Hot take: My aloe vera blunder made a gardening club laugh

I brought what I thought was aloe to a plant meet, but it was actually a haworthia. Everyone got a good chuckle, and I learned the difference on the spot. What's your most embarrassing plant mix-up story?

3 comments

3 Comments

angela431mo ago

Your story reminds me of when I bought a snake plant thinking it was a different desert plant. The store had wrong labels, and I only found out after showing it to a friend. Now I double-check everything before buying new plants.

cole1831mo ago

@angela43, calling a snake plant a desert plant is a really common mix-up. They handle dry air well, but they're actually from tropical West Africa, not a true desert. That wrong label at the store did you dirty twice. Good move on double-checking now, because even the care tips for a real desert plant would be off for a snake plant.

the_morgan1mo ago

Ever run into that with online plant shops? I once got a pothos labeled as a philodendron, and the care sheet they sent was all wrong for light and water. Now I just snap a picture of the actual plant in the store and do a quick image search on my phone before I even get in line. It takes two seconds and has saved me from bringing home the wrong thing a few times.