A Plant Replacement

My days of taking care of an enormous flower garden ended when I sold the house in Ohio and moved to Mexico.  Now my "gardening" consists of taking care of three houseplants that are sitting on the table in front of the living room window of my apartment.  

The poinsettia plant from last Christmas continues to thrive.  The orchid has not shown any signs of blooming again, but it has sprouted a new root, and a new leaf is emerging.  So, I guess that it is relatively happy.  The third plant, my aphelandra or zebra plant took a sudden turn for the worse.  I don't know if I overwatered it, but it started losing leaves, including the new growth that it was sprouting.  I did not see evidence of any kind of infestation.

I read on the internet that it is a difficult plant to care for.  So, I decided to replace it with something else.  Last Sunday Alejandro and I went to the "tianguis" or weekly street market that is held near the apartment.  There is one stall that sells houseplants.  I saw a plant whose name I did not know but which I had successfully grown indoors back in Ohio.  I had it by my living room window, and it had grown to an enormous size.  When I was preparing to move, I gave it to some friends, and it continues to thrive in its new home.

I bought the plant, but I forgot to ask the vendor what its name is in Spanish.  I was able to identify it from pictures on the internet, and its Latin name is "syngonium podophyllum".  In English it is commonly known as an arrowhead plant.

I threw the zebra plant in the trash bin.  I had a bag of "tezontle", little bits of volcanic rock which is used down here to add to potting soil.  Just in case the drainage of the soil was not adequate, I added some before planting my new arrowhead plant.

My new plant is now sitting on the table.  We shall see if I am as successful with it as I was with the arrowhead plant that I had in Ohio.