Clean Up, Aisle 6
Over the summer, a friend of mine bought me a miniature begonia as a gift for my musical performance. Through my clenched teeth, I asked myself WHY would someone give me a plant? My last plant was ten years ago. My aunt bought me this fern thing. After a few months I took it to my parents to watch it, and they've been stuck with it ever since. It's happier there.
That first night on my drive home, I took a turn a little too fast. The plant dumped over, spilling soil all over my backseat. There I was at 1 AM, vacuuming my car out at a gas station and muttering things about plants. I put the plant in the soil I had left and stuck it in my window. Bad start! A few months later, the plant was fine. My mom shipped me some soil and I picked up some plant food. I read online that this style of begonia goes dormant in winter. By the time winter came, the plant would be brown and I could winter-over and replant it, or just be done. That's good timing, since I'm leaving for Christmas.
Late November arrives. Plant is still happy in my window and showing no signs of winter. Guess I looked up the wrong plant? I invested in one of these hydrospikes to take care of my plant during my trip. I plug in the hydrospike to test it out a few weeks ahead of my trip. I know it won't be as good as me watering it, but I want to see how bad the damage will be. A week later, this plant is blooming like crazy. Dude, it's SNOWING outside and you're blooming NOW?! Guess it liked the hydrospike. It also seemed to like the little Christmas tree I put in the corner of my apartment. The stalks were growing towards it, like it found a new friend. (face palm) I've got nothing to worry about. The day before I leave, I give the pot a good watering and leave the hydrospike in.
I come back from my trip. All of the water is stuck in the hydrospike. The plant has shed all of its flowers and is barely alive. Lousy hydrospike! Looks like it'll be fine though. The leaves firmed up again the next day. Just might take time for any flowers to develop again. Ok, crisis averted. I shower, leave the towel on the floor by my bathroom sink, and drop off to sleep, ready for my first day back at work.
The next morning as I'm getting ready, I notice the towel from the previous night is drenched. That's odd. Oh well, I'll toss it in the wash that night. I get home and do some laundry. Huh...the dryer's twist-to-start button is a little loose. *PONG* Now I'm holding a loose switch and the dryer won't start. Fan. Tastic. I toss my wet clothes into a trash bag and hope maintenance can fix it the next day. Of course, this also means scrambling around my apartment to clean it before maintenance shows up!
Now we're at this morning. I start brushing my teeth. Next thing I know my sock is drenched in cold water! What NOW?! I open up my bathroom cabinet and I've sprung a leak in the drainage pipe. Of course I have. I clean out the cabinet, mop up the water, and add it to my maintenance list.
So anyway, I hope maintenance helps me out while I'm in the office today.
That first night on my drive home, I took a turn a little too fast. The plant dumped over, spilling soil all over my backseat. There I was at 1 AM, vacuuming my car out at a gas station and muttering things about plants. I put the plant in the soil I had left and stuck it in my window. Bad start! A few months later, the plant was fine. My mom shipped me some soil and I picked up some plant food. I read online that this style of begonia goes dormant in winter. By the time winter came, the plant would be brown and I could winter-over and replant it, or just be done. That's good timing, since I'm leaving for Christmas.
Late November arrives. Plant is still happy in my window and showing no signs of winter. Guess I looked up the wrong plant? I invested in one of these hydrospikes to take care of my plant during my trip. I plug in the hydrospike to test it out a few weeks ahead of my trip. I know it won't be as good as me watering it, but I want to see how bad the damage will be. A week later, this plant is blooming like crazy. Dude, it's SNOWING outside and you're blooming NOW?! Guess it liked the hydrospike. It also seemed to like the little Christmas tree I put in the corner of my apartment. The stalks were growing towards it, like it found a new friend. (face palm) I've got nothing to worry about. The day before I leave, I give the pot a good watering and leave the hydrospike in.
I come back from my trip. All of the water is stuck in the hydrospike. The plant has shed all of its flowers and is barely alive. Lousy hydrospike! Looks like it'll be fine though. The leaves firmed up again the next day. Just might take time for any flowers to develop again. Ok, crisis averted. I shower, leave the towel on the floor by my bathroom sink, and drop off to sleep, ready for my first day back at work.
The next morning as I'm getting ready, I notice the towel from the previous night is drenched. That's odd. Oh well, I'll toss it in the wash that night. I get home and do some laundry. Huh...the dryer's twist-to-start button is a little loose. *PONG* Now I'm holding a loose switch and the dryer won't start. Fan. Tastic. I toss my wet clothes into a trash bag and hope maintenance can fix it the next day. Of course, this also means scrambling around my apartment to clean it before maintenance shows up!
Now we're at this morning. I start brushing my teeth. Next thing I know my sock is drenched in cold water! What NOW?! I open up my bathroom cabinet and I've sprung a leak in the drainage pipe. Of course I have. I clean out the cabinet, mop up the water, and add it to my maintenance list.
So anyway, I hope maintenance helps me out while I'm in the office today.