The Saddest Ficus Ever

So, while I was growing Baby Ho, my DH was "growing" (trying to keep alive) this ficus. He kept it in his office beside his desk. His desk has at least 18 computers on it and sits near a radiator. Ficus' are NOT desert plants. It suffered. So after Baby was born I deside to stage an intervention (prior to that I couldn't have moved it by myself and DH was in denial about his lack of success) and moved it OUT of the office. DH was devastated. He had watered it, bought special plant food for it. Sung to it. And, unfortunately, cooked it. He thought he had taken excellent care of it and couldn't understand its failure to thrive under his admonitions. I moved it to the bedroom and opened a window for it and let it cool off. I gave it bits of water and slowly it came (mostly) back to life. It never regained its original umbrella-like plum of leaves. But it was doing better.


Then one day I noticed something. Bright green mushrooms. Florescent mushrooms. Scary, alien-planet mushrooms. Normally this sort of thing doesnt' really freak me out. But the tree was sleeping in the same room as my new baby and so .... it had to go. For lack of energy I put it out on the balcony. It was summer so I figured it would be relatively okay. The mushrooms dried out. My plan was to get some good potting soil, replant it, and bring it back indoors.
















Then the wind blew it over and broke the (very overpriced) pot my DH had put it in. And I decided that maybe this ficus and we were not meant to be. Poor ficus. It had to go. I had a baby and a spoiled Shih Tsu to take care of. DH would take years to do anything about the tree. He had abandoned it entirely. Poor, sad ficus.
















Now, I failed to take a picture, but the story ends well. I got the ficus down to the lobby of our building all by myself (it was a HEAVY sucker) and then I came accross an empty pot. Our super has all sorts of trees and plants in the lobby. I think he collects all the orphans that are left by tenants moving out. And they are all in great condition. The pot fit so I put the ficus in it and left. Two days later I walked by and there it was, all freshly planted and already looking happier. I've been checking it out for weeks now and it continues to thrive. Still a little lopsided in the plumage, but much healthier.

DH is sticking to cactus and aloe plants these days, and I am focusing on the Baby. He is doing great. No plumage at all, but happy and healthy just the same.