When Letting Go is the Best Way To Grow
A ZZ plant showed me how
A few years ago, a co-worker brought a ZZ plant into the office to remind her of her home overseas.
I’ve been tending it since she left to start a business. As long I was in the office 2–3 times a week, it seemed to do well.
Before I set out for a summer of outdoor interviewing, the plant had one tall stem and a new sprout. However, when I returned in late August it was in survival mode. That sprout snapped off like a brittle stick when I touched it.
What’s more, two other potted plants had puckered up and died.
I felt like I let down a family member.
It never occurred to me that I could ask someone to look after those plants. Past disappointments had taught me to fend for myself and not reach out.
That tall stem was like a flag planted in foreign soil. Just like the woman who brought it in for company. Sure, I had stabilized it with water and my go-to jobe’s fertilizer spikes, but I’m not a gardening natural. I tend and amend.
And I needed to make amends. The ZZ plant might be one of the easiest plants to grow but it still needs water.
