Having been an avid collector of plants since eighth grade, for this week’s blog, I thought I’d show you around some of my plants – enjoy!
String of Pearls – Senecio Rowleyanus
String of Pearls
True to its name, String of Pearls is a delightful curtain of emerald beads that drape delicately across the edges of their container. Like most succulents, it can be propagated, meaning you can actually cut off a small section of one of these “strings”, stick the end in soil, and it’ll grow into a new plant. I’m planning on letting my String of Pearls grow a bit more before I propagate it, however.
We just finished making our hanging planters in Ceramics 2 and will be glazing them this Friday, so I’m planning on repotting this plant in one of those planters – I’m really excited to see how that turns out.
Little Hope – Philodendron Selloum
Little Hope (plus a special guest!)
“Little Hope” is a miniature version of its more lanky relative, the stalwart Philodendron. Originating from the jungles of South America, it’s a pretty low maintenance plant – it’s happy as long as its soil is moist and is placed in indirect sunlight. I bought this plant a couple of years ago from Home Depot, that wonderful treasure trove of hardware, home improvement materials, and most importantly – plants.
Unfortunately, over this past summer, my Dad (with good intentions) set this plant outside on our porch “to get some sun”. Greeted with the full force of the blazing ninety-degree midwest sun, however, it quickly shriveled up and many of its leaves dried up and died. Nonetheless, Little Hope has made a stellar recovery and has put out a lot of new growth in these past couple of months.
Spider Plant – Chlorophytum Comosum
Spider Plant
Featuring long, slender leaves with a white stripe running down the center (this type of two-tone coloration is known as variegation), the sprawling limbs of the spider plant, indeed contribute to quite an arachnoid feel.
We’ve had this plant for more than five years; it was gifted to us by a family friend and has produced generations of baby spider plants since then. The spider plant reproduces through offshoots, tendrils of baby plants that extend from the main plant. Because there is already a small set of roots at the base of the baby plant, you can detach one of these offshoots from the main plant, pot them, and they’ll grow! Usually, however, I prefer to stick the baby in a glass of water for a couple of weeks to help the roots grow a bit bigger before potting them in soil.
Inchplant – Tradescantia zebrina
Inchplant
There are over 85 varieties of tradescantia, but I just have the one. This plant started as a handful of cuttings collected from the floor of the Jewel Osco greenhouse (the inchplant can also be propagated via plant clipping). I’ve only had the plant for a few months, but in that time, it’s transformed from a humble cluster of stems, barely eclipsing the edge of the pot, to this gargantuan mass of foliage.
This is actually my second inchplant – the first one was accidentally given away by mom during the summer of 2020 to the people remodeling our house at that time. I like to think that the current inchplant has grown extra large in order to avenge its fallen sibling.
Chinese Money Plant – Pilea Peperomioides
Chinese Money Plant
The cute, saucer-like leaves of the Chinese Money Plant are said to bring good luck. The healthier the plant, the more fortune it will attract. Unfortunately, while not unhealthy, my Chinese Money Plant really hasn’t grown all that much since I got it (again, from Home Depot) a couple of years ago. There was a period of time last winter when my plant started losing leaves like crazy (I’m still not sure why), but that seems to have stabilized – it appears, slowly but surely, to be putting out new growth.
A mature Chinese Money Plant will produce pups, little baby plants that sprout up from the soil around the base of the main plant. These pups already have roots attached, so they can be immediately repotted and will grow into new, adult plants. While some of the larger pileas I’ve seen have dozens of baby plants growing at once, mine only has two.
These five plants are only a small sample of my well-established collection – I have about a dozen more, which perhaps warrant their own blog post for some other time. But for now, let me know in the comments which plant was your favorite!
Wow Evelyn!
I had no idea you were such a foliage aficionado! Have you considered scioly forestry?
Just kidding, but I actually am obsessed with this post. 5 plants just leaves me wanting more. The string of pearls is probably my favorite; she’s just so beautiful and perfectly named. I will be needing an update when it’s repotted in your planter. Maybe at that point, you could give me a propagule?
My second favorite is the Chinese money plant. Maybe it reminds me of the string of pearls with larger circles, but something about the plain round leaves is soothing. There’s a lot of ferocity from the inchplant for example that should be appreciated, but the simplicity of the Chinese Money Plant calms me.
The other plants are all very impressive too, especially because they’re all flourishing. I also appreciate that you told us their stories; the persistence in the face of adversity combined with the growth is truly an inspiration. Your plants are just so #driven.
Kudos to you for keeping them all in such great condition; I had a succulent for a few months on my desk that spontaneously died, but I’m eager to try again.
One last thing; I feel like the plants deserve names. You’ve shown us so much about their personalities and journeys, but naming them would bring the collection to life. I can help if needed.
Thanks for a great read!
Evelyn, I loved your post! Reading blog posts about peoples hobbies is one of my favorite things because it makes me feel kind of at peace and it reminds me to make time for cute little things I like to do. I wish I could take care of plants like you- literally every single plant I’ve owned has sadly died. This is because I am a horrible plant owner and can never remember to water them or keep them in the correct conditions. I would like to blame genetics because my parents also suck at taking care of plants, but I don’t think that being a plant murderer is a hereditary condition. I have to agree with Tyler and say that my favorite plant out of the ones you showed is the string of pearls because it’s just a perfect little plant that looks so satifying because it grows kind of down instead of up. Literally hearing you talk about the planter that you made in ceramics brought me happiness. This might sound stupid but cute little human behavior is cute. Your cat is also super cute !! I’ve also always wanted a cat.
Evelyn, I really enjoyed reading your blog post! Your writing style is extremely engaging and detailed. I would have to say my favorite plant was the inchplant with its bright purple coloring. I am very tempted to visit Jewel Osco or another store with plants and find some clippings so it could potentially grow into something as beautiful as your inchplant (or any other of your plants for that matter). Your knowledge surrounding plants including how best to grow them and their distinct characteristics is also very impressive. Would you say that growing plants made you curious to learn more about them or were learning about them one day which inspired you to grow some of your own? I planted a few flowers in my front yard a couple years ago and I am pleased to say that they have grown back every year. My favorite that I planted was the one that grows fairly tall (maybe over 2 ft), and has lots of red-ish, pink bell shaped flowers running up the stem. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the name of the flower and my attempts to google it proved unsuccessful. This past summer I visited Saguaro National Park in Arizona and I purchased several seeds including those for a saguaro cactus and a Mexican poppy. I haven’t attempted to grow these yet but I’m not entirely sure if they will even grow as they’re meant for hotter, drier climates. Do you think growing these plants here would be possible? Anyways, I just wanted to say that I loved learning about your plants and look forward to seeing the rest of your collection!
I really liked your descriptor of the String of Pearls, it’s very vivid and shows your love for it. Also I did not know that propagate was a word until now so I learned something new. I wonder if you took ceramics so you could make pots for your plants? Or did you just take it and making pots for your plants was a plus?
I really like the geographical background you give to the plants, as well as its biological history. I also like how you describe home depot, it is really a treasure trove of hardware. I’m sorry your dad set your plant outside. I feel like dads have a propensity to do things with good intentions that don’t end up how they’re supposed to. I once had a guinea pig named BaoBao, and my dad wanted to set it outside so it could get some fresh air. Unbeknownst to him, he left the cage open and the guinea pig was eaten by a hawk. Good intentions though!
I really love spiders, maybe I will get this plant. I like how you introduce it though! I also like how you talk about how to grow plants. It’s really interesting!