How a Plant From Albert Einstein’s Office Became My Own Personal Mood Ring
By: Planther Life
Tags: Historical, Plants, Houseplants, Interesting, Einstein

So one of my best friends (I won’t mention his name so plant lovers don’t hunt him down), often takes the train from New York to my house in Connecticut and he almost always brings along some form of plant gift for me. I’m so lucky, I know! One particular visit, he brought me a Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum) that is supposedly a baby of a plant from Albert Einstein’s office!

This is a picture of the postcard I found crumpled on the ground in Washington D.C. aka A Sign from the Heavens

I remember giving the high pitched squeal of a “whaaaatttt!?!” in response to this very special gift. My mom is a math teacher, so I’ve spent my entire life gifting her homemade Albert Einstein clocks, posters, mugs, you name it. I even went on a trip to Washington D.C. as a kid and found a crumbled postcard of an Albert Einstein statue and thought it was a sign from the heavens. A sign of what, I have no idea. Anyway, to have a plant that may have come from his office…I was in shock, to say the least.

And at first, I wasn’t sure if it could be true. My friend is a known prankster but he assured me that the woman who gave him the plant said it was directly from one of the spider pups in Einstein’s office. So I looked up pictures, of course. It took some careful googling and serious zooming in, but I did find some pictures of a spider plant…on his desk…in his office…in Princeton, New Jersey. Just saying! I’ve provided links here and here because they require licensing to post.

So, why do I share this story beyond just having a cool piece of plant history? Well, I often talk about how plants help enhance our personal well-being and give us an opportunity to assess our own lives and patterns of behavior. I’ve talked about how they help us cope during the hardest of times.

So, with that said, this plant is my own guiding light, or what I like to call “My Own Personal Mood Ring”. Remember those rings that you’d get at a carnival? They’d have a big murky stone filled with swirling greens and blues that eventually turned one solid color when you put it on? Then you’d look at the paper key that said blue meant you were sad and green meant you were happy, etc? Well, when I look at my spider plant, I get the same effect.

Photo by The Creative Exchange on Unsplash

If my spider plant is facing away from the sun, I know it’s been awhile since I slowed down to notice it was time to rotate. If my spider plant is super dry, I know I’ve been too busy to water. If my spider plant has stayed wet for many days, I know I’ve been feeling a little desperate to connect with someone. Let me also say, I’m a very confident plant parent with years of repotting experience, but I have not repotted this plant even though I know it desperately needs it. I am terrified of damaging the heir to the Albert Einstein’s spider plant throne!

I also feel such a connection to this plant. Not only did a close friend give it to me (so it’s already special), but it just feels significant. Because it means so much to me, I can lose sleep over forgetting to water it. This plant reminds me to tap into my own intuition over what my plants need, and it helps me keep my plant care schedule on track. In the words of Einstein:

“I believe in intuitions and inspirations. I sometimes feel that I am right. I do not know that I am.”

I feel like this is how many houseplant owners feel- that they may feel like they’re doing the right thing, but they’re not totally sure. This is why I believe it is so vital to find a plant that you connect to, one that invites you to build an intuition around how to care for it. It helps show you signs of what it needs because a plant cannot communicate with language; we are required to understand them in a more intimate and intuitive way.

If you’re feeling insecure about your plant care intuition or ability to keep a plant alive, just think about Einstein. He was, you know, working on the theory of relativity and all. And even HE was able to keep his plant alive. This fact keeps me centered and reminds me that despite how busy and crazy, and in Einstein’s case- heady, life can be, it’s still important to take a moment for yourself and your plants- to give them the attention and time both of you need.

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better

In short, this plant, with all its special significance, gives me an opportunity to slow down, take care and spend some time simply marveling at how special all of my plants really are. When the spider plant is looking shabby, I make sure to check in on all my others, too. Find one easy-care plant and use it as your own personal mood ring, this will allow you to start building your own intuition around caring for plants. Best of luck, may the powers of the space time and special relativity be with you!

He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.