What is The Longest You Had a Houseplant For ?

[Nyboy]

Wow Carol your Christmas Cactus is a antique.

 

[Just-Moxie]

When I was a wee one...my daddy had a plant he had rec'd 30 years before. I am 53 now. Not sure if he still has it.

 

[bobm]

When some friends of ours moved to Maine, they gave us their 7 ft tall ficus tree that they had for something like 10 years. We had it for about 20 years when it started to drop it's leaves then the branches started to spit. In all of that time, it was never watered or fertilized or repotted ... No amount of glue worked for any leangth of time. I finally tossed it. It was a plastic specimen !!!

 

[Smart Red]

I have struggled to grow house plants here in the woods. While I have lots of glass, I don't have suitable window space for most of them. I have kept some plants alive for 10 years or so until DH moved them to the garden shed overnight while he and DS redid the overhang on the house. They all froze!

The only one plant I do have -- and have had for a long time is the hoya plant cutting I got from my father before he retired from teaching some time in the 1980's. That makes my plant about over 35 years old. The one it came from had been growing in Dad's classroom for much of his 33 years of teaching in our town.

I remember he got (teasingly) upset when mine bloomed frequently while he had trouble getting the classroom vine to flower. I believe the original plant of Dad's was rendered to dust during a long and stressful period of neglect at Mother's hands once Dad was gone. She refused to let me try to revive each one as it succumbed to her mishandling them.

 

[Nyboy]

Red I kind of know how your father felt. Once I found mini orange trees on clearance, I picked up 2 and gave one to friend Kristine. Hers flowered heavy right away, mine gave me 2 flowers first 2 years. I almost didn't bring in last winter I was so disappointed with it, glad i did today has about a hundred flower buds.

 

[catjac1975]

Red I kind of know how your father felt. Once I found mini orange trees on clearance, I picked up 2 and gave one to friend Kristine. Hers flowered heavy right away, mine gave me 2 flowers first 2 years. I almost didn't bring in last winter I was so disappointed with it, glad i did today has about a hundred flower buds.

Sometimes a plant needs a slight shock to bloom.

 

[Nyboy]

Cat you are so right. My uncle gave me a sucker from his lilac bush, i knew it would take years to flower. After about 10 years it grew into a nice size bush, but never flowered. I decide enough was enough bush was going. I started to dig it up, something happened that I stopped, never got the chance to finish digging it up. That spring flowered like crazy !!!

 

[catjac1975]

Cat you are so right. My uncle gave me a sucker from his lilac bush, i knew it would take years to flower. After about 10 years it grew into a nice size bush, but never flowered. I decide enough was enough bush was going. I started to dig it up, something happened that I stopped, never got the chance to finish digging it up. That spring flowered like crazy !!!

Lilacs in particular like to have their roots pruned when they won't bloom. My bouganvilia didn't bloom well for a couple of years. I almost threw it out. It got a chill when I left it our too long. I cut it back severely and it was glorious all winter. I also think letting some plant dry our to near death can have the same effect.

 

[Nyboy]

Makes sense if plant thinks it is dieing will want to make seeds.

 

[journey11]

I love these Christmas/Thanksgiving cacti. They seem to thrive on abuse! I've had the red one for about 10 years.