Not everyone in Willits has a green thumb: local indoor gardener gains internet fame by watering plastic plant

MENDOCINO Co., 3/4/20 — March 3 was a particularly busy news day in Mendocino County, with an earthquake swarm, the primary elections, and more, but it was also a busy day for Willits woman Caelie Wilkes, whose Facebook post about watering her plastic plant went internationally viral.

Wilkes posted her story to Facebook on Friday, explaining how upon going to transplant a beloved succulent, she discovered that she’d been watering — not a true cactus, but a plastic plant for whole two years. By Tuesday evening, the story had made international news, and had been featured on Good Morning America, The Late Show, and the BBC — and Home Depot had sent her some real plants, the kind that need water.