I won’t pretend I had it all figured out when I first got mine. My laurentii plant sat in a dark corner of my bedroom for almost two months before I realized it wasn’t actually happy — it was just too tough to die on me. The leaves started looking dull, a little washed out,
The first time I killed a hoya plant, I didn’t even know I was doing it. It sat in a terracotta pot on my east-facing windowsill, looking genuinely fine for weeks — that thick, waxy foliage gave nothing away. Then one morning the leaves started yellowing from the bottom up, two or three at a
I discovered the goldfish plant completely by accident while browsing a small local nursery and the bright orange blooms shaped like tiny fish stopped me in my tracks. I had never seen anything like it and immediately had to bring one home even though I had no idea how to care for it. Watching those
The first dracaena plant I ever owned sat on my desk for about four months before the tips started going brown and crispy. I panicked, figured it was dying, and watered it more. The browning got worse. I watered it again. By month six, half the leaves were brown and the whole thing looked miserable.
I killed my first saguaro in about six weeks. Didn’t even realize what was happening until I nudged it one morning and the whole base just… gave way. That spongy, dark collapse told me everything — root rot had been quietly finishing the job long before I noticed anything wrong on the surface. I was
The first time I tried to figure out how to plant potatoes, I bought a bag from the grocery store, cut them up, dropped them in the ground, and waited. Nothing came up for six weeks. Then a few sad, yellow stems appeared and eventually collapsed. My father-in-law walked over, looked at the bed, and
I had this ugly strip of dirt running along my fence line for two full years. Tried grass twice — died both times. My neighbor kept suggesting ground cover plants and I kept brushing her off because I figured they were just something people planted around mailboxes to fill space. Then one spring I finally
Honestly, I killed my first two peonies. Planted them way too deep, watered like crazy, and wondered every spring why nothing came up. Then a neighbor—a retired teacher with the most ridiculous garden on the street—walked over and told me the truth without sugarcoating it. “You’re burying them alive,” she said, and laughed. That stung
My first wandering jew plant came from a neighbour’s garbage bag. I had the most ridiculously lush, trailing purple plant I had ever grown, and I have been a little obsessed with it ever since.Over the years I have killed it twice (both times from overwatering, both times my fault entirely), propagated it probably fifty
Honestly, I almost didn’t buy my first Air Plants. It was sitting in a little wire holder at a farmers market, no pot, no dirt, just there. Looking like something from another planet. The lady running the booth saw me staring and said, “You just spray it with water a couple times a week.” I