Elephant ears are a treat many may associate with county fairs, but a Redditor with a different kind of elephant ear found themselves taken for a ride by their landlord.
The Redditor asked for advice on the situation in a post to the r/plantclinic subreddit.
"My landlord decided to mow my elephant ear. Is there any way to heal it?" they wrote above a photo of a plant cut in half by the mower's blade.
"It might grow back, but you will have to play the waiting game for now. Might wanna put up a few flags or stakes around the base so landlord don't choppy choppy again," recommended another user.
"I plan to get some metal poles so if she does decide to try she'll just damage her mower lol," responded the OP. "I've told her it was there, that's the weird thing."
Sadly, however, it's not all that strange. Landlords across the country have been caught preventing tenants from all levels of landscaping — including food gardens, native landscaping, and foregoing resource-intensive grass lawns for eco-friendly alternatives.
Another Redditor's landlord cut down their garden for no reason, while one said theirs tried to prevent them from even having potted plants on their balcony.
"In my experience landlords are 100% narcissists and psychopaths who are not known for their listening skills, just their thievery," commented another user harshly.
"I agree with that, most of them are," responded the OP. "My landlord is incredibly nosy and doesn't like me having plants for some reason."
While the OP may have only had one plant destroyed, their upset is understandable, as even one plant takes investments of time and money. Further, not only are elephant ears beautiful decorative plants that make a lovely addition to any yard, but their big leaves and bright flowers attract and provide shelter to various wildlife, including vital pollinators like birds and butterflies.
Thankfully, in this case, it looks like the plant may pull through.
"Regrowth has been absolutely beautiful so far!" the OP updated in a later comment. "It's completely regrown it's stem back to about the same length and has started growing some new stems too."
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