BLERGGGH. Guys. My black thumb has reached an embarrassing new low.
You know how in the last post I showed you my little plant that I’m desperately trying to keep alive?
It’s like plant hospice up in here. I’ve broken out the defibrillator, administered CPR, we said our goodbyes several times… but it continues to hang on just barely. I mentioned that I have no idea what it even is, which of course doesn’t bode well for its survival. Carol and Kelly were sweet enough to tell me in the comments section that it is indeed a shamrock plant.
WHAT!! I was IRATE to hear this news. You know why? That little shamrock guy has been sitting right here by the window of my breakfast nook for weeks and weeks.
See out the window? Green. But you know what? It’s mostly not grass, it just looks that way because Andy just mowed the lawn. If you get up close and look at our back yard, the majority of the lawn is this:
Can you tell what it is? Shamrocks!
They are weeds.
AND THEY ARE THRIVING!!
Just inches away from the almost-dead shamrock I’m trying to keep alive but can’t, are mounds and mounds of healthy, happy unwanted shamrocks. I think I can hear them laughing at me.
I thought it couldn’t get any worse than that time I unintentionally actually grew a magical plant.
Seriously, how have I kept my children alive for three years? I don’t know guys, I don’t know.
Update: Some sweet people have told me that the plant in my yard is clover, not shamrock. I’m not willing to forgive my plant over this. If the clover can live, my shamrock needs to get his act together.
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Hope you have a great weekend, friends!
Hi, I'm Kelly. Glad you're here! This little blog is where I chronicle our efforts to fix up our beaten-down home on a tiny budget. We're not there yet, but here's a peek at the view along the way...
Bahaha! I would be just as frustrated! I’m not sure I have a green thumb either. I started a container garden this year and I’m pretty sure I’ll kill it before the summer’s over.
My rule? I can’t keep anything alive that can’t either cry, talk, or bark when it’s hungry.
If it helps, those are two totally different kinds of plants. Shamrock plants in house: also called Oxalis; shamrock-looking plants in yard: a type of clover. You probably already know this–I’m only telling you because clover is way way easier to grow than oxalis!! So don’t feel bad…I have some oxalis too (the purplish variety) and it isn’t doing well even though I normally have good luck with houseplants. Grr!
I really like the plant pot!!
Don’t give up on the little guy yet! I have a shamrock on my desk at work that’s traveled with me through several job changes. I’ve found that it goes through some cycles of near death looking and thriving. Water it about once a week and keep it near the window and he’ll do fine!
My best friend gave me the same plant – from what I understand, it does go through cycles of looking kaput, then coming back.
Maybe water it a bit less? So the soil is moist, but not soaking wet.
YOU ARE a plant assassin!
I think if Andy wore a kilt and spoke a little Gaelic to the indoor house plant it would thrive.
Bliss
What is out in your lawn is clover not shamrocks!
Indoor shamrocks (oxalis) like to be root bound. I discovered this as my plant is finally thriving after many years of looking like yours. The pot it was in was too big so it took a long time for the rhizomes (which look like a lumpy carrot) to fill in. My plant is an offshoot of my mother’s plant from 25 years ago (my brother has the plant), so they apparently live forever. 🙂
Hey Kelly, I have a few ideas:
Maybe your Shamrock want’s to be set free and play with all the friends outside the window. Maybe it has been like that kid with the broken leg in a cast all summer staring out the windows at all the other kids playing.? Or maybe it needs a foot massage? Or some ice cream? Are you sure you have tried ALL avenues yet? 🙂 I know I would perk right up with some ice cream 🙂 ha ha
Girl, I could kill kudzu. Just in case ya’ll don’t know, kudzu can’t be killed. Except by me. I can also kill fake flowers.
I actually looooove all the clover in our yard. It drives my hubby bonkers, but it’s so pretty and green. Imagine if the beach was clover instead of sand!! I don’t like sand.
I say throw that plant out into the lawn to fend for itself! Okay, maybe that’s a little heartless, I’m glad other people have some advice on how to bring your plant back to life.
I was reading through your sponsor list and I love the decorator in a box idea! She must be really tiny though to fit in such a small box. 😉 I’m going to check her out right now! I also love that you include Compassion Int’l, sounds like a great cause.
Hope you’re having a great Memorial day weekend. Sharon
Hi! So happy to have found you thru BHG… Just tore your laundry room page out and went straight to my iPad, do not pass GO! I absolutely love your blog, your story, and your home. Woot woot!
Poor little shamrock. They do like to be in a tight pot as they are rhizomes and just cover lightly with dirt. What window do you have it in? They like an east window (not a lot of sun in Ireland!) and have the cutest little white flowers. It will tell you when it wants water, the stalks will droop. It will also turn a dark green and the underside of the leaves will be purple. Don’t give up!
my mom has a plant that looks just like this. she calls it her sensitive plant because it like closes up in the evenings. it also gets angry at her when she moves it, haha! when she moved a while back it closed up until it got used to the new surroundings.
It needs sun, not just light. Put it outside in the sun for a few weeks and see what happens.
Don’t worry, you can’t kill a shamrock. It will grow right back up where it has died down. If you are past all chance of frost, put the pot out on the porch. Mine sits on a covered porch until fall (some sunlight but not too much) and it thrives out there. Sadly, it goes dormant and looks awful EVERY SINGLE SAINT PADDY’S DAY. Mine is 30 yrs. old so I hope you planned on making a long term commitment to a plant!
I didn’t realize I was signing up for a lifetime commitment! Are there adoption papers I might’ve missed?
Yep, you did it again. I love reading your blog partly because it usually makes me laugh…or at least chuckle…or nod my head because the situation here is so similar. My lawn is full of clover and other weeds…there’s very little grass, especially in the part that was dug up when the foundation under the kitchen was fixed. I never replanted grass there, hoping to somehow know how to fix the drainage problem (conflicting advice prevents me from taking action–or plain laziness–or both), and I now have a lovely crop of weeds. (At least the dirt is mostly not being washed away.)
I tell myself that it’s grass with big leaves, and when it’s all mowed, at least it’s green!
Thanks for the link! We have a shamrock that has come back to life so many times…my husband kept overwatering it, but it kept coming back! Don’t worry!
ha!ha! poor you Kelly! you remind me of me! hubby is the one who has to keep our plants alive; he’s the one with the green thumb! you know your yard is like ours, this year we tried to get rid of these weeds but they just keep coming back! maybe you should let her go outside and be next to her friends! 🙂
Clover, shamrock, what’s the difference? I feel your pain. I don’t have any living plants inside our house because I always manage to kill them.
I’ve assisted on many magazine shoots in the past and we generally styled things for the shoot, not necessarily for keeping the plants alive and looking good after the fact. Does your pot have holes in the bottom? Maybe the roots are too wet. I have a pot of oxalis and it gets really droopy when it’s thirsty but then perks right up when I water it. Yours looks like it’s yellowing though, and that’s usually a sign it’s getting too much water. Once it’s happy it’ll start sending up more of those shamrock shoots to fill the pot so don’t give up yet!
You are not alone with your black thumb, my friend. I don’t even try to keep plants alive anymore; in fact, I refuse, because I know it will only end in tragedy. Thankfully, I married a man who actually delights to keep things alive (oh right, he’s a doctor), so we’re all good in the hood. (And he knows not to ask me to help out because it means his plants will suffer…usually neglect.) So, don’t feel too bad, my friend. I think that shamrock lived a short life, but a good life in your breakfast nook. I mean, he got to witness a Better Homes & Gardens shoot, right? So, what’s left to live for?
I am also a [former] shamrock killer. I learned: 1) never water unless it is laying down 2) give a good quality fertilizer about once per month 3) Mine get down to like 4 stems in the winter 4) She likes a lot of sun. Relax and let the little guy alone some and he will come along in good time.
Haha! I’m growing basil and cilantro right now and I am pretty sure I’ll eventually end up killing them. I had to move them to a spot that gets less sunlight but it also means I forget about them for weeks and they go unwatered. Oops. I almost feel like I need to set a plant watering alarm on my phone some days. Black thumbs unite!