The MLP Arena

Pony Talk => Off Topic => Topic started by: Lady Frostbite on March 26, 2019, 07:04:01 PM

Title: Houseplants?
Post by: Lady Frostbite on March 26, 2019, 07:04:01 PM
Does anyone else keep/grow houseplants? I get some plants dirt-cheap (heh) from my local shop, and I've grown quite a little collection!
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: SpacePinto on March 26, 2019, 08:38:12 PM
When I was a teenager I bought a venus flytrap and a sarracenia for my room because I was obsessed with carnivorous plants at the time, now I'm thinking about buying those again because I've seem them at a local supermarket.
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: banditpony on March 27, 2019, 02:43:25 AM
:( I am a plant killer....
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Taffeta on March 27, 2019, 05:00:04 AM
I love plants and am known to rescue the sad sorry ones in the sale shelves to try and save them...with fair success I might add.

At the moment I have one poinsettia (it is about 2 and a half years old), two spider plants which are at least 15...a cyclamen from last winter and Nat.

Nat is a Madagascan dragon tree and he used to live at the library I worked. When the library closed all the plants had to be rehomed and Nat was already 3ft then and nobody wanted him. So I convinced Dad we should take him. He is now at least 5ft tall and lives it up in the sun by the patio doors.I don't know how old he is. He was at the library when I joined in 2004 so he is at least 15.

He got his name (Nathaniel) from library staff who named all the plants in the drive to rehome them. So he is known as Nat.

In the winter months one of my fuchsia plants comes inside yo protect it from the frost. So that one is a part time house plant....
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: mlp4me on March 27, 2019, 05:50:04 AM
I've had some plants, usually umbrellas and spiders, they last a few years then they die even with re-potting. Right now I've got a ton of geraniums hanging out in the kitchen catching sun waiting for late spring so they can go back outside.
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Griffin on March 27, 2019, 07:41:56 AM
I love the idea of houseplants and their air cleaning qualities, but I'm not very good at taking care of them, plus so many plants are toxic to cats (one of our cats likes to chew on everything... he'll even bite into a cactus!)

I currently have a spider plant and a spiderwort/Tradescantia (had to look up their English names, learning something new :D ) which are doing nicely so far. I usually have better success with garden plants, though. I like to grow herbs and vegetables on the balcony, it's so satisfying to eat something you've cultivated yourself!
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: melodys_angel on March 27, 2019, 09:17:35 AM
One day ^^'

We do have some plants from a few condolences that are growing well but those will be moved outside in the summer.
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: cyberunicorn on March 27, 2019, 10:48:34 AM
I have one or two cough cought ok maybe a few more got a bit obsessed with them a while ago.

Currently i have orchids, en ex bonsi tree, christmas easter and thanks giving cactuses, palour palm, bird of paradise plant, broom head (think that is what it is called), pease lilly, two aloe vera plants, loads of cactus and suclients. I predict more will arrive after my next trip to spain though 🤔

Oh i also have two cactus out at my family’s apartment which are experments to see if they would grow outside with noone looking after them. Turns out they are better than the ones getting care in the uk.

Also we have a thing at work where we get different cheap plants. My team leader hates plants so we are seeing how many we can get to before she cracks and makes us reduct the nunbers 🤣
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Skeen on March 27, 2019, 11:44:11 AM
I don't have any because cats will eat/poop in anything. 
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: lovesbabysquirmy on March 27, 2019, 03:13:06 PM
my cat thinks the plant rack is a buffet!!!!
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Mewtwofan1 on March 27, 2019, 10:14:24 PM
     We used to have this massive ficus in our front room of my parents home. It was a wedding gift for them when they got married many years ago, and it lived quite a long life. We named her vira, and growing up I called her an “indoor outside tree.”. The cat never pooped in her pot, unless he was upset. So that was a blessing. Now, we don’t have many houseplants save for this small succulent plant (cannot remember it’s species name) as a gift. It’s nice, and easy to take care of. I love plants, and hope to keep some when I grow up and get my own place.
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: BlackCurtains on March 27, 2019, 10:52:28 PM
I love plants but I have bad luck with them. Also a cat person and there are only so many that are cat safe.
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Beldarna on March 28, 2019, 01:42:43 AM
I have around 20ish plants, mainly different palmtrees as those are easiest to care for. Many of them has been around since my teenage years, we have grown up together :inlove:. I don't have time to look up their english names, I hardly know their Swedish's anyway, but here is a picture I took a couple of weeks ago during their annual spring shower :).

visitors can't see pics , please register or login
 (https://flic.kr/p/2fm3EU4)IMG_20190310_132805 (https://flic.kr/p/2fm3EU4) by Veronica Öhman (https://www.flickr.com/photos/139781003@N05/), on Flickr
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: AnnaPommes on March 28, 2019, 01:52:26 AM
Shaiyeh, where are you?? XD

i think plants and cats -can- coexist. Okay, my tomcat loves to chew on a few plants, but that why i got an orange-tree. Cats do not like citrus and will never bite this plant twice. ^^
Also i am always looking out for palms, i am looking to buy a monstera and i like bambus.
On our balcony we have wine and lavender - together with a random wildflower and grass mix. - because our cats love to sit in the flowepots and flattened everything except the lavender.
oh, and i am very proud, that my "twisting tree" and my rose survived the winter! the twisting tree was a present from a former co-worker and the rose is from a friends garten. she said: "we can not get rid of her, we even tried the lawnmover twice! she keeps coming back!" We called her wonderwomen and she ist the coolest lady on the balcony!


Beldarna your plants look so powerfull and fresh! *o*
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Shaz on March 28, 2019, 02:37:49 AM
We have a few plants that we've rescued from friends who had been given them as gifts and were going to throw them out when they started to look a bit tired. What can I say, I like rescuing unwanted things :blush:

We give them all names because we're weird like that. At the moment we have Katherine and Caitlin, who are Flaming Katys/kalanchoes, and also Gary and Frederick (not sure what they are, but Gary has some nice flowers). We used to have Robert the aloe vera but he died last winter.

My parents have a spider plant called Horace (naming plants is obviously a family trait) who I think is older than me :O. He just keeps going, he dies off but comes back!

So far no trouble with our cat and our plants. His favourite plant is some long grass which grows in the border in our garden. He likes to put it in his mouth and chew on it without eating it :shrug: cats are strange. We also have daffodils that used to be houseplants but are now outside, and a little Japanese Acer tree named Chiriko (we had been reading Fushigi Yuugi when we got him).
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Strawberrysweets on March 28, 2019, 03:46:49 AM
I have a desert type plant(not cactus) and its blooming  :inlove:
I am the one who have killed a cactus and a plastic plant(dont ask) so I am super happy I finally is able to keep plants alive other then the fisktanks plants.
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: StrawberrySundance on March 28, 2019, 04:14:41 AM
I had 3 mini cacti/cactuses a few years back, they used to sit on my windowsill but I got rid of them for reasons I can't remember...I now just have some roses in a cactus vase XD

I'd love to have more house plants but my room is quite small.
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Taffeta on March 28, 2019, 04:51:02 AM
Chiriko <3 Yuugi.

Also so happy I'm not the only one who rescues sad plants and who gives them names :D

Not quite reached Beldarna's point of putting them in the shower though...

Will be spending stupid money, probably, this year on buying a new pot for Nathaniel.

Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Shaiyeh on March 28, 2019, 08:52:25 AM
Shiayeh, where are you?? XD


Here!

Houseplants? YES!!!
I have a bunch of plants, I used to have more but had a thrips attack this winter. My cats generally don't go for my plants, as they get their own spider plants to eat. Cheddar tries to sneak my areca palm sometimes, but that's about it.
Actually filmed a plant tour as a part of this week's knitting podcast. will post that with timestamp when it's up ^^
Plants are my biggest obsession beside ponies. One of the saddest things at the moment however is I thought I had SOOO many plants back when we lived in the house. (tiny tiny house) Now after moving to our flat, I'm like... where's my jungle :sad: Luckily, my hubby wants more plants, too, so we'll remedy that ;)
I have monsteras ( variegata, regular and adansonii), hoyas, pothos, geraniums... Like I said, a little tour incoming.
And more plants incoming. Holding off on it a bit, because I dont want to move them through too cold weather. (two of the plants we plan on is a fiddle leaf fig, and rubber plant, and those can lose a ton of leaves if they get shocked so... ;_; )

I'm planning on sowing a few coleus soon, see if I can get that to work. I tried in the house, but it was too cold and dark, so they died. I also have a balcony, which I'm gonna fill with chillies and paprikas among others, but those aren't really house plants, so I don't know if they count^^'

Like I said, plant geek xD sorry ahha.
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: invaderhorizongreen on March 28, 2019, 09:17:18 AM
I currently have two tiny wild catnip sprouts in a bot in the kitchen.
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: brightberry on March 28, 2019, 09:22:41 PM
We have several.  Orchids, aloe, spider, cacti, one I can’t identify and a zebra plant. 

I’m assuming the un-identified isn’t a weed.  My husband gave it to me when it was blooming and it hasn’t bloomed since.  But it’s thriving otherwise.

The zebra plant had a tragic accident where most of it’s leaves got knocked off.  So it’s kind of a long stem with a few leaves stuck to the top.   :pout:

Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Leave a Whisper on March 28, 2019, 09:46:43 PM
My thumb is a thumb of death. I couldn't keep a plastic plant alive. Probably.  My daughter has a decent green thumb though. She brought an oregano back from the brink and is doing a wonderful job with her aloe vera, desert succulents and green onions.

Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Beldarna on March 28, 2019, 11:13:56 PM
Beldarna your plants look so powerfull and fresh! *o*

Thank you, they always perk up at the thought of getting rid of the vinter dust.  ^.^

Chiriko <3 Yuugi.

Also so happy I'm not the only one who rescues sad plants and who gives them names :D

Not quite reached Beldarna's point of putting them in the shower though...

Will be spending stupid money, probably, this year on buying a new pot for Nathaniel.



Naaw, plants love getting showers in the spring, so putting them there is a good idea. I've done it for years. It clears their airways from the dust they accumulated since last time. I just put some nutrition sticks in them, shower them and let them stand there a few hours before putting them back and they're ready for spring :D.

I've never named mine though.
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Shaiyeh on March 29, 2019, 02:13:17 AM
Here's my video! The tour didnt turn out as cool as I wanted, haha, but will probably make an updated one later on.
In case it starts at the beginning of the video, plant talk and tour starts at 20:00. (it's a knitting podcast episode, so everything before that is all yarn talk. feel free to watch if you're into that! XD )

https://youtu.be/mJi1IsfL2hQ?t=1200 (https://youtu.be/mJi1IsfL2hQ?t=1200)
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Lady Frostbite on April 02, 2019, 08:41:30 AM
Two of my orchids had leathery leaves, so I sought out an orchid nursery's advice on healing them. I think it's working!

My two bromeliads produced 2 pups each ages ago. I repotted all 4 pups, and it's odd; one pup is going from strength to strength (it was overgrown by the time I removed it from the mother), one pup is slowly getting there, but two pups are still like I AM A GREEN SPIKE PLZ IGNORE. I wonder why  :huh:
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Artemesia's Garden on April 24, 2019, 11:57:27 AM
I have a few, but my best one is a planted green bottle with about 5 litres of water in it. It has five diffrent kinds of plants in it including christmas moss and a really tiny Anubius that never gets large. I guess you could call it a no-tech aquarium.  Snails, ostracods and a few wierd little worm-like things live in there as well. I have a collection of cacti and succulents on my south-west facing window and various shade-loving plants including Streptocarpus, Chlorophytum, Anubias and Tradescatntia. I have some shocking pink Pelargoniums and Impatiens on the windowsill at work waiting to go into summer tubs in a few weeks time. I try not to let it all get too out of hand.
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Taffeta on April 24, 2019, 02:54:47 PM
I am somewhat bereft now having come back to London and left my plants behind. Also because for the last month my windowsill has been home to baby plants which have slowly grown up to hopefully become hanging basket and tub plants and have now migrated to the big world outside.

My poor poinsettia is currently on its own in my room while the rest have migrated to the less sunshiny spare room for a bit. The poinsettia isn't in the window, and doesn't seem to care much about anything since it's still bracting and flowering even though it's now the April after its second Christmas season...so I figured it was fine to stay where it was.

My sister has a Calla Lily and she brought some baby bulbs home to plant. They have grown and are huge - but not really interested in flowering, just "leafing" instead. I think they are having a height competition but I don't think that's how Calla Lilies are meant to behave...
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Shaz on April 25, 2019, 02:12:18 AM
We added a pot of daffodils to our plant collection the weekend before last, but they are heading outside soon, so not really houseplants.

Seems that ponies enjoy playing among houseplants: http://imgur.com/a/biQW3Ho
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Noasar on April 25, 2019, 02:46:22 PM
I have tons of plants too!

Shaiyeh monstera veriegata is hiiiigh on my want list but they are so expensive!!

I have hoyas (beautiful flowers) - one in my classroom that is over 5ft that I inherited after an old lady died, tons of kalanchoe, christmas cactus, calathea, orchid, monstera, about 15 spider plants (split between my classroom and house), a lemon tree and an orange tree in my conservatory, sansevieria, palms, cactus orchids, euphorbia, pilea, and a night blooming cerea that a friend brought back as a cutting from Mexico. Can you tell I REALLY like plants? XD

I struggle with succulents because we don't get enough light here but I have some hardy ones in my garden.

I would highly recommend sansevieria if you want to get into houseplants. They are pretty impossible to kill!
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Khoufu on April 26, 2019, 07:23:10 AM
Do Neoplants count? :cool:
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Galactica on April 26, 2019, 12:21:20 PM
I love house plants and office plants-   but I have a black thumb.

At the office I have to leave someone else to be 100% responsible for my tree or I WILL kill it. I will.

Recently I decided I would try again with a house plant and bought the most adorable "fairy" plant-Mini Pixie Syngonium (Syngonium podophyllum “Mini Pixie”)

I bought two- visitors can't see pics , please register or login


I put them in an adorable mini pot that my sister had made for me- then I accidentally forgot it for a week and discovered it dried and shriveled (I swear not even 7 days later !!)   :cry:  >_<

After that I put it above the kitchen sink so at least I would see it every day when I do the dishes- and it did come back after a few days-   :lookround:

After that (after being warned very sternly by my wife not to overwater) I have watered it every 3 days and it has sloooooly been looking slightly better-  but then we get a rash of sunny weather and it will suddenly dry out and wilt!!!!!!!!!  Like it just goes all flat! :shocked:

I don't know how people do it.  Plants are TOO HARD.  I need some kind of fool proof system ...
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: nessa16 on April 26, 2019, 02:46:24 PM
I used to have a cactus/succulent bowl in college and "lucky" bamboo.  Those have since died.  My ex killed the cacti and the bamboo kind of rotted in the aquarium.  I used to have a cactus that I had had since 3rd grade and my mom was supposed to take care of it when I graduated and moved away to college.  It was dead by Christmas.  I was so upset.  Now I have a poinsettia that my aunt gave me for the birth of my daughter just after Thanksgiving.  It has had a few close calls because I sometimes forget to water it but it is still alive.  I got a vining plant from my grandmother a few years ago because she had "too many" plants (total green thumb, anything grows for her) and she forced it upon me.  It almost died too because we lived in a tiny house with little sunlight.  It is now in a window I used to sit by at work and is quite a bit happier.  Our CNA cares for it.  I tried keeping an orange tree before we got married but we did not get enough sun in the winter and it died tragically.
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Chrissytree on April 26, 2019, 03:06:32 PM
I have lots. I have them on my bedroom window ledge and they kind of move to either the landing window sill or the conservatory as they get too big to fit!
I'm so bad at their names though and some even have their labels!
I also inherited my Mum's cactus plants and some succulents. I might have killed her Geraniums though and it's got nothing to do with them making me sneeze :p There's still one left.

I've spent the last few days repotting them all! I think I've left it a bit long in some cases. One set of yukka plants were in a terracotta pot and so root bound I thought I'd never get them out. Had to have a hand to push them out from the bottom with a pole. I realised they must have been in that pot for at least 5 years! They got overlooked.
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Beldarna on April 26, 2019, 10:22:32 PM

I put them in an adorable mini pot that my sister had made for me- then I accidentally forgot it for a week and discovered it dried and shriveled (I swear not even 7 days later !!)   :cry:  >_<

After that I put it above the kitchen sink so at least I would see it every day when I do the dishes- and it did come back after a few days-   :lookround:

After that (after being warned very sternly by my wife not to overwater) I have watered it every 3 days and it has sloooooly been looking slightly better-  but then we get a rash of sunny weather and it will suddenly dry out and wilt!!!!!!!!!  Like it just goes all flat! :shocked:

I don't know how people do it.  Plants are TOO HARD.  I need some kind of fool proof system ...


My system is to have a set day in the week to water the plants. Most plants can live with drying out a bit, few survive over watering as it often makes the root rot. So if you have a set day or two were you water it will be fine. My mom and grandma cares for their plants in other ways and always goes around a set time each day to check their plants (mom has more than 20 in her bedroom! Her entire apartment is filled with them, it's like a greenhouse.. or a djungle :blink:). I can't bother with that. I water all my plants saturday evening around 7 pm. Two other plants require more and those are watered wednesdays in the winter winter. During summer, those two gets watered tuesdays and thursdays. 
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Taffeta on April 26, 2019, 11:11:04 PM
You can also get things to put in the pot that change colour, or make a sound, or whatever to let you know when a plant needs to be watered.

In my room it depends on a number of factors - whether they're in the window, whether it's hot, and the type of plant. Since my room is south facing when I'm back home, the sill is often used as an unofficial nursery/greenhouse, which means that in the spring often small plants live there that will eventually go outside. Some plants rot from the root up and you don't know about it until the top part of the plant collapses, at which point it is too late...so they do need to be kept an eye on.

I find that if they don't have a lot of soil and they have a lot of root it isn't great - they may need more water (but pot bound isn't a good situation so repotting is always necessary). My Dad swears by only watering when the sun has gone down, so as it doesn't draw the roots to the surface/dry out too quickly.

With my poinsettia though, it's a much more simple system. Finger in pot to test for dampness of soil. I usually water it every 3 days and it's fine. Some plants don't survive no matter how hard you try, because it's hard to ask a plant what is wrong xd. But most plants do whatever they can to live, rather than die. Outside plants have to fend for themselves a lot, but inside ones rely entirely on the human to ensure they get enough but not too much water...so building up a routine is good (so long as you pay attention to the weather changes etc).

My spider plants can be watered once a week or less and they do fine. I put them outside once the frosts are passed, too, because they seem to like it. But my cyclamen is a delicate little brat who requires much more attention. If you're really not able to monitor regularly, I advise getting something low maintenance like a succulent or spider plant. So long as you don't overwater succulents, these guys are pretty tough.

But yeah, 7 days kind of shocked me. I mean, imagine nobody gave you a drink for 7 days o.O.

One other thing with watering is that you can put a tray under the plant and water into the tray. Then whatever isn't absorbed into the pot you can tip away. You have to do something like this with orchids, but it doesn't hurt to do it with others as well - leaving pots standing in water isn't generally good.
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: cyberunicorn on April 27, 2019, 11:06:25 AM
Just got back from spain and ended up buying 5 more plants.  I am going to leave two of them there to summer outside so will bring them home in November (possibly) but the other three will be here in june when my parents drive up to visit cannot wait to have them home.
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: gemini_pony on April 29, 2019, 01:48:54 AM
I have a pothos in my bathroom and on my balcony I am amassing succulents. Over half of my succulents rescued from the garbage. I also have a garlic plant and a cactus.
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Shaiyeh on May 14, 2019, 02:08:31 PM
I forgot about this thread. I need to make an updated plant tour, as now that we're a bit more settled in here in our new flat, our plant collection has grewn a... *ahem* tad.
Managed to get my hands on a huge Monstera Standleyana (albo variegata), and I've got completely nuts for Hoyas over the past couple months and added a full plant and a couple cuttings. :lovey:
 Oh, and I did sow some coleus. I bought a random seed mix some time last year, so you can pretty much get any sort. I've got 4 little pots now after repotting, 2 of which have two of what I think, and hope, is the same colour, and two others XD they're coming along nicely. 


As for how I do it in terms of keeping them alive - all the research! What plants like what soil, how to mix your soil, and where to put them (like, do they like full sun, or shade?), how much humidity they prefer...
But if you want two things that have helped me:
1) Perlite.
    Seriously, it does wonders for a lot of plants when it comes to soil. Regular potting soil is often a bit too compact. Add in some perlite, it'll help.
2) Moisture probe.
    finger testing the soil is good and all that, I went with that for years. But it's nice to know for sure! plus, you have a gadget, and gadgets are fun to use, so (if you're like me) you're probably gonna end up using it. I mainly got mine because I'm afraid to get into owning alocasia, but I find myself sticking it in every single pot several times a week xD
(maybe I just spend a little too much time with my plants.)

(and bonus: watch plant youtubers. It's super inspiring! Especially videos about [insert plant] care. Betsy Begonia is one of my favs :) )

Also, just keep trying. I've killed a fair few plants in my days (alocasia amazonica, I'm looking at you. Also looking at rubber tree. Why don't I fully understand you?!), and I think there's a bit of a learning curve to taking care of plants. But once you start getting the hang of it, if plants are something you enjoy, it's so so rewarding and fun!
 


I have tons of plants too!

Shaiyeh monstera veriegata is hiiiigh on my want list but they are so expensive!!


I got really stinkin' lucky. hubby's god mother works at a nursery, so she gifted me one :blush: A Thai Constellation is however high on my want list. I'm crazy for monsteras, so I wouldn't mind having a few different varieties of M. Deliciosa in different variegated forms :heart:

Been watching a bit of plant-tube lately (like Kaylee Ellen, who's done a few videos on monsteras!) and it seems like monsteras are a little bit easier to get a hold of in Sweden and from Swedish shops... gonna drop a link to PlantThatPlant (https://plantthatplant.com/) (not affiliated, just a fan), they ship EU & US :)


That was a lot, sorry. if anyone wanna chat plants, feel free to pm xD I shan't spam the thread too much XD
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Loona on May 18, 2019, 02:46:27 PM
*raises hands* massive plant mom here :blush: :inlove:

I love plants, and always had several - right now I think I'm somewhere between 40 and 50 pots (I should really count...). Most of them aren't that big (the majority are succulents, 9 are cacti), but they are constantly getting bigger, so I shouldn't rescue anymore. Because yes, I am also the rescuer type, and will pick up broken off plant pieces (most succulents can be regrown from parts) at the shop. My latest acquisition is a pair of Agave sucklings I rescued from under a poor dead Agave mommy whom I found in the trash (not literally in the cans, butput next to them :P ). There was a Monstera suckling too in a similar way, but she didn't make it sadly :( The Agaves rooted fine and started to grow, though they seem to have some little evils on them, so I fear for the others right now (with my plant-getting habits I wonder how I managed to avoid pests so far). I need to look into how I can permanently get rid of the stuff before it spreads to other members of the family.

Only a minority of my plant family were bought, the majority are either rescues or were given to me, and there are some that used to be plants of my family - usually the latter are the ones that are non-succulents, and were e.g. gifted to my mother. Meaning they are at least 9 years old (she passed away 9 years ago...). A number of them are well over 10 years old, but I sadly cannot trace back the exact age of the older ones (and there are complicatons too, like the Yuccas that are sucklings of a plant that my mother got as a work-leaving gift in the early 1990s. I have no clue when that plant got too big that my mother decided to cut it back. It eventually became 3 plants, and I have no clue which used to be the original one's top part).

Most of them are living in, or right next to the windows (which is also the reason why I shouldn't have more, there is simply no more space). There is one certain spot where I would still love to have a pot (it is just so empty, and I would like to see some life there, but while it is closer to the window, it is sadly not bright enough for succulents), but after that I should be done. My mother in law has lots of Epipremnum, and judging by the light conditions at the in-laws' house I think those would do fine there, so my plan is to get some cuttings from her. We already discussed this, but decided to wait until the weather gets warmer (it should be fine already, but we first discussed this in the winter, and I didn't want to travel 3 hours with plants while the it was cold).

I should really take some pictures... I loved your pictures and video, Beldarna and Shaiyeh!
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Mewtwofan1 on May 18, 2019, 10:33:25 PM
    Well, you all got to me. My school was having a plant sale for the horticultural club. And I am now a proud plant mother to a geranium and a succulent, houses in a teacup and saucer. They’re both cute and I love them dearly...I’ll post pictures later, when I can take some. The geranium is quite big, the teacup succulent is quite adorable, and I had fun carrying them around school for an afternoon. These plants are going to be super smart plants!
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Noasar on May 19, 2019, 04:41:51 AM
    Well, you all got to me. My school was having a plant sale for the horticultural club. And I am now a proud plant mother to a geranium and a succulent, houses in a teacup and saucer. They’re both cute and I love them dearly...I’ll post pictures later, when I can take some. The geranium is quite big, the teacup succulent is quite adorable, and I had fun carrying them around school for an afternoon. These plants are going to be super smart plants!

Yay, welcome to the plant club! Post some pics!

If I remember this week at work/home I’ll take a video of my plants too :D
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Shaiyeh on May 24, 2019, 10:07:39 AM
Loona - for pests, look into neem oil!
How nice to rescue plants tho :lovey:


Mewtwofan - woooh! congrats on your new plants :D


I really need a new video, haha, I have new babies. Again. And going to a cutting swap/sale with my sister in law tomorrow. Eeeeee!
I got a Begonia maculata 'wightii' today, so stoked, been eyeing them forever, but haven't found The One until today. And as per usual, when visiting my parents, I come home with cuttings x'D A few geraniums, and a hoya cummingiana. Then we'll see about the swap - I hope to score some more hoya :)


Noasar - yesss make a vid! would love to see!
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: kakenterprise on May 25, 2019, 02:40:15 PM
I have a grow room in my house used for growing lettuce all year long and lots of different micogreens. 

Besides that I have a mystery rescued house plant, an american bonsai and some other plant that won't flower anymore but as long as it keep growing leaves it gets to stay.
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: achab1984 on May 29, 2019, 08:12:50 PM
I did not have any real plants till this year! I have 9 right now. Two of them are pothos plants, one snake plant, one aleo plant, one peace lily and the other ones I cant remember there names! I love them all! They are all doing very well but the one in the bathroom. Its a palm kind of plant and I had one before that did not do well. :(  Will not be buying that one again. 
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Littlesparklepony on June 03, 2019, 11:18:09 AM
I have orchids and geraniums and some plants on my balcony.
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: nebulavery on June 03, 2019, 04:29:58 PM
I'm actively trying to turn my space into a jungle. While most of my collection are succulents or cacti, one of my favorites is the spider plant and her separate pup, who were both gifted to me. I've been having issues with light levels in my dorm, so I may eventually invest in a grow light for the sunlight-hungry Echeverias. We'll see!
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: aquamarinemolly on June 03, 2019, 06:13:14 PM
I love my plants, but they're pretty basic sturdy vines and spider plants. I love my apartment thought because there is ivy growing all around the windows on the outside of the building <3
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Lady Frostbite on June 04, 2019, 12:45:47 AM
I should probably talk about my own plants!

Orchids
I have 5 orchids; 2 small and 3 big ones. Only one big one still has the flowers, mostly because I started watering it properly immediately and with fertilisers. It's a double-spike, so it's gotta need a lot of nutrients!
I was a sucker and did the 'water with ice' thing on the advice of a customer; however, the leaves became leathery and wilting on two of them, and all the flowers came off and I trimmed the spikes back. On the advice of an orchid nursery, I started watering with lukewarm water and 'flooding' them, watering and letting it all drain back out once a week. The leaves bounced back, and did better when moved to my living room. I do that with all of them now, and add some orchid fertiliser as well. The orchids with no flowers are producing new leaves!

Bromelaids
Ah yes, the plants that started it all! I bought two bromeliads for discount (£1.25 each) and noticed long afterwards that they were producing offshoots. Reading up, I learned that this was called 'pupping', and said pups would need to be repotted. The blooms on both mother plants died and I removed them (it's part of the brom life cycle; they won't bloom again and are in the stage of making pups). So far, I have 4 potted pops, and the mother plants are going to give me another 4-5 I think! I need to get some houseplant soil in order to repot, so pretty exciting!

2 pups are actively growing, but two have remained static green spikes, much to my confusion. They are not dying, but not growing, and haven't produced roots (I checked). But for as long as they are alive, I'll just keep watering and see what happens!

Peace lilies
If you want to get a plant that is pretty much bulletproof and lets you know when it wants water, the peace lily is absolutely the way to go. I bought my original plant to put in the landing, but noticed it wilted easily. I brought it into the house and watered it, and later learned that wilting was a sign it needed water. Since the place I put them was high up, I decided they liked my warmer kitchen better, and now I have 3 of them hogging the kitchen windowsill. They are growing, and still like to droop like drama queens when parched!

Draconae (a.k.a. 'Spiky *******")
Between this and the Fern Thing, I thought these are the two I'd kill, but it's producing new leaves! It's not the nicest plant I have, but hey, it's a friend!

Fern thing
The classic office plant or something you think of when you think tropical, again I thought I'd kill this one, but it's growing new fronds and I love it!

Thing That Says It's An Orchid But I Have My Doubts
This ... thing says it's an orchid. It's like a stalk of bamboo with leaves on either side. The flowers dropped off quick, the stalk looks withered, but it has leaves clinging on? I was told by a colleague she has one and it just died without much ceremony. It's a mystery and I don't like it.

Arthurium
This was on sale for 10p, how could I say no?!?! I trimmed off the dead leaves, trimmed off a big leaf with a brown spot I didn't like the look of, and I'm waiting to see what kind of grower it is.

Ficus
For sale for only 50p, again I couldn't resist. I didn't know if I was supposed to take off the twine netting around the trunk, but seeing all the dead leaves trapped there I decided to trim it off. Took a while to massage all the dead leaves out, and it is chilling in the kitchen happy and free. I'm tempted to put it on the sill outside my house (within a corridor), but we shall see!

Chillies
I'm growing chillies in a bucket from a growing kit (it came with the soil and seeds). They're doing really well so far, not fruiting yet!
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Shaiyeh on June 07, 2019, 01:55:05 PM
So happy to see this thread getting new posts everytime I chekc it :lovey: yay more plant lovers!

Lady Frostbite, your collection sounds awesome *3* I believe your thing that claims its an orchid may be a Dendrobium orchid! So indeed an orchid, but not the regular Phalaenopsis that is the most common orchid to get, and generally what people think of when you say 'orchid' ^^ Might help in figuring out what care it wants! :)

Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Lady Frostbite on June 12, 2019, 08:25:57 AM
Thank you! And you're right! I need to properly learn to keep it, it looks really poorly at the moment  :huh:

Soooo I was bad ... I meant only to get some houseplant soil to repot more pups off the Mama Broms, plus perhaps repot the Peace Lilys ... And they were selling big adult Broms for 20p each!!! COULD I RESIST?!?!?

I also got a little greenhouse! I had planned to get a bigger one, but it's out of stock in my local-ish store, so I got a cheaper, smaller one to do for now and I'm honestly happy now I've built it up. I'm taking a little break before I go to take the Mama Broms through to pot the pups, repot the bigger pups into smaller containers, free the new broms from their wrapping and get everyone into the new greenhouse
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Noasar on June 15, 2019, 03:13:32 AM
We should do some plant swaps on here and post cuttings/extra babies/seedlings to each other :)
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Lady Frostbite on June 15, 2019, 03:23:51 AM
Could do! I have 10 babies from my broms now, and since we're UK it would be a lot easier  :lol: I'll check Royal Mail!

Edit: From the Royal Mail website:

Quote
Perishables Royal Mail accepts items for delivery in the UK only. Parcelforce Worldwide accepts items for delivery in the UK, and internationally using the globalpriority service only. (including flowers, fresh fruit, vegetables and frozen or chilled foodstuffs. Frozen water and dry ice are prohibited)Packaging guidelines: Use 1st Class or express24 as the minimum service. Should be able to withstand a journey of up to 48 hours in the UK. Must be suitably sealed to prevent leakage or tainting of other items. Packages must be clearly labelled “PERISHABLE”.
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Noasar on June 15, 2019, 02:45:23 PM
I’ve bought tons of plants online, from the UK and a few from Europe and if packaged properly they travel really well :) as long as they are kept moist somehow a few days in the dark does them no harm!
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: cyberunicorn on June 16, 2019, 12:57:41 PM
 :cry: my house plants have arrived home from spain. Two have travelled really well just need a few days to recover from the journey. The third though has had a bad time of it 😭 all dried and shrivelled leaves.

I think it is salvageable currently got it in none direct light and just going to leave it alone for a few weeks with a general check in. It needs repotting but i think doing it now would be to stressful for it. Hope it recovers it os such a nice plant
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Noasar on June 16, 2019, 01:31:32 PM
:cry: my house plants have arrived home from spain. Two have travelled really well just need a few days to recover from the journey. The third though has had a bad time of it 😭 all dried and shrivelled leaves.

I think it is salvageable currently got it in none direct light and just going to leave it alone for a few weeks with a general check in. It needs repotting but i think doing it now would be to stressful for it. Hope it recovers it os such a nice plant

Oh no, that’s rubbish! What sort of plant is it?
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: cyberunicorn on June 16, 2019, 02:09:40 PM
I think it is a Calathea (I could be making that up though). Purple under the leaves with green and light green patterns on the top. It closes up when the sun goes down
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Khoufu on June 20, 2019, 09:01:47 PM
I found someone offering 12 McD's furbies for house plants on Facebook marketplace. XD I figured, sure, why not, so I'm casually hoping she'll take two of my 10 succulent plants.
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Beldarna on June 21, 2019, 12:38:21 AM
I got a giftcertificat from hubby in christmas present, for a flowershop. This week I went there and bought two Sanseviera trifasciata. I don't know which name you use most in English, if it is Snake Plant or Mother-In-Law-Toungue (in sweden it's the latter). So I finally have two flowers that are small enough to fit behind the curtain in the livingroom window :).
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Shaiyeh on June 28, 2019, 12:06:48 PM
I think it is a Calathea (I could be making that up though). Purple under the leaves with green and light green patterns on the top. It closes up when the sun goes down

sounds like a typical calathea look, and calathea behaviour! I'm sorry it didn't make the trip in great condition D: If it's a calathea, do keep the air humid, or spray its leaves! Should bounce back :)


Plant/cutting swaps sounds like so much fun! totally down for that!
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: cyberunicorn on June 28, 2019, 01:04:11 PM
I think it is a Calathea (I could be making that up though). Purple under the leaves with green and light green patterns on the top. It closes up when the sun goes down

sounds like a typical calathea look, and calathea behaviour! I'm sorry it didn't make the trip in great condition D: If it's a calathea, do keep the air humid, or spray its leaves! Should bounce back :)


Plant/cutting swaps sounds like so much fun! totally down for that!

Its looking much better now turns our when they stopped off in france ofr a few days they put it outside. When i took a closer look it was riddled in bugs. Managed to get everything off and a week later we seem much happier. And thankfully nothing seems to have passed to my other plants
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Noasar on June 28, 2019, 04:32:41 PM
My calathea lives in my bathroom and seems to be thriving! Like Shaiyeh said they love humidity.
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Lady Frostbite on August 20, 2019, 02:05:11 PM
I just posted on a gardening forum about my bromeliad pups, and I thought I was doing really okay, but now I think I took them off the mother way too soon according to a poster, and my anxiety is through the roof  :cry: No wonder people are scared to talk about houseplants! I read a funny post about someone being criticised on a houseplant forum and being dead inside forever now and was amused, but starting to think it's really true.

It's plants, I shouldn't feel so dang bad, but I do!
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Griffin on August 21, 2019, 07:43:25 AM
My calathea lives in my bathroom and seems to be thriving! Like Shaiyeh said they love humidity.

I wish I could have some plants in the bathroom but we have no window. :( And I'm not interested in fake plants at all.
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Shaiyeh on August 30, 2019, 04:03:21 AM
I just posted on a gardening forum about my bromeliad pups, and I thought I was doing really okay, but now I think I took them off the mother way too soon according to a poster, and my anxiety is through the roof  :cry: No wonder people are scared to talk about houseplants! I read a funny post about someone being criticised on a houseplant forum and being dead inside forever now and was amused, but starting to think it's really true.

It's plants, I shouldn't feel so dang bad, but I do!

Oh dear! Don't worry - do the pups look ok still? In that case, they probably are, and there's absolutely no need to worry. With plants, there are usually no hard rights and wrongs IMO, lots of things can be done in different ways.
 I tend to stay away from plant forums for this reason... you can get some good advice, and some people that only want things done THEIR way. The only plant place I really post in is a female/nonbinary only fb group (swedish), but even there sometimes you'll get really odd replies.

Hugs to you! :hug:


update on my jungle:

Been battling thrips AGAIN. there's always one or two... I think they come in with the organic herbs we buy sometimes, especially basil... so now I've bought Neem oil. But I've only been able to stomach spraying half of my plants, the smell makes me sick to my stomach ;_; But it's supposed to work really well... thinking about grabbing a face mask and putting some idk, mint or sth essential oil in it before going for the next neem spray.
I was also given a philo Pink Princess as a gift last weekend *o* so afraid of her dying, but she's soooooo prettyyyyy!
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: glitterball on August 30, 2019, 12:34:17 PM
So I was in my local Morrisons store the other day and saw a £3 plant, "Ficus Benjamina, Mixed".  Ooh that looks nice, I'll get that...

I then went to Ikea in search of a brass pot to put it in but instead opted for a soothing blue/green pottery one. Looks great together.

The plant is now sitting on my toilet cistern and has made my little bathroom look somehow more complete.  :heart: :heart:

It's early days yet, let's see how long it survives for - hopefully longer than my venus fly traps  :P  :devious:
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Lady Frostbite on February 12, 2020, 01:48:56 PM
Wow, I've forgotten to keep this updated!

Well, I am doing FANTASTIC with orchids, they are just common moth orchids and I make a habit of getting ultra-cheap ones and adding to the collection. My anthurium is just going from strength to strength; that's yet ANOTHER repotting today! This time into an 8 inch pot. I received a Monstera (cheeseplant) cutting from a friend, that has now gotten a pot with some orchid bark mix in it, it was making some lovely roots so hopefully it will settle and flourish.

Repotted a couple of other things, this cold weather is not doing the Common Area Crew any good at all. I changed the soil of my dormant chilli plant as I think the soil I gave it wasn't the best, so this is a mix of John Innes No.2 and peat-free coir compost with mixed perlite from South Devon Chilli Farm.

Which brings me to the MOST exciting project!! I bought two packs of seeds from South Devon Chilli Farm; Chocolate Habanero and Razzamatazz. I don't grow chillis to eat, I grow for the fun of it, and will be giving any fruits away to friends and coworkers. Chocolate Habanero looks super-cute, and can be difficult to germinate, so naturally that's the one I am most buzzed about. Both lots are in half-seed trays with propgator lids on top of the kitchen radiator to warm them (they need warmth for germination). It will be about 7-14 days until I can see if I have success, but man am I impatient! It was sooooo soothing to sow them, just putting little dimples in the soil, delicately putting one single seed in the hole then very gently covering it over. I have half a pack of the soil from SDCF plus some John Innes No.2 left for potting on if I have success. Fingers crossed!!
Title: Re: Houseplants?
Post by: Taffeta on February 13, 2020, 04:34:01 AM
I mentioned it on another thread but having had my Madagascan Dragon Tree of several years die last autumn, this month for my birthday my parents have presented me with a baby one. So far he's doing fine, hanging out with the plants in the dining room though he really is so tiny in comparison to the old one (which was over 7 ft, this one is about a ft high). I admit to being a mite overprotective...

My fuschia 'Sabrina' (That's her genus name, officially) is also in for the winter as she's not that hardy. She's a white and pink bush fuschia who used to winter in the garage until one year when she really struggled to produce new shoots the next spring, so now she comes inside and hangs by the french doors over winter. Sometimes she flowers during the winter, but she isn't at the moment.

In my room the current residents are my two spider plants, who go nuts all year round with producing pups and who are probably both more than ten years old and take care of themselves mostly except for the occasional watering. I have also more recently acquired a succulent (still can't spell its name, it has spikes) and a baby cactus. I didn't want and don't like cacti that much, but this was a pup that fell off a plant of Dad's and it was orphaned and homeless so now it lives with me. It seems to be doing fine, I think it's been with me about six months and I water it about every 3 to 4 weeks.

My windowsill is also currently a refuge for plants that survived from the hanging basket and tubs last year and which are growing still with the hope of using them next year in tubs. I really strongly believe in giving plants a chance to grow if they show life. I feel like it's better to try, even if they don't make it, than destroy a perfectly viable plant. So rightnow my windowsill is home to a large begonia (flowering at present, bless it), a Nemesia (who is now about 3x as big as it was in the basket last year), a verbena and a bacopa. Of all of them the verbena has been the most trouble. I've had to rescue it from three slugs, a caterpillar, aphids...and I also had to repot it after going through the roots and the soil to remove baby slugs and slug eggs that had clearly got into the soil from when it was in the basket, and had killed off 2/3 of its growth stems by gnawing the roots. One of its main branches is also weak at the base so is splinted to hold it steady while it puts out more growth on other branches. So far so good.

On my bedside cabinet is my poinsettia, which I've had 3 years. It thinks it's a trailing plant as it's trying very hard to grow over the edge of my cabinet. So I've now had to fashion a support for its branch from an old plastic fork to prevent it from tumbling forwards out of its pot with the weight of its own growth. It's like a little forest on my cabinet and blind bag ponies live underneath it...


In terms of doing things the right way, or the wrong way, I think  that there are a lot of official ways of doing xyz that are not necessarily the right way depending on your own situation. Or at least I will look up guidance but in general I go with my gut. I was rescuing discarded seedlings from Dad when I was 2 or 3 and planting them and they grew into better plants than some of his, so I guess I'm doing something right (he no longer discards any seedlings because of this!)
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