away. About 3 months later the Orchid was showing visible signs of dying. It gave me a Keiki which I have been nursing along. It doesn’t grow much, it has never bloomed, and I’m doing something wrong because I can’t seem to keep healthy roots. I unpotted it, cut all the rotted roots off and had 1 stump of a root left. I was about to throw it away and something told me to give it one more chance. I’m currently water propagating the thing and I have 5 healthy new roots. I’m going to pot it up this coming weekend, and see how I do with it now. I’ve been binge watching MissOrchidGirl, Orchideria, and Orchid Whisperer and I pray that I can get it to thrive this time, I want to love it again.
I love these videos because it helps me know what to steer clear of.🙅♀😆 Claire, do you think there are just bad plants, like one specimen that no matter what you do to make it happy it just won't thrive? I have some that I'm afraid to even give away because they just seem to want to die. And they look it. Lol And I've never heard anyone say just look at my beautiful, lush Amydrium Medium Silver. Everyone I know with that plant has the same struggles you're experiencing. Lastly, you've probably already thought of this, but have you checked your Hoya for flat mites?😵💫
I'm kinda feeling the same way about my monstera deliciosa. I don't have a very big collection because I'm new to the house plant community but I got a deliciosa from a big box store and a larger cutting from a friend that has been getting on great, I just am starting to feel like I have to many of them cause I separated the one from the box store because it was not in a good soil and now i feel like keeping them just because I don't have much of a collection and i want a big collection. Than again im getting a lot of joy from alocasias lately. I have baby "Frydek" im worried about and I want to pay more attention to. I absolutely love yours Claire, your "frydek" is the reason i got mine. I saw it and fell in love.
I love your videos but I think this one is my favorite! I have never related to something more. Some of my plants are not bringing me joy and I chop them and now have multiples of them and don’t know what to do with any of them!
This was such a great topic. Let me tell you that I have bought my now second alocasia. I absolutely love them but what I'm thinking is that they do not love me. And I said to myself if I don't keep this one alive after doing everything I possibly can I'm just going to assume that it's not meant to be because it is really irritating
I have a Ficus Tineke that I got from a neighbor who was moving. I have had this guy for months in a South facing window with bright indirect light and it does nothing. I keep checking to see if it's even alive, not a hint of growth. I was thinking about letting it go to someone else but then I had the idea to treat it for flat mites. So, two days ago I gave it a full bath with 60 percent alcohol and then a good spray with water. Maybe it will grow? I did read that flat mites will affect growth rate and particularly in hoya, cause them to tendril a lot but not put out healthy leaves. When this happened with my gracilis, i treated her for flat mites every two weeks for 6 weeks and now she is actually putting out new leaves everywhere!
When in doubt, throw it out!
I seem to always go through a little “Houseplant Detox” as i call it twords the Fall time when i know my plants are slowing down on growth for a lot of my philos and etc! I think I tend to selfishly hold onto a plant for the “upsizing appeal” for a lot but I’ve found I need to be i love with it from a smaller form to really keep my interest some times! I’ve recently gotten into more Hoya so I’m definitely interested to see how that will affect it aswell! Awesome video as always! 🫶🏼☺️🪴
I have some from when I first began collecting that I potted into beautiful pots. I don't want to give the pot away and I'm afraid of damaging the plant or making it go into shock if I pop it into a grow pot to give away 😅
Would love to know more about the Plant Swap - I'm in London.
Just started watching your channel and really enjoying it, thanks for sharing your thoughts, info and wisdom. Your tenacity is really inspiring my beginner efforts, but I agree with you, when you’re expertise hasn’t fixed it, I think you’re right to give them a kiss and set them free. Or you buy the apartment next door and hire help but where’s the fun in that…😂
My blue star fern was like yours, nothing I did helped, eventually I put it outside by the damp shady compost heap and forgot about it through Storm Agnes. Suddenly it’s thriving, all bushy and blue, but I’m not replicating that indoors! She obviously loves it there, and is supposed to be frost hardy to minus 6c, so I’ll tuck her in and hope for the best. Have a great day 😁
I'm so with you ... I have a few I'm just over and feel bad coz I've started neglecting...but I need to sort and give away instead ❤
Yesss, a good moan session is cathartic, everyone should do it once in a while! 😄
how about putting the sarowak on a moss pole and the tendrils clipped around the moss pole. hope it gives you more foilage :)
This video is fab and definitely shouldn’t feel guilty !!! That is a lot of monstera albos, it’s a plant that’s top of my wish list but you have so many I can understand your points 100%
I’ve got rid of most of my philodendrons - maybe I just bought ones that were too juvenile but none of them looked good and the leaves always got stuck. Replacing them slowly with aglaonema’s.
I just gave away a string of turtles that I’ve had for almost 2 years. That was about 6 feet long but I just didn’t care anymore. So I totally understand giving away plants that just don’t do it for you.
You really do need to read The Secret Life of Plants by Peter Tompkins. You'll see your plants in a whole new way. I've set a rule for myself to only have what I can provide the best care for, so I have 60+ plants and that's it!
It's definitely not lazy not to want to package and post. For me, with adhd, I find packaging a real faff and it's one of the jobs I procrastinate about more than anything.
Today I have learned that propagating plants is fun but as in your monsters albo case - having too much plants, in my case givin burn out. I also thought about potting few plants in one pot - did this twice this month and helped to maintain them. Gave away propagations for friends. I said good bye to plants like phil. Majesty, different syngoniums, alocasia alzanii - I already forgot that I no longer have them. From other side I still regret selling Phil. Plowmanii - thinking about buying one at least once for month or two :D.
i have had several plants that I got tired of because they did nothing. I put some of them outside where I had hanging pots on the carport, and I think the most aggravating thing about it was that they started growing after I got them out there. :D But oh well. I still have others that grow and look beautiful. I do have one that I am still aggravated at that seems to have started growing now. I didnt put it outside yet, and probably won't. I finally got a tineke to grow in my house and I love it. it is so beautiful. I think I have thinned mine out to the ones that are going to look beautiful and keep growing. Actually there is a plant that I keep because it is just so beautiful even though I dont really enjoy it anymore, and every time I see it, I think I could have another plant hanging there, and it's my English Ivy. It is gorgeous but I am really not enjoying it anymore. :( But it is so pretty i just can't throw it out
I have a love-hate relationship with peace lillies. I love how easy to keep they are, but at the same time I despise how finnicky they can get when it comes to flowering.
That happens a lot to me I have limited space but can't help going to plant shops I tell myself not to buy sometimes it works sometimes I come home with one then I get home and usually wish I hadn't because of space and now that winter is coming I struggle with we're to put them but plants make me very happy soooo it's a viscous cycle😂