I wasn’t always a succulent fiend; in fact, I never owned plants for most of my life. My best friend Bri is really the one who turned me into the plant-loving girl I am today, and it started right before I went into my first year of college. For the past 2.5 years, I have been slowly adding more and more to my green little family, and the count as of today is 9- although this number will increase dramatically when I move into my house next year off campus. Here is a little guide as to how I acquired such beautiful plants, and how having them on my windowsill makes my day just a little brighter☺
If you know me well, you know that I love sugar skulls or anything that has a skull on it, so this was a perfect plant for me to start my collection with. Most of these plants were given to me by Bri, including this one. She got it for me from Trader Joes I believe, and I’ve had it for about 2.5 years. It hasn’t grown very much since I first got it, but its happy, colorful face makes up for its lack of growth!
This plant was given to me by my mom, and it is quite an interesting one. The pot it is in has a spider across it; I think it was supposed to be Halloween themed. This plant has grown exponentially since I first got it, shooting out in all directions. The coolest part about this plant is its color change- every couple of months, the stems change from this deep green color to a reddish-purple color. The first time it happened I thought I had killed it, but after seeing it switch back and forth a couple of times now, it appears to just be part of its nature.
I believe this was the next plant added to my little family- a bamboo plant that I got at a RAH (Rowan After Hours) event my Freshman year, Fall semester. I have three little stalks in there, and as of now they don’t seem to be doing as well as they used to. Most of my other friends already killed their bamboo plants, so I feel accomplished on that end. It has these little gel clumps that I was given when I first got it to give it nutrients and such, and they are still in there…I can’t figure out if I should take them out and replace it with some type of soil or just let it be. I guess I’ll wait to see if it gets any better or not…
This little gal started out in a very small pot (the blue one that will be coming up soon!) and just didn’t seem to like it very much. She lost a lot of stems and wasn’t growing very much at all. With the advice of a friend, I put her in a bigger pot, and she’s blossomed quite well in there. The pot she is in currently is 1 of 4 amazing pots I bought on amazon, two more will be shown later. She’s a little hard to water because pouring anything on top just results in water spilling everywhere, but I love to watch her grow.
This is my triumph story, this forest right here…when it was originally given to me by Bri, once again, it was not doing well at all. It had only one little blossom, but even that was starting to die off. One day, two of the leaves got knocked off, but were still in pretty good condition. My roommate told me that if I kept them damp on a piece of paper, they might re-sprout and I can plant them again. I waited, and sure enough tiny roots began coming out of them. I replanted them and look where they are now! I know I probably shouldn’t have favorites, but this is probably one of my top 3 for sure.
This little jade plant is a trooper! I got this guy right when I moved back home for the summer, after my freshman year. I laid out all of my plants on my windowsill at home and started getting back into the swing of things. About a week passes, and I realize that one of my plants is missing- my little jade! I look everywhere, and it turns out it had somehow fallen underneath my dresser and was badly bent and quite dry. I quickly propped it back onto my windowsill, repotted it into this cute small blue pot, and waited. It fortunately made a full recovery and has been growing happily since then.
These next two plants I got at the same time, and they both add uniqueness to my plant family. What I call the “Shrek’s Ears” plant drew me in immediately, its shape is so interesting and fun. This one almost passed away before my winter break this year, due to an error on my part for not giving it enough water. Once I began watering it correctly, it made a full comeback and is as good as ever. The cactus was one I had to get, as I have been wanting a cactus for a while. Its sunset-esque pot makes me think of Arizona or some other beautiful desert land, and its little spores on the side have had quite a few new sprouts since I acquired it.This is my newest addition to the family, one I got just this semester at another free giveaway at my school. I have a matching one with my best friend, although I’m sure mine with outlive his. When I get home this summer, it has a beautiful ceramic pot waiting for it.
The next plant I plan to get is a rabbit’s foot fern, which I will hang right next to my window in my new room. I hope that maybe my article inspired you to get a green friend to decorate your apartment or workspace with. They are insanely easy to take care of, and they brighten up any room. I can’t wait to be an old plant lady with my friends!!