Re: It's dead. D.E.A.D. Dead. And has been for 8+ years UPDATE #17

[Isisnin]

Can you take the plant out of the pot and replace the soil with sand?  Since sand is not organic material, if someone does "helpful" water it, the sand would be far less likely to grow mold.

[onikenbai]

Short answer, yes it can mold. Nearly anything can mold. It's all a matter of how likely it is.

If it's under a vent that's acting wonky or changing habits, anything can get any bit of moisture and mold can grow. I'd pick up the pot itself and try moving it to another spot on your desk, but only after you inspect the bottom of the planter first. I also agree that the bag around it would trap any moisture and growth and act as a greenhouse to see if there's anything in there already.

I agree right up until making a plastic bag greenhouse as there is no point in encouraging mould growth.  If the HVAC was in unusually high gear then it's very possible the funny smell could have been coming from the building system.  Dust and moulds settle in the ducts and spring is the time when the AC get tested out and all that stuff gets disturbed, and very few commercial buildings invest in regular duct cleanings.  Unless somebody was helpful and watered your dead plant to kick start mould growth, the problem probably isn't your plant, it's probably the building.

[jpcher]

No advice whatsoever, but I do think I love you-- 

I bought a loaf of white bread once for the office, and it ended up completely drying out--never lost it's shape, color, no mold, nothing. Just a normal looking loaf of bread (in the wrapper) that was the stalest thing outside of my uncle's jokes. I loved that thing, and it occupied a place of honor on my bookshelf until a cleaning lady threw it out--7 years later.

You're my new hero of the day! 


Thanks, all for your suggestions. I really appreciate your help. I do not want anything in my cube to be offensive to Boss or anybody else for that matter.

I'm not going to bring it home (it's an office thing ) and plastic bagging it would take a rather large sized clear plastic bag and would (in my opinion) destroy the "look."

Also you don't know if some" helpful " person watered your dead plant at sometime and that caused the mold. 
I would take steps to do SOMETHING as your boss seems reasonable with helping you with awful smell of bananas.
As a fellow banana-loather, I can appreciate that.

Oh, I certainly hope nobody watered the darned thing! Wow. I never thought anybody would think of doing that, watering someone else's plant?

I do agree that I should do SOMETHING, especially since she's highly allergic.

Funny thing, though, she sat in my guest chair the day after I posted for 20 minutes with nary a complaint.

If the HVAC was in unusually high gear then it's very possible the funny smell could have been coming from the building system.  Dust and moulds settle in the ducts and spring is the time when the AC get tested out and all that stuff gets disturbed, and very few commercial buildings invest in regular duct cleanings.

I'm hoping this was the problem. I don't normally smell anything "off" in the office air, but that day I did. Maybe they were cleaning the ducts or something like that.

Yesterday, I did move the plant to the other side of my cube, maybe 8ft away from the guest chair. Just to be safe. I'll keep a good eye on it and if I detect anything even the slightest bit moldy or smelly, I'll get rid of it.

Do you think this is a good enough solution?

[spaceheatersusan]

Not to sound mean, but why don't you just take the plant home?  Your boss has made a concession for you regarding the bananas, so maybe do her a favour in return and remove the offending plant.  It seems like a good way to maintain a good relationship between the two of you.

[jpcher]

Not to sound mean, but why don't you just take the plant home?  Your boss has made a concession for you regarding the bananas, so maybe do her a favour in return and remove the offending plant.  It seems like a good way to maintain a good relationship between the two of you.

Because the entire relevance/history of the plant has significance to my office life. It won't have the same meaning if it's in my home.


If the general consensus is to toss the dead plant, I certainly will do that. I do not want to have anything that offends CWs or Boss or anybody else that visits me during the work-cycle-day in my cube.

If I can keep the dead plant in my cube without any offense? That would be my preferred choice.

[NyaChan]

I would take a picture of it, photoshop R.I.P. on the bottom, frame it and put it up in my office

[guihong]

I would take a picture of it, photoshop R.I.P. on the bottom, frame it and put it up in my office

I think that's a great idea.

[nonesuch4]

Maybe have it cremated and put it in a nice container?

[Softly Spoken]

Shellac? Or some other kind of preservative?

Otherwise I got nothin but PODs to everyone else. *shrugs apologetically*


PS: Dried out things can get moldy IMHO but only if water if added again as PPs mentioned. I have some petrified plants that are in moldy soil because I thought maybe I could revive them from the roots. Thanks to this thread I now remember I need to throw them out.  *scurries off*

[camlan]

There's a smell. Both you and your boss noticed it. So I'd move the plant temporarily and see if the smell remains. Get your boss to double check.

If the smell is gone, it was either the plant or a temporary glitch in the air conditioning. Bring the plant back and ask your boss to smell again. If the smell is back--it's the plant.

If the plant is gone and the smell lingers on, call Maintenance and get the A/C checked.

[spaceheatersusan]

Not to sound mean, but why don't you just take the plant home?  Your boss has made a concession for you regarding the bananas, so maybe do her a favour in return and remove the offending plant.  It seems like a good way to maintain a good relationship between the two of you.

Because the entire relevance/history of the plant has significance to my office life. It won't have the same meaning if it's in my home.

But is keeping this plant really worth compromising your relationship with your boss?

[eee]

Not to sound mean, but why don't you just take the plant home?  Your boss has made a concession for you regarding the bananas, so maybe do her a favour in return and remove the offending plant.  It seems like a good way to maintain a good relationship between the two of you.

Because the entire relevance/history of the plant has significance to my office life. It won't have the same meaning if it's in my home.

But is keeping this plant really worth compromising your relationship with your boss?

Yeah, imho, chuck it. Your boss has indicated she thinks it is gross (smelly == gross) .... I agree that a dry, dead shrivelly plant is humorous, but if your boss doesn't think it's "funny gross" then I'd probably think that kind of humour isn't appreciated in her workplace. It's a small concession, especially if she's being banana-sensitive on your behalf.

[LEMon]

Not to sound mean, but why don't you just take the plant home?  Your boss has made a concession for you regarding the bananas, so maybe do her a favour in return and remove the offending plant.  It seems like a good way to maintain a good relationship between the two of you.

Because the entire relevance/history of the plant has significance to my office life. It won't have the same meaning if it's in my home.

But is keeping this plant really worth compromising your relationship with your boss?

Yeah, imho, chuck it. Your boss has indicated she thinks it is gross (smelly == gross) .... I agree that a dry, dead shrivelly plant is humorous, but if your boss doesn't think it's "funny gross" then I'd probably think that kind of humour isn't appreciated in her workplace. It's a small concession, especially if she's being banana-sensitive on your behalf.

But, as the OP said, the boss has sat in her cubicle since with no problems or complaints.  So chances are good it was the air ducts, not the plant.  Plus OP moved the plant just in case.

[spaceheatersusan]

Not to sound mean, but why don't you just take the plant home?  Your boss has made a concession for you regarding the bananas, so maybe do her a favour in return and remove the offending plant.  It seems like a good way to maintain a good relationship between the two of you.

Because the entire relevance/history of the plant has significance to my office life. It won't have the same meaning if it's in my home.

But is keeping this plant really worth compromising your relationship with your boss?

Yeah, imho, chuck it. Your boss has indicated she thinks it is gross (smelly == gross) .... I agree that a dry, dead shrivelly plant is humorous, but if your boss doesn't think it's "funny gross" then I'd probably think that kind of humour isn't appreciated in her workplace. It's a small concession, especially if she's being banana-sensitive on your behalf.

But, as the OP said, the boss has sat in her cubicle since with no problems or complaints.  So chances are good it was the air ducts, not the plant.  Plus OP moved the plant just in case.

Here's the thing - the boss thinks the smell is coming from the plant.  If OP removes the plant, boss is pleased that OP is trying to accommodate her, like boss did with bananas, and goodwill will be increased.  If it get's into this "let's put it in a bag for a day" or "boss, come smell this plant", the boss is still going to think the smell is lingering from the plant and that she's being given the run around.  No one asking you to throw the plant in the garbage.  You can take it home.  I guess I just don't get the reasoning of s significant item only having significance in one particular place.  In the workplace, it's a good idea to make small sacrifices if they will affect your work relationship.

[eee]

I guess I technically said "chuck it" but of course taking it home is an equally good (or better) solution