What does Mama's plant in "A Raisin in the Sun" symbolize?

Mama's plant in the play "A Raisin in the Sun" symbolizes her children and the way she cares for them, as well as her dream of owning a home. The plant is raggedy and lacks much of what it needs.

Like the plant, her children have not lived under the most ideal conditions, and they are a little worse for the wear. She has cared for them the best way she knows how, just as she cares for her plant. Like her plant, her family has survived, but she wants better lives for all of them. The plant symbolizes her hope for her children and for a home and a garden to tend.