In 1993, a neighbor gave me one little Mother-in-law’s plant. She was taking them up from her yard for the winter. Never having grown anything myself, I was anxious to see how they would do for me. I stuck it in a pot with some potting soil and pretty much forgot about it. I would water it if I thought about it from time to time. Sometimes I would go a month or more without watering it.
It has been 22 years now since I have gotten the first stalk of this hearty plant. I give at least half of them away each spring when I repot them. They have lived in Louisianna, Tennesee, North Carolina and Kentucky. They have made move after move with me.
This is what the root bound pots look like every year. This year, I even had some breaking through the pots.
At the first sign of colder weather, I put these plants away in the unfinished basement to let them sleep for the cold months. I water them IF I think about it, maybe once a winter. Each spring, I go down to the basement and even in the dark, drab corners of the basement, they flourish.
For the past two repotting sessions, I have added a couple drops of lavender essential oils to the potting soil/garden soil mix. This has seemed to make them even heartier than before, which I didn’t think that was possible.
If you want a plant that the only way I know to kill it is to let it get frost on it, you can forget to water it for months, this may be the plant for you!
Last year they all flowered. It was only the second time I had seen them flower. The floweres resembled a honey suckle with such a sweet aroma.
This is definately a plant that the more you neglect it, the more it reminds you to love it!
Krysta's Country Living 