As all good plant parents know, houseplants are notoriously fickle. Some require daily watering, others need a lot of sunlight.
The humble succulent is definitely on the tougher end to kill but still needs sufficient love and attention.
That's exactly what one US woman thought she was doing, taking care of her prized succulent over two years.
Succulent plants are small, fleshy cacti, which often store moisture in their leaves.
"I was so proud of this plant. It was full, [had] beautiful colouring, just an overall perfect plant. I had it up in my kitchen window," Caelie Wilkes shared on Facebook.
She even had a "watering plan" for the succulent.
"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," she revealed.
But last week Wilkes decided it was time to re-pot the succulent into a new vase - and made a shocking discovery.
"I go to pull it from the original plastic container it was purchased with to learn this plant was FAKE," she wrote.
"I put so much love into this plant! I washed its leaves. Tried my hardest to keep it looking it’s best, and it’s completely plastic! How did I not know this? I pull it from the container it’s sitting on styrofoam with sand glued to the top!
"I feel like these last two years have been a lie."
The hilarious post has gone viral, racking up over 800 shares and 1000 comments from fellow plant parents and plant killers alike.
"I'm ashamed to say this is something I would do," wrote one person.
"Did you ever wonder why it wasn't growing?" questioned another.
Newshub approached Wilkes for comment, asking where the water ran off to if it wasn't getting sucked up through the roots.
"It leaked down. I didn’t use a lot of water so it just dissipated," she revealed.
It's a lesson to us all - check your plant is 100 percent real before purchasing.
