How old is your oldest houseplant?

Hi,
My oldest house plant is almost 19 years old. My mom got it when my grandpa passed away in November of 1990. It is a small tree now. She gave it to me about four years ago because it was the only plant she had managed not to kill and it was getting too big for her liking. We had to put large rocks over the soil in it to keep the cats out of it. It's doing really well. All of the other plants I have are five years old.

I have a couple cactus that are 10-15 years old but sadly I had to give away my plants when I moved 4 years ago into a much less pl;ant friendly apartment.........not enough light. The funny thing is now I have a back rooftop area, but winters get very cold! Many of my house plants go outside during the summer. I even keep some at my friends loft in Brooklyn over the winter, bring them back each spring.
I work at a huge nursery in Brooklyn and my boss has several huge plants, tropical and more, that are 20+ years old. The only thing is he doesn't take the best care of them through the winter months. Its like hes a plant hoarder and although he spends thousands of dollars storing them and providing full spectrum lighting (were talking really expensive sun lamps for atleast 2'000 sq. feet). He piles them in on top of each other so that its almost impossible to assure proper watering and definitely impossible to control pest and fungal issues. By the time they come out of storage, most of the ones that make it are pretty beaten up and have some issue. They definitely aren't as full as they should be! I have to admit he has a lot of beautiful Hibiscus! He does take more care for them and it shows! They bloom all summer long in every color!

I have 6 amaryllis that are 24 years old, and I have 8 offspring from those, too. They have travelled with me to three coasts: the Gulf, the East, and the West and Pacific Northwest.

Ooops, I don't think I was supposed to bring them from California.

Nah, you can bring them from Cali, they just don't like anything coming in

Down here they don't even ask what's in the car, just where you are coming from.

I don't have alot of true houseplants as I need space for the annuals I overwinter every year.

I would have to say my cliva is the oldest maybe 7-8 years old?? I passed the original baby to my sister and have three more in the pot with their "mother". I should remove them though as even though they like it crowded the roots are strong enough to break the clay pot and the plant is in an expensive Guy Wolfe pot.

My Christmas Cactus is 23 years old and has bloomed every year save the year we moved to the new house. I have taken shoots off if it to give to people but it continues to thrive. my mom has many older plants.

Originally Posted by Arlyn

Nah, you can bring them from Cali, they just don't like anything coming in

Down here they don't even ask what's in the car, just where you are coming from.

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The man who packed our stuff in California was sympathetic when I explained I'd had them for 18 years, so he labelled "pots" on the box. That was true, they were pots with bulbs in them.

well when i lived with my mam we had a umbrella plant caled charlie he was 10 before we had to get rid of him because he was to big, so i decided that i would get a umbrella plant to it was doing great growing by the day then flash found it and went to the loo in the soil and killed it so now i stick to my wooden roses lol

That would be the dracena (Frawndleigh) in the bedroom, who was probably ten years old when DH brought him home from his office in the mid-80s, so 30-ish years old -- thereabouts.

Aw, such cute stories!

Honestly, I don't know how old our oldest are! I actually have two of the very same, very old plant that I inherited. Oddly, they weren't from the same place! One is my Grandma's. That one is TOUGH. When she went to a nursing home in 2002, it was left in her home and my uncle used the place as a way point a few times a week. He completely ignored this guy for, um, 3 years. He must've watered it a little bit, or there's enough in the air, but man! When I got in there to clean it out two years ago, it was COVERED in dust an inch thick and bone dry. It now is THRIVING in our living room!

The other is the same type of plant, which is really a weird coincidence! When we bought this house, the previous owners had it. They were moving to a much smaller place and didn't have room for it, so asked if we wanted them to leave it here, or they would throw it away. So we had them leave it. No clue how old that one is, either!

The one that was my Grandma's went through major neglect, and yet it is doing better than the one that came with the house! Go figure.

These are like, small trees, don't know what they are. But they are in two foot tall pots, with three feet above that until the leaves, so the cats can't eat them. I also have dog ecollars (you know the big plastic cones) around the pot so they get air and water, but the cats can't get in the dirt.

Well, it took me awhile, but I finally got some pictures of Tom.

http://[IMG]http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc132/gmhyman/Nikki/c0b12c1c.jpg[/IMG]

The Calla Lily is part of an artificial table arrangement.

http://[IMG]http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc132/gmhyman/Nikki/740d1db1.jpg[/IMG]

Butzie loves this table. She ignores Tom.

http://[IMG]http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc132/gmhyman/Nikki/room_02.jpg[/IMG]

I'm envious of anyone who can keep plants, indoor or outdoor. I manage to kill off anything green in weeks and all my friends know that it is cruelty to plants to give me one as a gift. I was a bit nervous taking up with the cat given my track record with living things but she's doing ok. Maybe it's because she's not green...