Butchering My Devils Ivy!

[Tumbleweed]

Sometimes you just have to butcher them. LOL Mine was getting out of control. I don't know how many times the vines started making there way around my living room just to have me wind them around the pot to keep from tripping on them. But I was getting sick of it so decided it was time. Dum-duh-dum-duuuhhh.

I started to unwind the tangled mess and was amazed just how long the vines were. Two of them I stretched out across my living room which is somewhere around 28ish feet long and they were far longer than that so I had to double back laying them out. So I'm guessing they were well over 30 ft. long.

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If you look back in the corner the pot is on top of that bookshelf-like piece of furniture in the corner. The crazy plant gets no light up there. No wonder they say it is the most forgiving plant and best for beginners to grow. (Note: Yes, my inquisitive younger cat is checking things out in the above picture) (Another side note: My living room doesn't normally look so messy. I was moving plants around to accomidate a cute little bench I plant to put in front of a window for extra seating. I was also vacuuming as I moved things around so it looks like a tornado struck my house.)

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This pic is just to show how high up that pot sits. You'd think that plant would die with next to no light. No one can ever reach to water it so you know it gets neglected.

And if your thinking I'm cruel well I'm not tossing all the vines away. I cut them in about 15 inch lengths, ripped the lower leaves off the bottom and stuck them in water to root. I ended up with 4 gallon containers just like this and I did end up tossing out a lot of the "too curled" stems.

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I rarely will toss any plant or cuttings. Often I give plants away and/or they are incorperated into my swapping system. When one plant is getting to look straggly from lack of light I have some tucked away in bright sunshiny windows to take their place. That is what I intend to do with these. They will be a backup when any plant in the house starts needing special attention.

[barb]

My son saw your ivy and was shocked that a house plant could be so long. He wanted to know why on earth anyone wants a plant longer than a snake in their house.

Since I don't have a green thumb, he doesn't see any live plants in our house for very long, certainly not long enough for them to grow like that.

[Tumbleweed]

LOL, Your silly son. Honestly, Barb. I don't have a green thumb either and basically what that comes down to is I forget to water my plants. I only have house plants that will survive if I water them once a week. If they need water more often than that then they won't survive.

I'm really mad at myself though. I think I forgot to water my plants for a couple weeks and one of my favorite "Crown of Thorns" died. I loved that plant.

You inspired me. I think I'll write a list of the easiest plants to take care of and propagate according to me, the once a week, if the plants are lucky, water-er.

[barb]

Oct 8, 2008 10:30:30 GMT -6 Tumbleweed said:

I think I'll write a list of the easiest plants to take care of and propagate according to me, the once a week, if the plants are lucky, water-er.

Great idea. I don't know if even that will help me. I actually killed a cactus once. Don't ask me how because I don't know. We had it for years and then I took over its care and poof! the brown thumber did it again!

I need something that tells me exactly when to water and how much to give it. Better yet, I'd love to be rich enough to hire someone with a green thumb to come take care of them for me. I'd love to have plants growing in my house.