Plant Identification

Today was business as usual, get well soon bouquets, congratulations on the birth of your baby arrangements, expressions of sympathy and a centerpiece for a surprise party for an 80th birthday. But then the phone rang and it was a frantic Grandmother whose Granddaughter had decided to chew on the leaves of a plant on the porch.  The Grandfather was on the way with the plant and would we please help identify it. The family had owned the plant for several years and the place they thought the got it from wasn't open. So we pulled out all our houseplant guides and looked through all the pictures. We thought we knew what it was but it was a little different than the variety we carry so we were not positive. We called out plant supplier and discussed the differences with him and decided it was indeed in the same family the difference we were seeing in the stalk were just much older growth than the plants we sell here at Sweet Gardenia. (because we typically only have plants for a few days maybe a couple weeks we don't see how the develop over ten years) The plant doesn't seem to be poisonous and the little girl is fine. But this got us thinking that it might be a good idea for everyone to make an effort to identify new plants when they get them. If you receive something as a gift call the establishment and have them tell you what the plant is if you are not sure and then just write it on a plastic tab an put it in the plant so you will always have it in case of an instance like today's.