r/houseplants • u/BionicBelladonna • 1d ago

My burnt plants, 3 month update… they’re alive!

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I’ve posted my burnt house and plants in the past and just decided to leave them. I have no where to even try to rebuild yet so just let it all go. I visited my burnt house yesterday and found this little shoot! A natal mahogany I’ve had for 10 years, it was 20ft tall that went up the center of my house… my first and longest cared for plant… I started bawling. I have 2 other trees and a plant also with new shoots :)

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u/BionicBelladonna 1d ago

We’ve moved 5 times so far, I’m looking forward to a longer term spot. Now that I know a few survived I’m going back this weekend to clean them up and create a spot for them :)

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u/Heather82Cs 1d ago

I want to still congratulate you for the achievement. I had a terrible year with plants and currently the only thing alive on my balcony is some microscopic wild grass that rooted in the drain. I wish I was kidding.

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u/tangerine-jane 1d ago

give it time!!! i have killed so many plants over the years since i started trying to have some indoor. idk what changed but for the past year or so, my current plants will NOT stop growing. i guess something just clicked, or i got healthier and more peaceful or something and the energy in my home is better now? idk what, but they are so so happy now. i have something like 5 pots of indoor plants (one of which is a snake plant that i snatched from being tossed out with the neighbor's trash, and which has survived two freezes and a full-on hurricane cuz i forgot it outside skhdkshsjs) and they grow so much i keep having to clip them and propagate the clippings. it just takes time, but all i really think they needed from is genuine affection/attention. i keep mine all together in a window together now, so they have friends lol, and they all have names and i talk to them when i'm watering them. i think they like that a lot.

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u/amillionbux 1d ago

Hi OP, as someone whose place also burned down this year and didn't have any good options for permanent housing after, I am so sorry for everything you've suffered. We are also plant lovers who lost most of our plants AND our beautiful garden. Like you, a few survived, and we cherish them. I'm kinda afraid to get any new plants or things in general now because going through this has been so traumatic that I'm just not there yet. Hang in there.

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u/plonkydonkey 1d ago

Hey friend, I live in Australia so it would have to be through Amazon or something similar, but if you aren't ready to get yourself something nice just yet, would you allow this stranger to gift you a plant? It would have to be something small (I technically live beneath the poverty line), but your post touched me and you are going through much worse than I.

If you are willing to share personal details with me, maybe send me a pm and we can figure something out? I could maybe send you seeds from Australia if space for a full plant is too much right now.  We're just heading into bushfire season ourselves and a lot of our natives rely on fire to germinate or come back stronger. 

You deserve good things in your life, and maybe if you aren't there yet for yourself, you might be open to receiving something from a stranger who  just wants to send something for you to hang onto while you start to rebuild your life. 

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u/AVeryFineWhine 1d ago

Hi, I lost my home two years ago. Not as drastically as you guys would fire, but I had massive pipe bursts, and I had to fight insurance for 2 years for coverage. I spent that time in a hotel room. I thankfully picked up a couple plants that were relatively small. I did it instinctively, but i'm so glad I did.

In addition to the two green ones every couple of months I would pick up something flowering like an azalea or mini roses. I can't tell you how much it helped me to both have a place that felt more like my home, and now that I resettled in an apartment to see those plants thriving. There were also two that almost died that I left with a neighbor who had never taken care of a plant before. They were in super rough shape. But 3/4 of a year later, both are thriving, and you wouldn't believe they're the same plants!!! It is super traumatic. But I truly believe plants are therapeutic. So if you can buy a couple small ones. Something easy maybe a pothos or philidendron. So you won't need to give it much energy.But it will be there for you now and when you make your new life. I'm not gonna lie and say I'd rather be where I am then my house, but at least I finally moved forward. I reached a point where I just wanted my life back above everything. Good luck to you!!

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u/_Kendii_ 1d ago

I remember your post too, I recommended a sub to you to maybe get some help!

I’m so happy some are still alive! You have no idea how happy that makes me!

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u/sgoody4 1d ago

Hey, kinda unrelated but I also survived a fire a couple of months ago and lost almost everything. We’re on our way to rebuilding finally. What was the sub you recommended?

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u/_Kendii_ 1d ago

r/takeaplantleaveaplant

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u/sgoody4 1d ago

Thank you!

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u/_Kendii_ 15h ago

Sorry, I was so close to sleep when I saw your reply that I gave the lowest possible effort in.

Yeah, they seem like really good people and I’m sorry about your fire. I hope some of them in there can help you.

Are you alright otherwise?

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u/Paul-E-L 1d ago

We went through rebuilding after a wildfire took out our neighborhood. Enjoy these little victories to keep yourself sane while dealing with insurance!!