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Clinging to Life

February 16th, 2013

If you remember, last summer I purchased two lovely Hedgehog Aloes for my front porch. They were the perfect plants, they looked beautiful and thrived in the tough conditions on our front porch.
hedgehog aloe 1
When we made our last trip to Maine, one of them was throw in the moving truck (the other stayed behind with a neighbor). We put it on the back porch with the intent of bringing it indoors. The weather turned cold and I completely forgot.
hedgehog aloe 3
OOOOPPPPSSSSS. Thankfully, I realized it in the nick of time. The plant was frozen solid, but not enough to kill it. It’s now residing in our living room barely clinging to life.
hedgehog aloe 2
I need to cut back the frostbitten foliage and it will look a little better. I’m confident it will pull through. Perhaps by the end of this summer it will once again be a stunning feature in the garden.

Have you ever forgotten to bring in a prize plant?

7 Comments to “Clinging to Life”
  1. Jennifer Fisk on February 16, 2013 at 12:09 pm

    Last spring, I put my Christmas Cactus that I’ve had for 35 years out on the deck in a rain storm. I wanted it to have a soaking and rinsing after being in all winter. I forgot to bring it in before the sun came out and burned it. It didn’t bloom well this winter and still has some sad looking arms.

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  2. Donna B. on February 16, 2013 at 12:14 pm

    Oh my gosh ALL of the time!
    But I never get upset over the loss… that’s the way of things. I’ll find another favorite plant to cherish and coddle… hehe.

    [I noticed no photo with this post? I was hoping for a picture of the aloe in question. :D]

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  3. KimH on February 16, 2013 at 2:30 pm

    I think the closest thing to that I’ve done is one time I dug up my dahlias and had the roots drying on my shaded patio for a few days and I completely forgot about them until it was way too late to save them. They werent prized or old friends but I still mourned their loss.

    I put a pot out this summer in my shade garden that had aloe & dieffenbachia in it & it was super happy out there.. Once there ever became a thought of a possible frost, in it came.. I should probably take more outside, but I dont.. I have just a few who overwinter inside.

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  4. Misti on February 16, 2013 at 3:08 pm

    We killed a 4′ tall pencil cactus recently. It had grown from a cutting of another pencil cactus (that was grown from a cutting) we had in Florida. They were supposed to be rated to our zone but apparently *not*. Really bummed about that.

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  5. Deb on February 16, 2013 at 7:32 pm

    Never bring any plants in that have been outdoors. If they don’t survive the winter I don’t grow them. Don’t have time for messing with them. Hope yours makes a full revcovery for you.

    Reply to Deb's comment

  6. Maybelline on February 16, 2013 at 8:02 pm

    I’ve been cautioned to NOT remove any damaged bits from a frost damaged plant until signs of new growth appear.

    Reply to Maybelline's comment

  7. Ashley W on February 18, 2013 at 12:34 am

    I did that with a spider plant I had on the front porch. Frost had been predicted overnight and I meant to bring it in and I completely forgot. The poor thing was black. I brought it in but didn’t think it would do anything, but to my surprise it did grow back.

    Reply to Ashley W's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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