If you used to throw away your damaged plants, this might be the time to stop. The Poitiers association, “Sauve ta plante” offers to care for them and is organizing an open day on September 8.
3000: this is the number of patients treated by the association Save your plant since the creation, in July 2023, of its “plant hospital”. A surprising establishment to say the least: here, the sick are plants. They come from individuals in distress, from decoration stores, from the municipality of Poitiers, but also from cemetery bins.
The association Sauve ta plante is offering an open house on September 8. • © Camille Bouju
“We have geraniums that people throw away once they have flowered, succulents, ivy”lists Kim Vincent, the president of Save Your Plant, Hands in the Earth. She is the one who came up with the idea for this initiative. “There were several of us collecting plants here and there, especially from friends. We learned how to care for them and we said to ourselves that we had to share our knowledge.”
The “hospital” was established in Poitiers, in the heart of nature, on a formerly fallow space of 80 m2, on the banks of the Boivre. The plants have since been carefully saved using a very specific protocol, before being made available to potential interested parties.
The association’s volunteers have been caring for the plants since July 2023. • © France Télévisions
First, we make an assessment of the condition of the plant, we look at the soil, if there are pests, small animals, then we repot it so that it can re-establish its roots. It is then kept in quarantine to see its evolution and then after 15 days/1 month, we put them up for adoption.
Kim Vincent
President of Save Your Plant.
As long as there is green, there is life
The association now has around thirty volunteers who try, at their level, to raise awareness among consumers. “Plants are not decorative objects, they are living beings”, insists Ange Bortels in particular. The association’s objective is therefore twofold: to save plants, but also to invite us to consider our plants differently.
The saved plants are then offered for adoption. • © France Télévisions
In addition to care, Save your plant offers workshops and intervenes in markets to make itself known. This Sunday, September 8, volunteers are organizing open days. The opportunity to discover them and learn more about caring for your plants yourself.
