Trading plants
By sofs
@sofssu (23662)
October 25, 2015 5:23am CST
My neighbor had given me a whole bunch of caladiums last month. She knows that I love these plants. I have been wanting to return the favor, but I really din't know what to give her since she has most of the stuff I have.
On my trip these last few days I had collected some plants that we do not have. We have made a pact that we will collect two or more of each plant so that if for some reason my plant dies she could share her's with me or vice versa. This arrangement has been working well for us so far.
This time I have got three varieties of ground orchids.. which I shared with her. She was so thrilled. I also collected some tubers .. which I really don't know much about..
We are hoping that they would flower the way the local farmers said they would.
I love trading plants.. there is more for everyone and saves us a lot of money when we can just exchange plants instead of buying them.
Do you trade plants with your friends?
23 people like this
21 responses
@allknowing (137590)
• India
25 Oct 15
I have always felt exchanging plants is the only way we can have different varieties in our garden. I have only now started with seasonal flower but not having any around I had bought seeds online which are quite disappointing.
Beg, borrow or steal coul be a better alternative too
2 people like this
@sofssu (23662)
•
25 Oct 15
@allknowing Aww I wish I could send you a whole lot of seeds. I have so much around but no space to grow all of them.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (137590)
• India
26 Oct 15
@sofssu I will have them too atleast of those that have successfully grown. I can imagine your garden with flowers that grow like weeds.
2 people like this
@sofssu (23662)
•
26 Oct 15
@allknowing Only basil and tomatoes grow like weeds here.. I have to pull them out by the handfuls everyday.
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
27 Oct 15
I have found that with house plants, benign neglect works well. Most people over water houseplants, and they die from root rot.
@Juliaacv (51485)
• Canada
25 Oct 15
My neighbour gave me 1 plant years ago, and since then I've been growing it and splitting it up and have shared it with many members of my family. My family always comes to me for plants because they know what I have and how easy my plants are to split up.
2 people like this
@sofssu (23662)
•
25 Oct 15
@Juliaacv I have a huge cartoon of plants waiting to be potted into their Christmas pots as gifts.. most of them are of course poinsettias. My friends love to receive them.. these have been propagated from cuttings. This year I plan to give them in sets of three, red white and pinks.
2 people like this
@Juliaacv (51485)
• Canada
25 Oct 15
@sofssu I do it with my indoor plants also, I am actually pretty good at propagation. I have some plants that I cut off shoots from some of the summer plants that I had outside and I've got them in a bottle of water growing roots so that I can replant them inside for the winter and then I'll transplant them outside next spring.
2 people like this
@Sheilamarie78 (2586)
• Canada
25 Oct 15
That's a great idea. One of my friends gave me a bunch of plants when she was separating her garden. She said it was for my friendship garden, an idea I really like.
3 people like this
@sofssu (23662)
•
26 Oct 15
@Sheilamarie78 I like the idea of a friendship garden. Imagine a neighborhood of loving friendly people.
2 people like this
@Sheilamarie78 (2586)
• Canada
26 Oct 15
@sofssu Yes, that would be a nice place to live. Sharing plants is a great way to beautify the whole neighborhood.
1 person likes this
@Samanthavv (1380)
• United States
25 Oct 15
I have never heard of trading plants. I have heard of trading seeds but not plants. What a cool idea!
2 people like this
@sofssu (23662)
•
26 Oct 15
@Samanthavv we trade plants, seeds, tubers, bulbs anything.. sometimes soil and manure too. Some plants seem to do well in different kind of soil.
1 person likes this
@allen0187 (58582)
• Philippines
26 Oct 15
I don't have a green thumb and hi have never traded plants with neighbors. Seems like a good set up to me. Glad it is working out with you guys.
2 people like this
@sofssu (23662)
•
26 Oct 15
@allen0187 I love the camaraderie that ensues. Its so much fun to slowly make friends in my new neighborhood.
1 person likes this
@TexanTornado (5573)
• United States
25 Oct 15
No, that I don't. Since I have no friends that live close to me. However, if you every came to visit, you can bring those tropical plants you mentioned. 
2 people like this
@TexanTornado (5573)
• United States
25 Oct 15
@sofssu Yes, that they would. No doubt about that.
1 person likes this
@sofssu (23662)
•
25 Oct 15
@TexanTornado I surely would.. They would thrive in the Texas kind of weather.
2 people like this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
25 Oct 15
dont have any local friends, but sounds like a neat idea
2 people like this
@sofssu (23662)
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25 Oct 15
@Jessicalynnt Plants always makes friends of neighbors and brings people closer. They have helped me make a lot of friends.
2 people like this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
25 Oct 15
@sofssu I do need some of those.
1 person likes this
@sofssu (23662)
•
25 Oct 15
@Jessicalynnt Get some plants .. as easy as that.. and smile at the neighbors that have loads and ask for advise.. just watch how things change.
2 people like this
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
25 Oct 15
i used to've friends who shared my passion fer playin' in the dirt 'n we used to share quite a bit. e'en the seeds from our herbs, fruits 'n veggies. those folks're sadly no longer 'round.
2 people like this
@sofssu (23662)
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26 Oct 15
@crazyhorseladycx Aww.. you must be missing all your friends. I miss some of my friends too.. They have moved away to other cities.. we used to compete with each other in a friendly way.
2 people like this
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
26 Oct 15
@sofssu thanks, hon. i fear mine moved'n to much higher pastures, leavin' this earthly 'xistence 'hind.
2 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
25 Oct 15
That would not work out where I live. We have to be careful spreading of pests in California due to our agricultural industry.
2 people like this
@sofssu (23662)
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26 Oct 15
@ElizabethWallace I have gone fully organic with my plants .. I only use an occasional dish wash spray for the plants.. I generally use a neem oil spray for them.. It helps especially with the veggies.
1 person likes this
@sofssu (23662)
•
25 Oct 15
@ElizabethWallace Pests control is a must.. here we do not have such strict laws on trading plants. However within your neighborhood isn't it possible.
2 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
25 Oct 15
@sofssu that should be fine, but once I had several neighbors who had pest problems when I had none. They used pesticides, and I went organic.
2 people like this
@marguicha (223720)
• Chile
26 Oct 15
O love gardening and I love to trade plants with my friends. I always say that my friend Lily is the granny of my cacti as she gave me the first ones to start my collection.
@BelleStarr (61102)
• United States
25 Oct 15
I used to but now I really have no plants in my house and the outdoor ones are more bushes.
2 people like this
@sofssu (23662)
•
26 Oct 15
@BelleStarr House plants are more work than outdoor plants. They need to be moved in and out constantly to ensure even and healthy growth.
1 person likes this
@antonbunot (11093)
• Calgary, Alberta
25 Oct 15
O, you should have given her a fortune plant or money plant . . she would have appreciated it very much coz you wish her to get richer!
2 people like this
@sofssu (23662)
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26 Oct 15
@antonbunot She has a huge container full of money plants. Gardeners are always rich in love.
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (23404)
• United Kingdom
25 Oct 15
You have a very good system there well done and I bet your garden looks wonderful!
2 people like this
@sofssu (23662)
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26 Oct 15
@garymarsh6 I am just setting up my garden after moving in here. I hope it looks wonder very soon.
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@ThankyouLord (698)
• St. Petersburg, Florida
25 Oct 15
A friend gives me plants that he propagates from seeds, and from cuttings he gets on his walks. Unfortunately, a lot of these are plants I do not care for, for a variety of reasons, but I cannot be ungrateful, so I plant them in my yard. A lot of them are succulents, and so I put them in areas where nothing else is growing. It is amazing how many plants we could have if we took cuttings from plants growing in the alleys or on the side of the roads that have escaped someone's yard!
2 people like this
