.....and other random stuff......

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

I Killed Grandma

Have I mentioned I inherited my mother’s black thumb? I have. I am a total disaster when it comes to gardening. Outside gardens, inside potted plants, you name it and I’ve killed it. I even managed to kill an air plant! And that’s saying something!

Husband is the gardener in the family. And that’s a good thing because he is the one who kept our Christmas cactus alive.
It was a cutting from my mother’s plant, and hers was a cutting from HER mother’s plant.
It had been with us since 1998.

It lived on top of the refrigerator up north and thrived. When we moved down here it took a while for Husband to find the right place for it, but when he did it bloomed for my birthday that year!


The first time it bloomed was when we sold our house up north.
I joked that it was a sign that my mother approved of our life changing decision to uproot our family and move 1400 miles away to start a new life.  
Because of this we began to call the cactus ‘Grandma’.

Whenever Grandma bloomed or thrived we would say she was happy and content and pleased with whatever was going on in our lives.

All was well with Grandma until……..
I read an article that said Christmas cacti like potassium in their soil. Husband had run out of fertilizer and this article said to put cut up banana peels in the pot to boost the potassium levels.
Being the kind hearted, helpful wife that I am I grabbed a banana and tucked bits of peel into the pot.

I was very pleased with myself. ‘Grandma’ had been looking a bit droopy and she perked right up after a few days of my banana therapy.
So,of course, if a little is good more must be better! Right?

Apparently I may be wrong about this theory.
She did perk up…. at first.

Then she began to look a bit….stressed.
Husband couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
He watered.
He primped.
He fertilized.
He re-potted.
He gave her fresh soil.
All to no avail.
She kept fading. And losing leaves. And then whole stalks until she was a single shoot.

She kept losing the sections on her one last stalk until she was just a stump of her former self.
Then that withered and turned brown.


Yup, I inherited my mother’s black thumb alright, I kill with kindness.

7 comments:

  1. So sorry for your loss :( If its any help, I'm no good with plants either, they have two chances with me...you can guess the outcome......

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  2. I am sorry yo hear of Grandma"s demise but hang onto her as sometimes plants magically resurrect themselves.

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  3. I don't have any plants in the house. I use the excuse that most plants would be poisonous to Ink. The truth is, I have a black thumb, too. Outside plants aren't much better. Except weed. I can grow awesome crops of dandelions. As Fuzzie said, hang onto the plant, sometimes they do come back. If it does, apologize and don't touch it. (-;

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    Replies
    1. That should be WEEDS. Not weed. I don't grow weed. I need another cup of tea.

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  4. Sorry to hear about Grandma. That's so sad. It's pretty hard to kill a cactus...LOL

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  5. Anything to do with gardening....refer to Corinne!

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