Plant Abuse.. is that looney?

[twofalls]

I went to an estate sale today to look in on an overstuffed easy chair that I didn't end up buying. However, while there I couldn't help but notice that there were three orchids, a palm tree, and a couple of other plants I haven't identified yet that were in... well rather sad shape. I inquired about them and the woman who owned them said that she had wanted to have green things about her but just couldn't keep them healthy for the life of her.

Looking at them I could see roots growing out and around the original plastic pots they had been purchased in! She had just plopped them down into larger ceramic pots without replanting them. I purchased them all off of her and repotted each of them in new soil and then fertilized them all. I'm not sure I can save all of them but I'm giving it a shot. While I was doing so I found myself getting upset that someone would take a living thing into their home and abuse it. I'm not entirely sure that plant abuse is something worth getting upset over... but I did regardless.

Is that weird?

 

[Crothian]

Of course there is plant abuse...why do you think ivy clings to walls

 

[der_kluge]

I think you're confusing "abuse" with just plain "ignorance". Was this woman, I don't know... retarded?

 

[Crothian]

I just think she didn't know better, not everyone has a high plant IQ, and some are dumber then grass.

 

[Greylock]

The only plant I have at the moment was once a stick in a pot sitting in a trash bin. Ten years on now it's thriving in my apartment. Some folks just don't know any better.

But no, I think it's a far stretch to call it "abuse". Cheapens the word.

 

[twofalls]

Hm, perhaps it is going too far to label it abuse, still, forgetting to feed a dog for a week because you didn't know that it needs to eat every day is abuse... even if it's cause was colossal ignorance (this actually did happen). Regardless, they are just plants. I was just rather surprised at the emotion of getting irritated and an little angry about it. The woman was actually an exceptionally nice lady with two adorable children and a very friendly husband. They lived in a house that I can only describe as decadently beautiful. When I was responding to the address I had no idea that I was going to be entering into a house with a seven figure price tag. They are moving into a smaller space downtown, hence the estate sale.

I just hope I can save these plants. :\

 

[Turanil]

<...> still, forgetting to feed a dog for a week because you didn't know that it needs to eat every day is abuse... <...>

This is just a point of view IMO. If you plan to cook the dog and eat him, it's better to have him starve for a week before being thrown alive in the boiling pot of oil. (Not that I ever tried this recipe however... )

 

[Inconsequenti-AL]

This is just a point of view IMO. If you plan to cook the dog and eat him, it's better to have him starve for a week before being thrown alive in the boiling pot of oil. (Not that I ever tried this recipe however... )

Not tried it?

Do you normally use kittens instead?

Find them much crunchier. Mmmmmm.


Plant abuse - seen a fair bit of that over the years... last office I moved into had 3 dying yukkas - managed to save 2 of them. Now sit on the window sill, happily absorbing all the bad feng shui energy from our monitors. Or something.

 

[s/LaSH]

Plants are easier to ignore because we don't have the chemical senses to 'hear' their screams. Plus they're a lot hardier than animals so can take more punishment. However, I'd say it's still possible to abuse them - just easier to ignore, like I said.

Doesn't mean I'm going to become a pure carnivore just for ethics' sake, though.

 

[Angcuru]

Plants aren't intelligent. They don't have nervous systems. They can't feel pain.

But it sure is annoying to see someone mistreating something that could be bright, shiney, and vibrant. Hence we think of it as abuse. Time to go water the flowers.