What’s your oldest houseplant?

[Gardenquestion22]

I’m lying on the couch under the 3 foot canopy of a twisted fig I rescued 25 years ago from an office when I changed jobs. No one was going to care for it. It’s lived in 3 houses and.survived a year of renovations, plaster dust and biding moved room to room till settling behind the couch 4 years ago.

I inherited my mum's mother in law's tongue plant that was around before we moved into her current house c1985.

I have my own mother-in-law's tongue plant (and it's babies) that came from a 'buy me before I die' shelf in Waitrose before we moved in 2005.

I finally found plants I can't kill...

I have an aloe vera that fell off my upstairs neighbours windowsill into my garden 20 years ago. There were 6 floors of flats above me so I am not sure who it belonged to and no one ever came to ask for it back so I took it with me when I moved house. It got huge and I cut it back and then forgot to water it so its a bit spindly now but I still love it.

That’s lovely x

I’ve got a prickly pear cactus that my mum gave me when I was a student so it must be nearly 30 years old.

I also still regularly use the 2 cotton shopping bags she gave me at the same time; that was years before reusable bags became popular.

Some sort of cactus I forget the name of it. 1992. It's never been pruned and still only 2 inches tall today.

I’ve got two 25 year old house plants - a twisted ficus and a money plant. They’re indestructible!

A money tree that DH had years before I met him. We’ve been together more than 25 years so the plant must be at least 35 years old. We have a second one grown from its leaf too which is probably 15 years old.

Keep it flying!

I’ve got a very long cactus that I got as a tiny thing in a thimble sized pot when I was 17. Im now 46. Im actually not that fond of it aesthetically but I refuse to get rid of him.

Awww.....lovely to hear of another thriving Dragon Tree 🙂

At least 37 years old - brought it with us from our flat when we moved into our current house.
To be fair, my husband looks after it - I can kill a plant at 20 paces.

I have had a rubber tree plant since 2009, but it came from my dad, who had gotten it for his retirement back in 1994. So it's 30-something years old.

My mum took a plant from my nans house after she'd died and looked after it for over 30 years before dying herself .
On emptying her house I brought it to mine , I'm rubbish at houseplants , and yes you've guessed it , killed off within a couple of months .

I have a cheese plant I had when I went to uni in 1988 and we have DH's grandmothers cactus that we think must be about 100 years old

A monstera that I had in halls in 1997, and is still going strong. It’s been pruned/divided a couple of times, because I didn’t used to support it so it wandered across my floor when it outgrew its pot. Looking lovely currently though!

A 29 year old bird of paradise!

I have this golden pothos that was part of a 7” plant dish given to me when I left work to have my son, in late 1981. Last year it was given a haircut (!) by the friend plant sitting, and came back with only two small leaves. I’m delighted it is happily growing again!

I have several aspidistra that was originally one plant belonging to my great grandmother. She died before I was born which makes this plant well over 50 years old

My DM has a huge (and I mean huge) aspidistra, over 30 years old and it has well over 100 leaves. She will have to sell it at some point as she’ll be down sizing. It would look amazing in a large stately home. Need to find a buyer…..

Like a few others, a peace lily which is over 25 years old. Has been in the same pot for at least 20 and continues to flower regularly