I recently inherited a crown of thorns plant that was my mothers grandmothers. This plant is over 116 years old. I thought there were a couple of dead branches in it but now it's getting green buds on them . I am so nervous to repot this plant but it's in dire need of good soil and a bigger pot. Should I just use potting soil n some miracle grow? I cannot kill this plant!

Mary Jo! You are so lucky to have such an old plant in your family! I have a number of crown of thorns. I have all of mine in cactus mix that is very fast draining. I think the normal potting mixes stay too wet for too long. What color are the flowers on your plant?

I agree, a good gritty mix should be fine. I would stay away from Miracle grow for such an old plant.

(Please do not use Miracle Gro.) Choose a good, sterilized mix that drains well.

You have an awesome piece of family history! How cool is that.

Thought- what about taking a cutting or two before you re-pot? Let them take hold, then you may be more relaxed when you re-pot the big plant.

Good idea!

AlyssaBlue said:(Please do not use Miracle Gro.) Choose a good, sterilized mix that drains well.

You have an awesome piece of family history! How cool is that.

Thought- what about taking a cutting or two before you re-pot? Let them take hold, then you may be more relaxed when you re-pot the big plant.

Replace the soil but not the pot. Use something like Miracle Grow Cactus and Palm but add a lot of perlite - up to half the volumn of the MG.

Don't pot up! New soil is all it needs. And lots of sunshine.

Daisy

plantmanager said: Mary Jo! You are so lucky to have such an old plant in your family! I have a number of crown of thorns. I have all of mine in cactus mix that is very fast draining. I think the normal potting mixes stay too wet for too long. What color are the flowers on your plant?

@MaryJo, thanks for the pic with the flowers! Very nice. Give it a lot of sunshine like Daisy said, and a bit of diluted fertilizer.

MaryJo said:I recently inherited a crown of thorns plant that was my mothers grandmothers. This plant is over 116 years old. I thought there were a couple of dead branches in it but now it's getting green buds on them . I am so nervous to repot this plant but it's in dire need of good soil and a bigger pot. Should I just use potting soil n some miracle grow? I cannot kill this plant!

I inherited a 70 year old crown of thorns and kept it for maybe 10 more years and it then died. It might have been as old as yours. It was in a huge pot already and it was highly twisted and very few living shoots. Yours is more amazing. I now have a three year old plant of my own and quite sure no one wants to inherit my plant in the future. I think my pot was a bit bigger than yours but I am not giving any advice!

As a matter of care, I think I can offer a few helpful tips.

Sometimes the most amazing heirloom plants are inherited without proper care instructions, or they rebel wildly against being moved to a new location with a different climate and different light. On that subject I would recommend you really look for a bright, well-lit location if it's not already in one. Lots of light is really important for the health and well-being of the plant. Or at the very least it makes the watering easier.

Late fall and winter (the days ahead in the northern hemisphere) is when you really need to exercise discipline with the watering can. Don't overwater at this time. This is not a desert plant, but it doesn't mind the soil drying out on a regular basis. It likes water when the soil is dry at depth, but not too often, especially given cool temps and light. Strong light really helps with the watering because it encourages water to leave the soil (directly and indirectly) and keeps you from a situation where the bottom of the soil stays wet all the time.

Wait to repot until spring. Use a soil mix with 50% pumice/perlite/etc. mixed in. Choose the container wisely. These plants do not need a lot of space in containers, and they can do quite well without any handling or repotting for years at a time. When in doubt, wait to repot until the plant has accommodated to a new space. Spring or early summer would be a better time anyway.

How cool is that!! What a great family heirloom!! And a living one!! If only they could tell stories! 😀

Definitely root some plants from the mother like said above. Good luck with it 😀

Mindi

Beautiful! I was also going to suggest starting some cuttings, then deal with the mama plant when those are growing well. Removing a lot of the leaning lower branches would yield a lot of material to make new starts, restore a more upright appearance for the mama plant, and make the mama plant easier to handle.

If you are looking for a new pot, I would look for another unglazed clay pot, which ameliorates most of the concern about root rot/overwatering because it breathes and allows roots to access much more oxygen much more easily.

Many plants of desert origin really struggle in "good soil," so gauge the necessity of providing that by the plants' health, not the appearance of the soil. From what I can see with the background glare in the pics, your plant does not look unhealthy.

Please note this was bumped up from a 2016 thread.

Doh! TY, Sue. Unfortunately, MaryJo has not been active since. Maybe she will get a notice about the new replies and offer an update. I hope it is doing well.

Hi & welcome, Pat! Hope your 2nd try is the charm!