Woman nurtures plant for two years before realizing it’s plastic

UKIAH, Calif. – A California woman who nurtured a “beautiful succulent” for two years says she had no idea the plant was fake.

Caelie Wilkes shared her story on her Facebook page, where she wrote, “I’ve had this beautiful succulent for about two years now. I was so proud of this plant. It was full, beautiful coloring, just an overall perfect plant. I had it up in my kitchen window. I had a watering plan for it, if someone else tried to water my succulent I would get so defensive because I just wanted to keep good care of it. I absolutely loved my succulent.”

When Wilkes decided to transfer the plant to a new case, she realized her beloved succulent was a fake plant.

“I pull it from the container [and] it’s sitting on Styrofoam with sand glued to the top!” Wilkes, 24, wrote. “Tried my hardest to keep it looking it’s best, and it’s completely plastic!”

“How did I not know this,” she went on. “I feel like these last two years have been a lie.”

The story was picked up by dozens of news sites and quickly went viral. Now people in Belgium, Australia, Brazil, the U.K., France, the Netherlands, India, even Romania, have read about how Wilkes was deceived.

Story time. I’ve had this beautiful succulent for about 2 years now. I was so proud of this plant. It was full,...

Posted by Caelie Wilkes on Friday, February 28, 2020