Snake Plant

My snake plant’s ancestry is 73 years old… 73! That’s amazing to me considering I really do not have a green thumb, but over the years my thumb has turned a very light shade of green!

The “mother plant” was purchased around 1935 by my grandmother as a Mother's Day gift for her mother. Years later, when my great-grandmother passed away, the snake plant resided with my grandmother.

As a child, I remember that snake plant at my grandmother’s house… It was a floor plant next to the old secretary type desk in one area of the living room, mingling with all the other plants my grandmother had… Now, she HAD a green thumb. She had so many plants (indoor and outdoor) that I couldn’t even begin to name (or remember) them all!

But I always remembered the snake plant…

About 6 years ago, my grandmother gave me a few small shoots from the “mother plant”… They were only a few inches high and I was sure I would kill them within a few days!

Imagine my surprise… almost 6 years later… to see this plant live, thrive and grow… in my home… with me as its caretaker!

Sadly, after my grandfather passed way, there were some changes. My grandmother was planning to move (and eventually lived with me until her death), and felt she was getting too old to care for all of her plants.... and unbeknownst to me, the “mother snake plant” was adopted by her neighbor friend who live across the street from my grandmother...

Though I would have loved the “mother snake plant”, I am thrilled that I have a piece of my family’s history (the “child snake plant”) and that it has continued to grow over the years. It’s very special to me because since my grandmother has passed away, it’s like having a piece of her still with me.

This year, it will be time to re-pot the plant into a slightly larger planter… I hope one day it will be a beautiful floor plant, like its mother, and that I will be able to give a few shoots to my future-yet-to-be-born niece(s) or nephew(s).

Like I said, my thumb has started to turn a very light shade of green... :)