For my birthday, my bestie got me a potted mum plant. It had flowers on it and it was cute. The store that potted it used really bad soil that did not keep moisture well at all (dried out very quickly) and between the time my friend bought the mum and gave it to me for my birthday, it all but died. Here’s the photo below so you can see the bad shape it was in.
My friend felt terrible about the state of the plant, but she knows me well and gave me the plant anyway. Most people don’t give friends dead plants, but my friend knew I would enjoy attempting to bring this plant back to life.
I noticed, as you can see in the photo, that the leaves were still green. So, the plant had suffered, but not enough to be a lost cause.
I took the mum out of all of its store wrapping (the decorative foil and the pot) and loosened up the roots a little. The flowers were completely dried up (brittle), but I didn’t prune it yet. First I needed to get the plant into the garden bed with some good quality soil.
Next, I cut off all the flowers. This is the fun part because it actually helps the plant to survive. I prune off stuff that’s just burdening the plant, and it’s also fun to pretend I am Morticia from the Addams Family (who cuts the roses’ heads off and keeps the thorny stems – I wonder which creative for the show thought of that idea).
I then kept the mum watered. I went out of town and my friend actually watered my plants all week for me and I didn’t tell her the mum was in one of the garden beds. So, she cared for the mum for a week without knowing it. She probably supposed I threw away the plant. I am writing this blog post to surprise her and I am going to send her the link. Hahaha!
I am happy to say that the mum is doing well. It has grown and is green and beautiful. No blooms; just thriving through the hot summer for now.
If you feel like your plant might have dried up and died, give it a second chance. Plants, like people, are stronger than you think. And so are relationships!
Remember the “love fern” from the movie “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days”? Hilarious.
“Our love fern! It died!”
“Nah honey, it’s just sleeping.”
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Savillum 