The House Plant Thread

Both of your plants thrive by being ignored. If that is your wish, there are plenty like that. It's not even a hobby. Just decor.

What do you want, lush and verdant? an energetic grower? big and sprawling, aerial roots in all directions, or compact and tidy? something architectural that just sits there practically unchanged across the years? upright? pendulous? ordered? chaotic? shiny and smooth? richly textured? color? flowers? just green, a thousand shades of green?

Find a new hobby.

Those are good starter plants. Succulent in good light near a window, snake plant is more flexible. Fiddle leaf fig (Ficus lyrata) are popular now, a little tougher to care for. Also look into Pothos and Pnnytail Palm - not difficult.

[quote]Anybody got any good recommendations?

As is always the case on the DL, ignore r1.

Then, take a walk on the wild side.

Pothos is a good starter plant. Also good for air purification.

We have a bunch of pothos. Got them last year and they’ve grown 6ft in a year. They’re inexpensive, super easy to care for, grow like weeds, and purify the air. Definitely great starter plants.

OP, a Snake Plant (Dracaena sp, formerly Sansevieria sp) is also a succulent, so you have yourself two succulents there.

Succulents, in general, are a huge and hugely diverse group of plants that are often very beautiful/structural with many being pretty low maintenance too. Although most require full light to thrive several genera do well in lower light levels and also enjoy the low humidity that most houses will provide.

Ultimately, just as with outdoor plants, the conditions (light/temp/humidity) that you can provide should determine the plants that you grow so they are most likely to succeed and be rewarding for you.

Some plants can drown. Better to under water than to over water.

Get yourself a philodendron. If taken care of by not watering them too much and basically leaving them alone, they become YUGE.

Even larger than Barron Trump. ;-P

ZZ plants (pictured) thrive on neglect. Pothos ivy is easy to grow and propagate from cuttings. Christmas Cactus is also easy to care for.

Most problems people have with houseplants are due to over-watering. These plants need about a cup of water every 2 or 3 weeks.

I grow a lot of orchids, and the orchids generally sold in grocery and hardware stores (moth orchids/phalaenopsis) are pretty easy as long as you give them enough light and water. They need to dry out a bit between watering. I just water then (and all my smaller houseplants) by taking them to the kitchen sink, and using the sprayer attachment to spray them thoroughly with lukewarm water. I give them time to drain before returning them and bringing in my next batch to be watered.

I just bought a small rubber tree plant today: it's only about a foot tall, and I'll enjoy watching it put on some height. I like the idea of owning a plant about which Frank Sinatra sung. My brother brought me a jade plant a few weeks ago: it's a pup from a huge specimen that I gave him over 20 years ago. His jade plants are huge, and bloom every year. He's not a very fussy gardener, so he does especially well with succulents. He has a triangle euphorbia that's taller than me, and it's a plant that he rescued from one of those mixed planters that people send to sick people. My ex has a huge dracena that was also rescued from one of those planters.

Loving this thread. I have been in southern CA for a few years and have gotten more into plants as well. I too started with succulents and pothos. I'm trying to learn more as some plants have died because I overwatered or cut it back wrong. Learning as I go along. I have discovered that a few friends of mine are avid gardener and plant people as well as my partner's mom. So they give me advise which has been helpful. To be honest, I've been so damn bored and stir crazy that I've gotten more and more into my plant. Gives me something to do besides TV and wine.

Bump

A few mentioned already, but I'll agree:

Rubber tree plant, Pothos, ZZ plant (very slow growing) are all very easy. Rubber tree plants can be a bit finicky, so put it by a window that gets indirect sunlight. You can use some mild fertilizer with rubber tree plants.

Don't go crazy with the watering - new plant owners tend to overwater. ZZ plants can go a month without watering.

And for those who don't know, this is "pothos". Yes, it's just plain old ivy that you find in every office frau's cube, despite all the posters being pretentious calling it "pothos". And yes, it does grow very easy, even if you forget to water it for a few weeks.

Get yourself small lemon trees or some lemon grass. They keep mosquitoes at bay since mosquitoes hate their lemony odour.

R16 no one was being pretentious by calling it by name. I buy mine at Lowe's, so I'm hardly pretentious. There are 100s of different kinds of ivy - the one we're talking about is pothos.

Drink some more coffee and get those panties out of a wad! :)

I prefer real plants in my garden rather potted ones indoors.

But I keep some Spathiphyllum as a memento of my last husband. I place them out on the verandah whenever it rains so they get a good drenching and to wash their leaves.

I was never too interested in them until I got an apartment in the city, and was desperate to help cultivate some plants. I had a garden at my parents' house, and I didn't anticipate how much I'd miss it. So I ended up with a hodgepodge of cuttings growing in yogurt cups and coffee cans (I was very poor at the time). It was very much hit or miss, but I still have some plants that I first acquired back in the 80s. Among my orchids, I have a few that my Mom bought me years ago at Aldi's: they're more special to me now since she's died. If you have friends who have healthy houseplants, just put out the word if you're hoping to get a start with houseplants: most of us are happy to share starts of plants to pass along.

Its always nice to have plants you've grown for a decade or two or longer. It's sad when they finally die or you must part for some reason.

I have a very bizarre huge succulent cactus that has taken over my dressing room. A couple years ago I was depressed and single with no maid and I killed all my plants except some prickly cactus and this thing. It's huge now. 10 feet high and wide. it looks like brambles but its a succulent. I have to get rid of it and I keep resisting. Its hideously ugly - nobody wants it. But it liked me enough not to die when I had no life energy. I feel like I owe it.

I just inherited a very large, beautiful fiddle leaf fig house plant. I hope I keep it alive. I've been....

-checking the soil every day. I heard this tip: if I stick my finger in the soil and the dirt clings, the plant has enough water. If it crumbles and falls away, it's time to water again.

- I'm also going to start using a liquid fertilizer and gently cleaning the leaves.

- It's in a room in which it gets lots of sunlight.

Hopefully I don't kill it. I've really only had succulents and cacti before.

R21, I understand the feeling. I have a rule that, under normal circumstance, I won't ditch a plant unless I've kept part of it (cutting, seedling, etc) alive. If I had that huge old succulent, I would try propagating it from cuttings, so I'd have a replacement and maybe a few spares to give to friends. I think the plant's deva would accept the loss of a plant if its essence is kept alive. (Sorry about that last sentence, but I actually do think that way).

I now have several hundred succulents. I break every rule with regard to succulents and grow them in Murano glass bowls/vasesmpots. I give them a ton of light (I have a bunch of grow lights) and I give them a lot of attention. I water them a tiny bit every couple of days instead of a lot every few weeks because they have no drainage. I have a couple of bonsai trees that I treat the same. half my succulents are blooming. I have so many rooting leaves that I give them away and my dwarf elephant jade gets trimmed biweekly and those trimmings root quickly and are gifted.

I also have a giant (5foot) fan palm and I grow herbs in pots in the house. I am really loving it and have started growing succulents from seeds, the hard to find ones. I am considering starting flowering bonsais or miniature fruit trees too.

I have a question about my Fiddle Leaf Fig. 3 years ago, I had family visiting and wanted a cheap plant to drop into a planter that I had bought but left sitting empty in a corning of my sunroom (it had a stand and looked somewhat sculptural on its own). My luck with houseplants has been very hit and miss over the years and I suppose that I was in a plant-free era at that point. Whatever the case, I bought this little guy for like $13 and it was a lot of look for little money. It survived almost a year without any growth or change at all and it decided to actually take it out of the plastic that it was sold in and plant it in the planter. To my surprise, it took off. At first I was watering only when I remembered to - which seemed to please the plant just fine. In less than a year, it had almost doubled in size. It is actually 4 separate "stems" - not the one branch that you see more commonly. After I did some online research I started to follow the "drench every 2 weeks, let it drain completely and then ignore and repeat". All of this worked just fine until I started fertilizing it (according to online directions). After a few months, the leaves were hitting the wall, window, furniture, etc. (I would guess it is 4 to 5 times the original size now). What is the best way to cut it back without hurting/killing it? Also, the weight of the stems/leaves seem to be putting stress on the stems (which are stronger than they look but hardly "tree-like"). I bought new furniture in the sunroom and recently moved it to the living room - but it still is growing like a weed. Any tips from Fig owners? I would like to see it get more bushy and less wild but would hate to kill it by chopping it back in the wrong spots. Also, it likely needs to be re-potted by now also but I am not sure what signs to look for.

[quote]But I keep some Spathiphyllum as a memento of my last husband. I place them out on the verandah whenever it rains so they get a good drenching and to wash their leaves.

Calla lilies are more suitable for the occasion.

[quote]Also, it likely needs to be re-potted by now also but I am not sure what signs to look for.

Barely audible screams of pain.

r12 FU to hell! Now I have that god-damn song in my head. Ahhhhhh!!!!

Another idea for new succulent owners is to expand your collection with plants from the same family, that will have similar care requirements. Crassulas (Jade plants, etc.) come in different varieties. You can get quite a unique looking collection with a few families in different areas of the house.

Another tip I learned the hard way is to know what/how much light each area of your house actually gets. It might sound stupid, but if you've got a long commute, or don't do mornings, you won't realize how much direct sun some of your window really get.

r24 that sounds amazing. If you don't mind me asking, where do you live?

Another vote for the ZZ plant. Needs no sunlight, hardly any water. Plus, it's cool-looking.

Swedish Ivy is easy to grow. Prune the trailing vines, put them in water and share with friends.

You need to dust off ZZ plants regularly, though, as they tend to collect dust.

r28, I am in Vermont. I started with succulents in the beginning of covid as a hobby with the analogy of reminding myself that something could look dead but given time, bounce back better than ever (stress is what makes succulents colorful). as it turned out, I really enjoy it, it simultaneously feeds my ocd in a good way and comforts me.

someone dropped off a big orchid to me and I am looking for the perfect pot for it. I have decided on wood. I am not sure if I will like orchids, they are kind of... lush? creepy? but, it's here so I am going to care for it like the other plants.

I strongly recommend these grow lights. these ones are white full spectrum

and these ones are pink (for encouraging blooming) I do a 2 white, one pink mixture per shelf

African violets. Easy house plants that bloom frequently and even when not blooming are still beautiful. A few years ago, after a major move, I started with five of them. Fed them. Watered them. And two years later, it was time to repot them. They had grown. I split the largest ones and had 17 African violets. Now lots of friends have one, too.

Op, I recommend a dwarf elephant jade succulent. They are so pretty and easy to grow if you have light. You can encourage them to grow bushier or in a particular shape if you trim them above a 'knuckle', they will grow two branches there instead of one.

I am encouraging mine to grow mimicking the shape of its glass pot which is almost urn shaped.

ZZ plants are attractive however I associate them with - dark dying malls of the 80s and 90s, Ikea stores, crap discount department store plant sales, medical offices, etc.

Still, I do like the crappy low rent easy to grow Peace Lily, Spathiphyllum, scented with the white flowers. I also like classic dime store varieties of African violets. I actually love african violets, their charm survives any horror show of home decor.

All plants collect dust. Maybe the dust just shows up better on dark green, smooth leaves.

Grow your own weed. We don't care.

I've gotten some great things from:

I found the secret to keeping plants alive. Every one thinks I have a green thumb.

I make sure my plants get light, and I water them all just once a week.

No matter what plant it is, they all do well with those two things

I bought a water gauge for plants that tell me if water is needed. It’s kind of amazing how some plants really do not need much water. I was a chronic overwater-er (?).

Agloenemas(Chinese Evergreens) and Diffenbachias(Dumbcanes) are very easy to grow, and will eventually give you good verticals.

Spider Plants(Chlorophytum cosmosus) are great for hanging plants, simple to grow, will fill their pots and high up open spaces quickly. Leaves are striped green and cream, reversed in some varieties, and there is also a solid green.

Are Purple Passion(Gynura aurantiaca) plants still a thing? Can be grown as a vine, hanging basket or as a regular potted plant. They'll produce orange, powderpuff-type flowers if given enough light.

You cannot beat Crotons for color, or Dracenas for their wide variety of leaf shapes.

Ficus benjamina are good if you want a plant that looks like an actual tree. Never had any luck with 'em, they always gave up the ghost within a few months.

[quote]Agloenemas

I'll stick with good old reliable Fleet.

[quote]I bought a water gauge for plants that tell me if water is needed. It’s kind of amazing how some plants really do not need much water. I was a chronic overwater-er (?).

Interesting! I'm going to look into that. Sorry if this is a stupid question, but how do you know where your plant's pot should be reading on the moisture levels so that you know when to water, but also know not to water too much?

the sansiveria(mother in law tongue) can be quite architectural and easy to grow.

i had many compliments this summer on my indoor Stromanthe Triostar

I also have a very pretty wandering jew (hey, I didn't name it). I love the deep purple color of it and how the new leaves are suoer fuzzy until they get bigger. very easy plant.

Ficus Benjamina hate me and vice versa. (I always just called them "ficus" so I learned something new R42) When I bought my first home about 15 years ago, I wanted to splurge on big house plant. My new dining room had 10 foot ceilings and a wall of french doors and matching clerestory windows above them. It was the only "grand" room in the house and with all that light I figured that a huge house plant would look good in the corner. I went to the nursery and found a huge ficus that set me back about $200. The planter was another $100. I had never invested so much in plant before (and NEVER will again). Just days after I placed it in its new home, the leaves start shedding - 20 one day, 30 the next, 25 the next, etc. I called the nursery and they gave me tips on watering which I followed carefully. In 2 weeks the tree had less than half the leaves that I bought it with. In a month it was looking pitiful. I bought a special fertilizer, some spray to kill disease (that I never could locate) and some sort of spray to kill bugs (never saw those either). Nothing worked. In less than 3 months I was hauling my pitiful, leafless tree to the trash. My sister bought me a much smaller one when she came to visit. I had the exact same experience even though I placed this one in a different room and it came from a different store. It committed suicide in a matter of months. Never again.

R47 they HATE forced air heat

R48 - this one was when I lived in Dallas but you are correct that it was winter and the (forced air) heat was likely on a fair amount if not intensely. I can't imagine trying to grow one In NYC or Boston LOL. Of course many of those places have steam heat (radiators) I suppose.

I've got a vanilla orchid growing near a window in my bedroom. They need good filtered light and just a few minutes of direct sunlight every day to trigger flowering. The flowers only last a single day, and need to be pollinated by hand for them to develop pods. I have a spot under a patio outdoors where I will move this to if it becomes too much. At the moment I mist it with a spray bottle to simulate a tropical environment. I can't wait to get some pods to cure. The vanilla orchid is semi-parasitic in the wild, it grows upon its host tree, then grows back towards earth where it resprouts through the ground like a regular orchid.

If you find that you're a chronic over-waterer, it may be that your nurturing instincts are forcing your hand, so to speak. Try channeling some of that 'fussing around' energy into take the time to groom your plants: wipe the dust off the ZZs, snake plants and peace lilies, dust the african violets with a small brush, and remove any dead leaves or stems. Be careful with fertilizer: just as with watering, you're more likely to over-fertilize than to under-fertilize.

R44 It’s pretty basic, kind of like a car gas gage. It has a meter that shows wet or dry. I usually wait until the plant reads just a bar or two above dry...or to use the car analogy when the car has about 1/8 of a tank left. It’s useful because you can measure the water level deep down by the roots. Mine is by Luster Leaf.

I use a syringe or very small squirt bottle to water my indoor succulents and small plants about once a week. If I drop ice cubes, they go into a succulent. My large plants receive whatever water remains in water glasses left out throughout the day. It seems a bit hodge-podge but works.

I made the mistake of over watering my plants and was rewarded with an invasion of gnats. They were all over my apartment. Had to throw the plants away and start fresh. Gnats are notoriously hard to get rid of.

^^^^^ Fungus gnats. They are after the organic matter in the soil the plant is growing in, so they can lay eggs. You can buy bright yellow(a color they're particularly attracted to) cards(approx. 3 x 5), coated with an adhesive, to put near an infected plant. The gnats will alight on the sticky card and remain there, unable to reproduce. You'll see fewer and fewer gnats as time passes.

[quote]The vanilla orchid is semi-parasitic in the wild, it grows upon its host tree, then grows back towards earth where it resprouts through the ground like a regular orchid.

Not even remotely parasitic. Epiphytic.

R55 does this work for fruit flies? Yeah, I should throw out the rotting fruit but I’m curious anyway.

R39 I spent an hour browsing their website last night on your recommendation! You’ve been happy with the plants you’ve purchased? Have you purchased indoor and outdoor plants?

for gnats I use GNATROL once a week or two, it's bacteria that eats the gnat larvae. for fruit flies I put a quarter cup of apple cider vinegar in a small jar and instead of a lid I put plastic wrap tightly across the top, held with a rubber band and put tiny holes in the plastic wrap. the fruit flies go right in and can't get back out.

I get fruit flies when we have lots of rain, once it dries out they go away.

r57, the above was for you, I forgot to number.

I use the attached for watering my plants

I had a fresh pineapple I purchased at the market a couple months ago. I cut it up that day and put all the pieces in a container. Then I decided to try to root the top and plant it. I was successful and it's growing very nicely. I have it outside at this stage but I'll bring it in the fall.

I'm anxious to see it grow a stalk and eventually a small pineapple.

And here are some of the giant Zinias I planted from seed inside and then moved outside. They're supposed to grow to a maximum of 36". These are already approaching 5'.

I was trying to sign R62 as R61, but my fingers slipped.

[quote] I use GNATROL once a week or two, it's bacteria that eats the gnat larvae

Does it come with an applicator?

I love that if you click on R62's photo you can see some fat whore being pounded from behind.

Horticulture AND whore d' culture!

I don't see the the fat whore at R62?

Me either! 😁😨

the ads probably change, but when I clicked it was a pretty foul sow!

Your house will be full of bugs.

[quote] the ads probably change,

I use an ad blocker and don't have any ads at all on that site. But I do see a blue tab for "LIVE SEX" that I've never noticed before.😨

Hi R58.

I've purchased a Pilea peperomioides, several episcias a couple of adenium obesums a Sansevieria Fernwood ‘Mikado’. They also have a bunch of not run-of-the-mill begonias.

For adenium obesums, I actually prefer the following as I am located in Florida.

I have a desert rose r71! it's new and pretty scraggly right now but I am hoping it perks up and blooms sometime in the future.

I also have a grafted cactus /succulent but I am secretly not crazy about it. It's really really big and kind of creepy looking. but, I haven't figured out if I want to pawn it off on someone yet

What do you mean by really big r72? A well grown specimen can be worth quite a bit.

the trunk is about 10 inches and the wavy top part is 9 inches wide by 5 inches tall. so, not huge but I thought the seller was saying it was 5 inches tall total, not well over a foot.

Another excellent source.

Their houseplants were gone for a few months (probably due to the pandemic), but they are back.

The easiest plant I've ever had is the jade plant, as mentioned, a succulent. You'd almost have to try hard in order to kill it. Seems to need little water and only occasionally. They like to be placed outside in warm sunny weather. Years ago I had one that was enormous, but sadly left it outdoors too late in the year and an early frost killed it.

Any recommendations on maintaining fiddle leaf figs?

r77 Prayer might help. It didn't for me though.

R77 Move to a rainforest - the problem with many houseplants is that they are forest under-story plants that have evolved to grow in low-light (which makes some of them suitable for indoor use) but very high humidity environments. They are nursery-grown in high-humidity glasshouses and shade-houses under conditions that can never be replicated in a regular household. Sadly, many (most?) of these plants that look amazing when you buy them will be doomed as soon as you get them home.

A much better option is to choose plants that will tolerate or, ideally thrive in low light, low humidity environments.

R79 -- hmmm. In my case, I might be okay. I live in (Godforesaken) Florida, so...humidity? ✔️ And, the fiddle leaf fig is located in basically an all glass room, so, ✔️.

It's actually something the sellers of my new place left behind. It seemed to have thrived in this spot, but now I need to maintain the damn thing. It's beautiful, so hopefully I don't kill it.

For you r80

My variegated Hoya Carnosa is blooming! I am so happy - I hardly ever manages to bloom. The little hanging sprouts bundles usually dry up and fall off before the flowers open.

R82, Congratulations! I'm still hoping my hoya will bloom some day.

This thread seems to have gone the way of many a fiddle leaf fig.

I have a fiddle leaf fig that's thriving. I put it in our bathroom, where we have clerestory windows only and a skylight (it's a modern house) and it gets very good indirect light most all day. I don't even water it on a specific rotation. Essentially about once every other week I give it about 12 ounces of water. Sometimes it goes 3 weeks without water because I forget. I didn't even realize these things are supposedly finicky - mine is super easy. I have to cut it back or it'll take off with big long shoots/limbs.

Now, as far as a Ficus Benjamina, those fuckers are difficult. I've only had a few in my life and they always drop leaves big-time when you move them. Mine have always recovered but Jesus they hate being moved.

Ficus Benjamina are indeed loath to be moved about, but they make spectacular bonsai. I've been training one for a little over 20 years now and it is a twisted wonder with lots of aerial roots.

R86, I also have a Ficus Benjamina bonsai. In fact, it's my only bonsai. I've had it for about 10 years and I love it. Yours sounds a bit more fabulous than mine. Do you de-leaf it to have tiny leaves for a while? I've not done it.

I generally let it go for a couple of years with just a shaping pruning as needed to keep it from looking like a shrub.

Then every two or three years I chop the shit out of it. Bring it back to just about a dozen limbs and let it start dancing again.

Use your used tea bags and coffee grounds to feed your plants.

We have a marvelous one we call tannis root. Sure, it has a terrible smell, but you get used to it!

I'm growing ficus benjamina for the first time in over 30 years, and they're doing really well. I really wanted a single stem tree, but this is a variegated variety, and I was only able to locate plants with multiple stems. I figure I'll just remove some of the lower branches as it gets taller, but I picked a permanent spot for it in my living room window, and it's been putting out healthy new growth after the initial (expected) leaf drop.

I tried growing a fiddle-leaf fig years ago, but wasn't too happy with it. I guess you could say it took a long time dying. I like it when a plant is more responsive: I found the fiddle-leaf fig held its foliage for a long time, but once it lost a leaf, it seldom, if ever replaced the leaf. I would have been okay with dropped leaves as long as they were being replaced.

I also have a very tiny fig: an oak-leaved, miniature creeping fig. I'm still trying to decide how to handle it: I think it might look good in its own bonsai pot. I like to plant ground covers around my larger plants, but this creeping fig has too much personality for that.

I just started cuttings of the really large leafed variety of Tradescantia, Purple Heart. I had a huge one a few years ago. It flowered frequently.

[quote]I really wanted a single stem tree, but this is a variegated variety, and I was only able to locate plants with multiple stems.

Actually, you might try braiding the multiple stems. Ficus stems/trunks/branches tend to merge as the plant grows, which can provide you with a really beautiful, thick trunk.

Saving this thread! Moving to a desert climate and will want to put some greenery indoors for sure.

I also get most of my houseplants from Logees. It has a lot of unusual looking plants, and also lots of uncommon beautiful ones.

I have about 10 in my office and 30 at home. I have a lot of chronic health problems and I swear that I feel better having green life around. Whether it’s psychological or physical doesn’t matter to me. They also put humidity into the air and remove all sorts of toxins, so I consider them air filters and since I live in a no-pets building...well, they’re closer to real pets than the Roomba is!

Here’s one plant I got from Logee’s a year or so ago that has grown beautifully. Mine is a lot fuller than the one in the photo.

And I have a couple different varieties of Moses in the cradle, including this variegated pink one and a bright spring green one.

They grow like crazy, making long trailing stems. Like a lot of plants, nipping the stems encourages branching, and the stems take root very easily in water and transplant well to soil. I could start my own nursery with all the plants these have made for me.

A pretty hybrid pothos. If you mix different hues and variegations of foliage, the effect really is a lot like having flowers all year.

Just a note on pothos: someone above said it’s a pretentious name for ivy, and that’s just wrong. It’s just the name of Scindapsus genus plants. Ivies belong to the genus Hedera. They’re both vines, but they’re not the same plant at all. Lots of ivies grow in temperate climates and pothos is a rainforest plant.

One thing they do have in common as houseplants is that they almost always remain in their juvenile asexual states when they’re potted and indoors. The typical ivy-shaped leaves of English and Boston ivy, for example, are juvenile leaf forms. In nature, the ivies grow from the ground with that leaf shape and climb upward. Once they reach tree canopies, differently shaped mature adult leaves (which are like large pothos leaves) flower and grow small berries.

Last one...this is one of my favorites that I got last year. It’s so bright and it really does kind of feel like it beams light into the room.

Time to order Amaryllis