When we last left off in the story of the internship lily I had it pretty well under control, at about the beginning of the school year though, things started going down hill.
As those of you who read my blog may know, in my time at my internship I have moved around a lot. From my little desk, to the regional managers desk, to a cubicle, and finally to my current work area which is a counter sort of space by the windows on the back of my building. The lily has come with me through it all, however, when I was in my cubicle I had to set it on the ledge of Jake’s in order for it to get sunlight.
I came into the office one day, soon after classes had begun, and the frosted glass had been put on the tops of the new cubicles (see photo) so my lily had been put on the counter behind Jake’s cubicle (the same counter I now reside at). In just a few short weeks I was also moved to this space.
I put the lily next to me and continued to water it but something was wrong, it didn’t seem happy, watering it no longer made it perk up, neither did its plant food, I was at a loss.
I decided my best plan was to re-pot it so I took it home, went to Lowes, bought potting soil and a bigger pot (one with holes in the bottom), put a layer of rocks in the bottom, put dirt in, put the plant in, and covered it with more dirt. I watered it and it perked up. I was thrilled!
I then proceeded to forget to take the plant back to the office for about a month and a half, it was fine at my house though. In hindsight, it might have fared better if I had just left it at my house, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
I finally remembered to bring the lily back and I put it on my desk next to my computer. As I was back by the windows now, I thought it would be fine there. It was not fine there.
Over the past few months, I have watered and cared for it as best I can, but it still insists on dying. If you look at the photo you can see it dies in little spots, slowly…slowly….slowly……
Last week I had a thought that maybe it was getting too cold back here so I moved it up to the front desk where it would be warmer. I pruned off the dead parts this morning and I’m hoping they won’t come back. I will continue to water it despite it’s lack of a will to live.
I decided to stay on at my current internship next semester but now I’m a little worried, I may have to resign gracefully before the lily totally dies and I get fired. As of now I’m keeping the dream alive that the lily will get out of its funk though.
Pray for us.
A few tips for Peace Lily / Internship Survival:
ReplyDeleteIndirect sunlight typically provides the best results when preserving a peace lily, though this may be somewhat difficult with the constant flux of work area. You seem to be watering the plant adequately and have been prodigious as to renew the soil, one key is to make sure that there is adequate humidity / moisture on the leaves of the plant as well as the soil. Peace lilies are favorable of slightly humid environments of which office buildings are typically void of humidity; therefore it may be useful to mist the leaves with water now and then to provide a pseudo-humid environment for the plant if you have not already been doing this. Best of luck in your endeavors.