Summary: my flatmates chopped my beautiful plant to one single stem. The last leaf broke off when I was moving it to a safer spot in my room. Please help.
Images show how it is now, how it was left by
My flatmates and an image of its former glory
Full story:
I’ve had this plant for over 3 years. I’ve lived in my current houseshare for just over a year and a half. It was being kept in the communal bathroom (with everyone’s agreement – and enthusiasm as it’s a nice bit of decor) because of the big windows but would brown on some of the leaves occasionally as the curtain ended up being closed a lot of the time.
I wasn’t too worried as when a leaf died before before I would just chop the leaf off and the plant just come back bigger and better. (Unsure if this is correct but had worked for me for years)
Over the course of a few weeks I noticed my plant getting quite a bit slimmer. I wasn’t sure if people were chopping the stems off or if I was going mad. I was too scared to say anything as I don’t want an uncomfortable living situation. I also was just so shocked someone would chop up someone else’s plant without a heads up. Even if they thought they were helping.
The other day I went to the bathroom and saw it was one stem and leaf left. They had cut the stems fully off and all the nodes etc. I’m actually heartbroken.
I then went to move it to a safe spot to my room and the final leaf snapped off.
Please help me save it. I know I should have said something to my flatmates so really this is all my fault but I now just feel bad for this plant and want to save it.
by Exciting-Map6586
8 Comments
If your roommates really did this, what kind of monsters are you living with?!
Fortunately you still have plenty of potential nodes. Either you can keep it in the pot and let it sort itself out, or you can chop between each node and put each node in a container for humidity containing soil, perlite, or sphagnum moss and root each one individually.
You can see your nodes by looking where the aerial roots are or in this case near the brown sections on the plant where it seems previous leaves have fallen off or been chopped.
Wow, that sucks. Sorry your flatmates are destroying your belongings!
I can’t help you with that part but: monsteras propagate pretty well. Chop at each node and root in water. There’s ton of tutorials out here on the subreddit!
The nodes should be able to regrow leaves, too. Idk how monstera deliciosas do, but I know my monkey mask monstera had been pretty quick to grow new leaves!
First..this is worth calling the police. r/treelaw exists because people do this shit to trees all the time.
If you can keep your phone recording while asking roommates about it, you may get a confession and, with a police report, get compensation.
Please. I say this as someone who has had plants destroyed, get revenge for the rest of us.
Second.. look into Keiki growth paste. Use that, as described, on the leftover stem still in the pot. You should be able to get new growth in a couple weeks with that.
Third.. if you have still have the stems that were cut, you can propagate them! Look up some videos on monstera propagation. There are a number of methods to propagate mosntera.
Finally.. I am so sorry this happened. Similar things happened to me and it was one of the most saddening things to experience. It doesnt make any sense. </3
Your flatmates are trash for that tbh. As a plant parent I’d be pissed
This is absolutely NOT your fault unless you explicitly told them that they were allowed to take cuttings as they pleased. But you didn’t.
I’d speak up directly to them. Call them together and directly ask what happened. Be stern. Do not let them gaslight you in anyway. Just be direct and ask what happened and why they think that’s ok.
Then in the end, ask for compensation to replace the plant at that size, which will probably be anywhere from $15 to $50 depending on where you live. I’d check pricing before you do this.
If they take responsibility and pay for it and apologize, amazing. If not, I’d make sure to record any conversations you have with them about it and try to catch them admitting fault then remind them you could legitimately get them legally in trouble for destroying your hard work of 3 years. Make sure to drive home how much of your efforts were completely taken from you without consent or conversation ahead of time due to their careless behavior.
If you don’t stand up to your flatmates, they are going to get the idea it’s okay to destroy your stuff and disrespect you
r/badroommates
You need to get out of there.
If they’re so brazen with your plant, what else could they be doing?
Move your toothpaste, towels, creams etc out of the bathroom. Also, watch your food for any tampering.