NOT SO GREEN FINGERS

We have some friends who just cannot keep anything alive. Give them a plant and the next time you visit them, the pot would be there, but the plant would be missing.

There are a few common plants which needs little care. One of it is the Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana or Ribbon dracaena) on the right of the picture. It has the nerves of steel that can survive almost anything. It only need about an inch of water and little direct sunlight to keep it happy and thriving. Put it in a vase or a recycled bottle and you don't even have to remember that you do not have green fingers. This must be one of the reasons why it brings prosperity to homes for the Chinese, especially amongst Feng Shui fanatics... because it is difficult to perish.

We found the other plant (left of picture) in a bunch of flowers from the florist. It is usually used as part of a bouquet to enhance the flowers. A lot of people throw these away after the flowers wilt. Gosh, this is a big mistake. We have seen boutiques with these 'twigs' in vases. If you treat them like the Lucky Bamboo, they will sprout little leaves in no time. We saw a few big ones in a shop once and they were merely submerged in a big vase, tree-high, green and sprouting, indoors but healthy. We love the way the branches grow out to look rather wild. It certainly gives what's indoor a very nice feel of the outdoors.

Some of you might ask... what about soil and nutrients? Well, these plants can survive perfectly alright in water, you can drop some liquid plant food if you want every now and then. If you plant it in soil, they will thrive better. The fantastic thing about these plants is that you can re-plant any cutting in water and they will form roots ready for another gift.

(The other plant not shown here is of course the money plant. It grows wildly and can be grown with just water as well. Be careful about the choice of plants as gifts. Some people are superstitious and think certain plants are unlucky.