I once kept a houseplant alive for 12 years before a pet killed it. The oldest I have now is about 3 years old.
I have two plants that are quite "old". One is a Sanseveiria (mother-in-law tongue) I've had it since my oldest child was little (about 26 years) and a Euphorbia trigona (African Milk Tree-I just found out what it was today on this forum) I got it when my youngest child was little (about 23 years). The Sanseveria was just a couple of small fronds and the Euphorbia was just a small piece. Wanda
I have a dracena that is over 30 years old. A neighobr gave it to me when she moved in 1979. She said it was too tall to move so she left it with me when she moved. I have moved twice since then and it is still going strong. The top bent over and broke off once but there are at least half a dozen other branches that have developed. I don't know how old it was when I received it but it was about 4 - 5 feet tall back in 1979.
I have a cactus that I bought for my daughter Sarah when she was about 7 or 8. She is now 25. At one point, it was so tall that it broke, but we put the top into the planter and it started growing again! I have several Golden Pothos that originally came from a plant I received as a gift in 1982.My house is FULL of plants! I love to move as many as I can outside in the warmer months (although it is work to clean em up and make sure the pests do not ride in with them!)I have 4 tri color Dracenas that are all around 10 yrs. old. Two big weeping Figs that are both about 12 yrs. And of course, the Sanseveria (Mother-in-law) 3 big pots that have been around so long, I can't remember when they weren't! They have been divided so many times! One is from my hubby's grandmother.
A friend gave me her Boston Fern a few years back before she moved to Florida. She said it was almost around 87 or 89 back then, so it's close to 100 yrs old now! The top of it looks a little flat (hat hair) because it was brought home in the back of a truck, so it was little wind blown for the 15 min ride to it's new home:O ( photo / image / picture from Bluewing0's Garden )
I am not really good with indoor plants...so why in the world did I buy orchids????? I guess I like a challenge once in a while. Great plants everyone...I hope I can get to keep mine alive that long. I did send my Mother in laws tongue to work with my husband...it kept getting so tall and I have a feeling it will not get as much TLC sitting in an office....But I wanted some new plants and I had to make room for them.
My oldest plant is my asparagus fern, about 9 years old, i love it, I want to buy a plain pot this summer and paint a face on it,because it looks like wonderful wild flowing hair Asparagus Fern (My Favorite) ( photo / image / picture from Zinnia's Garden ) This is a Winter pic you should see her in the Summer, when outside soaking up the wonderful sunshine and warmth
My oldest plant was purchased in July of 1971 making it 39+ years old it is a Cereus peruvianus cactus. My wife avoids it along with its 3 offspring. Jerry
Hi Cheryl, When they(the older cactus) were younger they were easier to move. Now as they exceed 5 feet are a bit dangerous to move. They have been known to inflict puncture wounds to the plant carrier(me). My wife will not go anywhere near them. There is a story about that. All are in "winter storage" and a dormant mode. I will attempt to move "mother cactus" to a more photogenic area. Story: The tall cactus crowd, 5 in all, occupy a corner of the basement near a wall phone. No, I have never seen any of them use the phone. One day the phone rang, my wife went to answer. Reaching around the corner to pickup the unseen phone she did not grab the phone. I suspect one of the cactus was attempting to answer the phone also. A scream punctured the air as one of the cactus punctured her hand. She does not go anywhere near the cactus. The cactus have lost their phone privileges. Moving day will be soon. Photo to follow. Jerry
I love your cactus Cheryl. I have some of that too, but never knew its real name. I have had mine since the mid 1990s. They are in two pots now so I can move them around if I need to. My one Boston fern is descended from one given to me in the early 90s and it was over 10 years old then, and is equally huge. It is one of the ones I had to bring back in the house tonight because of the freeze warning. I once had a mother in law tongue for over 15 years. My other Boston fern I got from a dear friend back in 06, and hers was rather old then. She had me divide it in half and keep half of it. I have some elephant ears from her too, and my asparagus fern. My other plants are not that old.
I have a christmas cactus that was a piece of my mom's. When she moved to Cal. I potted a part of hers and also kept the original which I do not know how old it is. :-D She moved when my dad died 7 years ago she is now 96 ,I know have 3 plants growing one is white , a pink one and the older one is a red. 8)
