there is a misconception that peacelilies have to be root bound in order to blooms. this just isn't true.

this picture is of my peace lily. i took it last night because i wanted to show that root bound isn't necessary. nor is lots of fertilizer or anything else. this peace lily is 14 1/2 years old, and has died back several times. (hence the "small" size). right now, it isn't root bound, BUT it has been in it's pot for a little more than a year. it blooms regularly, and all i do is give it water now and again, and feed it about once a year, in the spring.

will, i think the difference in our opinion has to do with two things. one is the term, "greater chance" and the other is the whole point of why we have plants.

to start with the one, greater chance, i agree that it is a greater chance. but, NOT a necessity. there in lies the difference in our posts.

the point of view difference comes from our different perspectives on plants.

plants are your livelihood. if they don't bloom, look great, fill the room, etc, you don't get paid, get referrals, or anything else that makes your business work.

plants for me are a passion. if i have one that looks sickly, the joy for me is in reviving it (eg, my peace lily), if it is healthy, the joy is in learning how its natural bloom cycles work, propogation, reproduction, and habitat variation. (these days, it is trying to learn which houseplants can take full sun in southeast georgia )

i don't think either of us are wrong, if we are looking at what purpose a plant is serving and adjust our response to that purpose.

if a plant is merely a beautiful accessory to an environment, and becomes damaged, then getting rid of it and getting a new one is acceptable, as long as one learns how to care for it to prevent failure in the future. (kinda like the cat shredding the couch. get them a proper scratching post before you get the new couch.)

BUT, if a plant is a living reminder of someone or something, or if the plant is the joy in itself, regardless of how if "fits" into the decor, the making every effort to learn how to heal it, grow it, let it follow it's natural cycles, etc, makes more sense, and in that respect, there aren't any plants that should be just thrown away. the peace lily from my mothers funeral can never be replaced by one i bought at walmart.

Jiffy,

I don't believe I have ever suggested that anyone should discard or reject an ailing plant if they are not inclined to. I certainly recognize that people develop emotional attachments to plants and I have consistently offered advice to help people try to get such plants to recover.

However, I also do not want to mislead people into thinking that getting an ailing plant to recover is automatic or easy or guaranteed.

In addition, there are some people who like to be relieved of the guilt associated with a plant that is dying. I try to be sensitive to those people by letting them know that it is sometimes OK to discard a plant.

It is true that in the interior landscape business certain high standards must be maintained and plants are often removed because their appearance is no longer acceptable. In those situations, I am usually able to find individuals like you who are happy to take them home and nurse them back to health. I can usually offer some good tips on just what needs to be done to achieve that. I am very much able to make a distinction between my work requirements and the needs of houseplant owners.