The Plant Lives On For Warm Heart Wednesday #9

Welcome to Warm Heart Wednesday sponsored by Ms. Jenny at Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent."  This is where we share what has warmed our hearts.  For a list of this week's participants head over to Jenny's blog.

I know this looks like an ordinary plant, but there's a story behind it.

Years ago, while living in Virginia Beach, Virginia I bought a Schefflera plant.  It was sometime in the mid 1970's.  In 1981 my husband accepted a job in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.  Before we moved my parents drove down to Virginia Beach from New Jersey to see us before we left.  Our furniture was going to be put into storage for a while and we really didn't have room in the car to transport any large plants.  So, I offered my Schefflera plant to my mother and my parents drove it back to New Jersey where it continued to live for many years.

In 2001 my Mom died and Dad assured me that he would continue to water the plants.  He did continue to water them, but after a while they weren't looking too well.  He was probably over watering a bit.  Around 2004 I realized that the Schefflera plant might not make it.  On a trip to New Jersey I decided to cut off a few leaves and bring them home with me to root.  I didn't know if that was even possible, but I thought I'd give it a try.  I put the leaves in a Zip Lock bag with a little water and flew home to Texas.

When I got home I dipped the stems in rooting hormone and planted them in a pot.  All except one died.  The one that lived never looked too healthy and never got taller or grew any more leaves.  A year later I decided it might be root bound and I should probably repot it.  When I went to repot it I discovered that it had never grown any roots.  The stem had just been sitting in the damp potting soil all that time.  It never grew, but it never died either.  I decided to give it another shot and dipped the stem in the rooting hormone again and replanted it.  This time it worked!  The plant started to grow.

You guessed it.  That's the plant today.  It's been repotted many times.  When it gets too tall I clip it back.  Most of the year it lives in the backyard because we have a pretty mild climate here and plants love the humidity.  If they predict a frost I drag it into the garage.  I won't let it die.  This plant has a bit of a family history that warms my heart every time I see it.

When my Dad moved to Texas in 2006 one of his neighbors took the original plant.  I have no idea if that one is alive today, but I know a piece of it is still alive in Texas.

Now head over to Jenny's blog for a list of Warm Heart Wednesday participants.  Thanks for visiting...