Question

Pic 1  

Pic2   I have this little plant sitting on my window ledge in the kitchen.  No matter what I do to it is does not die.  The story goes that my grandfather was given the grandmother plant as a un- payable debt years ago and this one is its granddaughter.  This plant must be at least 20 years old and has flowers every 2 to 3 years.  I know of two others my mothers and my grandmothers.  My grandmothers is the daughter of the original so must be 40 years old!!  Please can you help me identify my long living little "space plant".

Answer

Haemanthus  

H2   Hi Emma,

I've spent 2 days looking for this plant, and maybe I found it...or at least, maybe I found the ballpark.  Please see the 2 attached photos of Haemanthus species.  I know it's not the exact same color - there are many colors and species, but one reason I think it might be this is that the flower, bracts, and stem are all the same color, which is a characteristic of Haemanthus.  If it is a Haemanthus, it should be coming up from a bulb underground.  Could you please scratch a little below the soil surface and see if there is a bulb?  Another clue is that the odor of the flower might be faint but unpleasant. If none of this fits, don't hesitate to tell me.  Experts don't know everything, and are often wrong.  If I can't figure it out, I could at least send some pictures to various universities, etc. for you.
Thanks,
Susan