If It Dies, It Dies

Last September Karen sent this plant home with me. It looked pretty sad. Anytime it was moved or touched or even watered it would shed leaves like crazy. I knew what she was up to, though! It was my job to determine if the pitiful thing was worth the effort to keep alive. My theory is that if a plant withers and dies in my care, that's no real surprise when you take my brown thumb into consideration. But if it flourishes, then clearly it is a hardy plant that thrives on neglect and would be a good one to keep around. I trimmed it back and tended it carefully and it continued to shed leaves. When the weather became cold, I moved it indoors to my south-facing basement window along with the other wintering-over plants. Over the months it has put out some new, healthy shoots and started setting buds. In the last couple of weeks the buds burst open into these colorful blossoms that remind me of tiny tiger lilies. It will be interesting to see what it does outdoors this summer. My magical brown thumb advice? Bright window, water, and ignore. I expect she may want it back now that it's on the mend.