Two years is a pretty long lifespan for a house plant, particularly if you’re not exactly green-fingered.

That’s why Caelie Wilkes felt particularly proud of having kept her ‘perfect’ succulent alive for so long – that is until she realised it was made of plastic.

The California stay-at-home mum had been diligently watering the plant, which she kept on her kitchen windowsill.

However, after going to repot the plant, she realised that the plant was actually a fake one, and she’d been feeding something that was never alive.


In a hilarious Facebook post about the incident, Caelie said: ‘I’ve had this beautiful succulent for about 2 years now.

The Styrofoam base (Picture: Caelie Wilkes)

‘I was so proud of this plant. It was full, beautiful coloring, just an overall perfect plant…



‘I had a watering plan for it, [and] if someone else tried to water my succulent I would get so defensive because I just wanted to keep good care of it.’

She jokes that her life was a lie (Picture: Caelie Wilkes)

She then details how she decided it was time for a move for the mini plant, and she found ‘the perfect vase, that suited it perfectly’.

Upon taking the original pot away from the ‘soil’, she realised it had actually been sitting in Styrofoam and sand the whole time.

‘I put so much love into this plant! I washed its leaves,’ said Caelie.

Caelie’s post has since gone viral (Picture: Caelie Wilkes)

‘Tried my hardest to keep it looking it’s best, and it’s completely plastic! How did I not know this?

‘I pull it from the container it’s sitting on Styrofoam with sand glued on top. I feel like these last two years have been a lie.’

The post has since gone viral, and Caelie’s story has been featured on Radio 2, the New York Post, and Good Morning America.

Home Depot also took the opportunity to send Caelie some (real) plants that she could tend to without the life of lies.

Do you have a funny story to tell? Get in touch with us at MetroLifestyleTeam@metro.co.uk.

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