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jamesrhagerty

long-lived house plants

JamesRHagerty
9 years ago

I'm a reporter at The Wall Street Journal and am writing about potted house plants that have survived for at least a few decades. Do you have any examples you'd be willing to talk about? If so, please send me an email: bob.hagerty@wsj.com

Comments (3)

  • pirate_girl
    9 years ago

    Hi James,

    This area is not really used much anymore.

    Pls. re-post your question / invitation on the Discussion side (see above). I'm sure you'll get a few responses at least.

    Tho' I'm on here (GardenWeb) over 12 yrs. now, I don't have plants that are DECADES old anymore, over time lost a couple that were.

    But posting at Discussions may find you some folks who do. Best of luck!

  • Amad Ali
    5 years ago

    if you want long live house plant then orchid are the best

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Bob - ck your email. I sent you a note.

    If you think about it, there is no such thing as a 'houseplant'. There are only outdoor plants that tolerate indoor conditions to varying degrees. The most popular of the plants commonly labeled 'houseplants' are generally naturally vigorous and best tolerate the conditions typically found indoors; and, they are least likely to be moved to umbrage in retaliation for the grower's error(s). Vigor and vitality are different. Vigor is a measure of the genetic potential with which Mother Nature provides each plant. Vitality is a measure of the plant's ability to cope with the cultural hand it's dealt. Potted plant vitality is entirely, or nearly entirely, the responsibility of the grower.

    That said, virtually all plants on which we would hang the moniker 'houseplant', are perennials that are actually capable of outliving their in situ counterparts. Many of the factors that can unbalance a plants' system's and send it into a wobble that eventually ends in loss of viability are not in play outdoors. Weather and animal herbivory are examples. I have many trees from cuttings I started in the early 80s, and others I have maintained in a high state of vitality for more than 20 years that were gifts shared by special people.

    A very high % of hobby growers are stuck in a repetitive revolving door plant exchange. They kill a plant by asking it to tolerate cultural conditions Mother Nature didn't program them to tolerate, then buy another and begin the process anew, never reaching a plane on which they are able to actually figure out what they are (or aren't) doing that prematurely terminates the viability of the plants they tend. Those diligent or fortunate enough to understand their only job is to figure out what cultural conditions are limiting vitality and fix it, should have no problem passing their favorite plants down to the next generation.

    Particularly important to a containerized plant's longevity is regular and appropriate root maintenance. Bumping a plant up to a slightly larger pot on a regular basis is not going to allow plants to achieve the same degree of potential as a full repots at regular intervals. Repotting includes bare-rooting, root pruning, and a change of soil. The difference in between a 400 year old Ficus bonsai in a very small pot and a 4 year old Ficus on its way down the drain is almost always in what kind of attention the roots have been given. Even if EVERY other cultural condition is absolutely perfect, poor root health/function and root congestion over the long haul will sap an amazing amount of potential from plants the roots of which are not cared for appropriately.

    Al

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