Outside of your family, with what living thing have you had the longest relationship?
For me, it's a cast iron plant. Yes, I am that pathetic. I've had this character in my life for 43 years, having rescued it from certain death outside a friend's dorm room. It's lived in a pot the whole time. It got root-bound ages ago, but I never planted it in the ground until yesterday.
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| 43 years and I haven't bothered to give it a name. |
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| It was horribly root bound because while I kept it alive, I never got around to re-planting it in a bigger pot. |
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| Finally! It's in the ground and can spread and thrive. I need to go through my filing cabinets and find the to-do list from 40 years ago and check off "Put cast iron plant in the ground." |
Yes, life here at the Catican Compound is one hair-raising thrill after another.
I'd never heard of this name before, so I looked it up. There are a lot of web pages about it, and they all lead with phrases like:
ReplyDelete"Tolerant of neglect" - Wikipedia
"Has earned a reputation as a nearly indestructable houseplant" - The Spruce
"Cast iron plant care is easy" - HGTV
"It is called barroom plant because of its ability to withstand spittoonish conditions" - North Carolina Extension Service
"well known for their ability to survive with low light, poor soil, and just general neglect" - Plant Delights Nursery
So now that you have actually paid attention to it and planted it outside, one of two things will probably happen:
- It will turn into an invasive plant that completely takes over the shady side of your house, OR:
- The care and attention will kill it, like a Pottslyvania Creeper https://youtu.be/bZW0H_xUgE8?si=LH9Qh2ZIulvMifzg
Lookslike it lived up to its name: "The cast iron plant (Aspidistra elatior) has earned a reputation as a nearly indestructible houseplant." :)
ReplyDeleteDid you have it at the house? Or was it up at your folks house; when we lived together.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, I don't remember it. Glad to know I rate a little lower than a plant. That seems right.
Last fall, I went down to Kansas City, ok Overland Park - its apparently one of the happiest cities in the US. I went for the funeral of the Dad of a couple of friends of mine. Friends that I met when I was 8. Those 2 are the people I've known the longest outside of family.
I do have some tools that were my Dad's, and even Grandpa's tools. But you couldn't call those mine until my Dad died in 1995.