I love my plants but sometimes they don't love me, or they might be mad at me for some reason but I don't know. This particular Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii) has been quite rude and has taken a good amount of attention. After purchase and placement in my mother's office, it started to smell a bit like tobacco smoke. Now this wasn't a quick discovery but after smelling it for a few days we figured out the plant was the culprit. Worried that a store employee used the plant as an ash tray, I moved to repot and clean the soil as much as I can.
I removed the plant and cleaned out as much dirt as I could. New pot, new soil, same problem. Worried that it was in the plant I cleaned the roots as much as possible. Almost all of the soil was removed and the plant was placed in a pot with new soil. At this point they needed a new home to get some extra care to make sure all is well.
The smell had disappeared and the plant seemed fine. Regular watering. Regular spot with some sun. A couple months go by and a few leaves died, to be expected from everything this poor plant went through. A vacation away in the middle of summer when temperature get hot and house get's closed to stay cool did not do much help though. I returned to it dead. Nothing looked alive. Everything was brown, but I was about to start two weeks of work straight and had no time to do anything so it sat there.
As time went by and this plant was neglected, something started to change. New leaves started to grow from the soil. This mother fucker was making a comeback. Had to do a trim and had these before and after pictures to enjoy.
Underneath all the dead leaves was a whole new plant ready to come out. This hasn't been the first time I did this. Sometimes I just don't know what to do and somehow nature finds a way and keeps a baby alive and they come back. It shows me that oftentimes you can't control what is happening or what the outcome is but you have to let things run it's course and see what comes next. Maybe you aren't expecting it but that doesn't mean it's bad, and just because it looks like the end doesn't mean it is. Now it's time to keep nurturing this baby to hopefully get some flowering soon.
- Harry