Back in the 70s when I was just a kid, I remember stores selling piggyback plants in the houseplant section. Later on, when we moved to Kent and I had access to an undisturbed forest to wander in, I found these plants growing on the forest floor! It still fascinates me that a temperate plant like Tomiea can be grown in houses.

Now that I’m focused on native plants in my own yard, the piggyback plant is back in my life. I added one plant to the garden last year and it has grown well. I never paid attention to the flowers of these plants, but I saw blooms this year and the flowers are intricate and beautiful.

My future hopes for this plant are to pull some babies from the leaves or divisions from around the plant and spread them around the native garden. I might pull one into the greenhouse as a stock plant to produce lots of babies in the future, as well.