My Little Plantlet

We have just one indoor plant in our home, a weird specimen that has thick bulbous branching stems with furry looking edges, topped by medium sized leaves and a habit of occasionally showering small black seeds that look very much like mouse droppings into the surrounding area. I should have taken a photograph to go with this entry because, obviously, that description really needs an illustration to make it believable. But I didn’t. It is also incredibly resilient, which explains how it manages to still be alive. It can seemingly go for months without being watered, dropping all of its leaves but then rapidly perks up when given a soaking. I obtained it years ago from my parents. I have no idea what it is called.

The problem with this plant is that our specimen is decidedly wonky. It curves over to one side and then back again and for this reason it looks pretty ugly in its pot. So, a few months ago I decided that the next time one of its seeds landed in the soil that houses the plant and started to grow, I would grab the tiny plantlet, pop it into a new pot and TRY to keep it alive to grow a new, more balanced, specimen. Then, a few weeks ago such an opportunity presented itself.

To begin with my new little plantlet just sat in its pot doing nothing and I wondered whether it was going to ‘take’. But a couple of days ago I noticed signs of new growth and today I can see a tiny new leave to accompany the two original ones that were there at the time of transplanting. For someone who has a good track record of killing plants this is exciting and I am proud of my little plantlet as it attempts to make its way in life. I cannot wait to see what it will be like in a few months time when, hopefully, the stem will have thickened out and the whole plant might resemble its rather weird parent. For now though, I have to simply enjoy it as it is…