I Am A Bad Plant Mommy *tear*
This is Pothy, short for pothos, he’s a philodendron and I am his mother.
I am a bad bad plant mommy. 
It (he … Pothy), wasn’t always like this. Let me explain.
He is the 1st plant I ever owned. When an ex (who had a green thumb) told me that I “needed something alive in my apartment besides me”, I ended up with this plant … and he (Pothy) thrived. I remember in 1 of my apartment circa 1998 he was HUGE! He grew clear out the planter and hung down to the floor. I used to tuck the vines underneath so I wouldn’t step on them. He climbed the walls behind him, it was like a jungle in there LOL. Everytime I moved I took Pothy with me.
Another special feature of Pothy is that I would cut off clippings, let them take root in a glass of water, then plant them and give them to friends as gifts. I can’t remember now who all I gave them too, but it was a special gift with special meaning to me since I had the original plant and they had the “offspring” so to speak.
But now Pothy is dying.
Why you ask?
Well, I’m a horrible plant mommy and I don’t water him, plain and simple. He was sitting on top of my refrigerator and doing well for years in that spot, but of late I’ve neglected him to the point that every leaf is gone and all that’s left is a dying vine.
I tried like the dickens to find pictures of him in his hayday but to no avail. Everything I found was tiny and he was in the background barely so you’ll have to take my word about his former glory. I’ve decided to try to revive him because, with all the changes about to happen in my life in 2012 I feel a renewed need to keep the giving spirit of life that he represents going and growing. I like what Mr. Pothy stands for.
That said, I took his poor soul down from on top of the fridge the other day and gave him a good trim like so:
There are only 6, count them, SIX (barely) living leaves left. I clipped off the drying vine and decided to start anew. Then I watered Pothy until the soil was damp and water was coming out the bottom.
I’m not sure if this is what I should do every time I water but I know for this first “revival” session it couldn’t hurt. He was parched. Lastly Pothy got a new home in the window sill above the sink in my kitchen.
Once again, I’ll need to do some research on whether he will live there permenantly but for now, I don’t think the direct light will hurt him much. To my recollection he always thrived in a well lit area sorta away from a bright window, so he may end up moving in a while after I do more research.
At any rate, as random as this is, I thought I’d share my journey to revive my dying symbolic plan with ya’ll. Wish me luck and I’ll let you know updates as time passes.
Do you have any tips on how to care for Pothy? Let me know in the comments below & thanks!
Until next time Glam Fam I wish you
@Glamazini | facebook.com/IamGlamazini | youtube.com/Glamazini | Google+
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Disclosure: I own Pothy, he was not a gift. I am a bad plant mommy trying to do better. For more information about the Glamazini.com disclosure policy, click here.
Roshini Cope
Roshini Cope, aka Glamazini, is a life coach and video creator who gained a following for her natural hair tutorials, which evolved into authentic personal stories of healing with a consistent dash of humor. She is a black woman healing helping other black women heal, expand their self-awareness, reclaim their joy, and create the life they want. Work with Roshini 🤎✨🤎
8 Comments
Mrs Sunshine
We have a philodendron named Phil. We’ve had him for about 4 years, and so far so good, though we’ve had a few close calls. Pothy may need some new soil, or a bigger pot if he’s been in the same soil and pot for awhile. Good luck!
glamazini
I might could repot him with some new soil. Thanks for sharing.
ChicagoCurly
I too have neglected far too many plants. The one thing which may help is to actually transfer him, yep, I assumed Pothy is male, to a smaller planter. As I understand from my mom, because as I said, I’ve killed, sorry, neglected, many a plant in my day, the larger planter could be causing his root system to exert more energy, thus causing overwork to keep up with the amount of soil/water/ required for the larger pot and since he’s already on life support you want to provide him with as many opportunities to thrive as possible. Hope that makes sense – I by no means am a gardener. Now if you wanted ways in which to saute Pothy, I’m you’re girl! LOL 🙂
glamazini
Saute Pothy? 😐 eeek!
See, he used to be MUCH bigger and this pot is a downgrade even from former days. *tear*. That makes sense though.
Lele
I can’t even keep a cactus or Venus Fly Trap alive, so I’m the wrong woman to give plant advice. Maybe an ehow link might help you (or someone else)? http://www.ehow.com/how_18420_revive-wilted-potted.html
glamazini
Oh wow, I may try this. Thanks!
Kel
I have a couple of plants like that. One of them I almost killed last summer, but it is up and growing again. It helps to spray the leaves with water at night…it’s when their “pores” are open.
glamazini
Interesting. Thanks for sharing.