The Story of Rufus the Carnivorous Plant

by - 4:42 PM

A few days ago my mom came home from the supermarket with a bag of croissants, pizzas, milk, lettuce and... a plant. The plant was a gift for me. It stands on my desk, all flowery and pretty and 100% my responsibility.
I immediately liked the plant and decided to name it. One name came to mind, but I couldn't use it. That name had already been used... And it didn't end well for that plant...

Not Rufus, but you get the idea
Source
Five years ago my mom and I were in a flower shop. In the back of the store, far away from the windows and the curious eyes of most customers, I found a tray of teeny tiny Venus fly traps. I begged my mom to buy me one.
After a bit of arguing, my mom gave in. Delighted with this triumph, I chose the one with the most... ehm... 'mouths' I could find and took it home.

To be honest with you, this plant was doomed from the start. You see, my mom liked the idea of a plant in my room. Taking care of said plant for me was not going to happen though, she told me. This plant would be my responsibility and no one else's. So when I came home I gave the plant water, put it on a saucer and named it Rufus, Rufus the Carnivorous Plant for outsiders.

Rufus had a great life those first few weeks. I talked to him, even though it made me feel utterly ridiculous. I poked his mouths with my finger to see them snap shut. When it got warmer outside and the insects returned from wherever they go when it's cold, I spent hours catching flies and feeding them to Rufus. You can imagine how excited I was when Rufus began to grow new leaves ad mouths. It was a wonderful time.

Then things took a turn for the worse. The new leaves turned brown, the new mouths never opened and the old ones didn't snap shut anymore. Rufus was dying.
I turned to my mom for help. She needed exactly half a minute to come to a conclusion.
'Envy, when was the last time you watered this plant?'
I bit my lip in shame. I had been so busy feeding him flies that I forgot to give him what he needed most: water. Weeks had passed since I'd last given Rufus water.
In a desperate attempt to safe Rufus, I gave him water. Much water. Too much water. I almost drowned the poor plants in the days after I'd discovered what was wrong with him. Then once again I stopped watering. It was the end of Rufus the Carnivorous Plant.

So here I am today, staring at a beautiful flowery plant with the memory of Rufus still fresh in my mind. I can feel all this responsibility weighing down on me. I can't let this one dies too. But first, a name.

I think I'll name her Avy.
Hi Avy.
Nice to meet you. I hope we'll be friends for a long time!

Stay awesome!

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10 Fellow Ramblers

  1. naming plants that's something I've never done :D
    It must've been amazing having all those moments with rufus :D
    I've always been a big fan of actually alive plants :P ( My mom won't give in though I'm pretty sure :P)
    Avy is magnificient :D
    I've had a lot of new things in my plants as well..Pea's is the newest :D

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    1. I don't know why I name my plants, it makes me feel like a total weirdo but it is also satisfying in a strange way. When I'm old I'll be a crazy plant lady instead of a crazy cat lady :P
      I love plants that are alive and I did a fairly good job at gardening in my vegetable patch last two years, but when it comes to a pot plant in my room... I've never had pea plants but it would be awesome to have some.

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  2. RIP Rufus. Welcome Avy! She/he (guessing she) is so beautiful! What type of plant is she/he? Wonderful post. I currently have a plant names Caren in my room.

    ~Noor
    a little bit of sunshine

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    1. I have no idea what type of plant Avy is, but she's a she I guess. At least in my mind she is now, with all her pink flowers :P I asked my mom what type of plant Avy is and she didn't know either. So she asked the people in the supermarket where she bought the plant and they didn't know... No one knows XD
      Say hi to Caren for me!

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  3. I have a problem with plants, too... mainly I overwater them. But I'm sorry for Rufus, but do welcome Avy!

    xoxo Morning

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    1. I'll tell Avy you welcomed her ;) Your comment reminds me that I should water her. I keep forgetting to do that... Overwatering isn't a good thing either, but at least you don't forget about the water at all, like I do! :P

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  4. I've always had bad luck with taking care of plants (I usually forget to water them and then after two months I overwater them).
    A year ago my sister bought me a plant that only needs to be watered once a month (so most of the times I remember to do it) and it's been alive for a whole year now! :D

    I hope it all goes great with Avy! :)

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    1. I need one of those plants that barely needs watering!
      Over the last month Iwas constantly reminding myself to water Avy... and I overwatered her. But I discovered it quit soon and was able to save her. She's lost her flowers now, but not because of tha amount of water I've given her (which is quite a relief). She's growing new leaves now and the old ones still look good :)
      Hope your plant is doing well too!

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  5. The name Rufus reminds me of the naked mole rat Ron Stoppable has in Kim Possible. Love that show. :) Does Rufus eat flies like the Venus Fly Trap usually does? It'd be so cool to feed it flies and let it eat them. :) It's such a shame that the poor plant drowned though. May it rest in peace. And Avy looks beautiful too. :)

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    1. I take a bow for you, Dian! You're the first to bring up Kim Possible :D I was a hug KP fan (I think I even had a little crush on Ron) and named my plant after the naked mole rat XD
      Rufus ate flies like Venus Fly Traps do and it was fascinating. That's why I was always feeding him flies :P

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