Houseplant died? It may well not be your fault
I wrote this tweet last week and it went a little bit viral. I guess the narrative that a houseplant's death might not actually be your fault was a compelling one for a lot of people.
But beyond that, I wanted to highlight some of the practices that are used in the nursery trade to produce plants with some kind of 'quirk' that appeal to the curious impulse buyer, but don't offer much possibility of staying alive more than a few months. Those who know the specific steps to take that will save them from a slow (or hasty) death may be able to save their plant, but that only accounts for a small sliver of the total plants sold.
One of the offenders is Sansevieria cylindrica (I haven't got used to calling it by its up-to-date scientific name Dracaena angolensis yet). The 'quirk' for this product is two-fold: for a start, you're not getting a whole plant, but a set of leaf cuttings arranged in a pot. Each spiky leaf is adorned with velvet paint coating its tips, as shown in the picture above. The paint tends to slow down or stop the cuttings from growing, and often the leaves themselves are hardly rooted when they go into the pot. Sometimes the cuttings are braided, to take the plant even further from its actual appearance.
You could argue, it's only a plant - but when you consider how many millions of these are sold globally around the world, it's heartbreaking to think of the waste involved. So many plants are being sold that have built-in issues that limit their lifespan in unnecessary ways.
Do read the whole thread for more examples: I am sure you can think of even more. What can we do about it? Education is key. Plant choice is key. Buying from specialist growers and shops, and plant society sales, holding plant swaps & growing from seed can give you plants that are both durable & more sustainable.
What else can we do? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
This blogpost was taken from The Plant Ledger, my twice monthly email newsletter about the UK houseplant scene. Subscribe here and get my free in-depth guide to fungus gnats.