Plants

I hit such a sleepy state this afternoon at work that when I was reading the Tomato Nation Vine for today and I got to the second letter about cookie recipes, I started giggling uncontrollably at Sars' little laughs over things like "Emeril's Spiced Nuts" or "try her white balls". So immature and yet I found it so funny.

Anyway, about plants... I did eventually get the second birthday present O was promising me, and it was certainly nothing I was expecting. He gave me a dinosaur plant. No, it's not some massive fern overgrowing our entire living room, it's a plant that's been around for a gazillion years and has evolved to be able to survive long droughts, apparently for up to 50 years. You get a little brown curled up thing, plunk it in some water, and within two hours it's open and green. It actually likes to go all dry and brown every once in awhile so you starve it of water, let it shrink back up, and revive it a couple of weeks later. It's a houseplant you pretty much can't kill.

I have another plant that you pretty much can't kill, a money tree given to me by a friend when we had a housewarming about 2 years ago. And it's still going strong, but I'm worried about it. I only water it about once a month, which is all it really needs (handy for when you go on holiday, it's still nice and green when you get back), but before when I finally watered it, it would take in nearly a liter of water. Now it hardly takes in half of that and quickly gets oversaturated. It's still green, but this doesn't seem right. Perhaps it's outgrown its pot once again, though if I go up to a larger size I'm afraid it is not really a windowsill plant any more, but more of a small bush in the corner of the living room.

Ah, the things you learn via Wikipedia: First of all, apparently my "money tree" is not a money tree at all (I was wondering why the photos online of money trees looked nothing like my plant). It's actually a jade plant, though mine has never had flowers like a couple of the photos show. And apparently me giving it so much water is unnecessary, it says they need very little watering in the winter. Note taken, I'll leave it alone for awhile and perhaps one day it'll be as large as this monster.