Woman takes diligent care of plant for 2 years before realizing it’s fake

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

Caelie Wilkes had been caring for the plant for two years by watering it and leaving it in her kitchen window to get sunlight.

“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,” she wrote on Facebook. “I absolutely loved my succulent.”

Wilkes decided on Friday to take the succulent out of its original plastic container and put it in a new vase. But when she removed the plant, she found out it was fake.

“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.”

Wilkes’ faux-plant rant went viral on Facebook, racking up nearly 10,000 reactions since Friday as well as a flurry of comments.

The folks at Home Depot in Ukiah caught wind of Wilkes’ disappointment and sent her several real succulents.

“Guys,” she wrote Tuesday, “Home Depot came (through)!”