The Plant Thread

[Artemesia's Garden]

I suppose just that they do need the animal protein, so maybe if there are no flies about you can give them an insect of some kind from the garden. They like lots of moisture and lots of sun. The DI water is good because they like super soft water and slightly acidic conditions. They normally live in peat bogs. I'm slightly envious, I love carnivorous plants. I hope yours wakes up and comes back for you to enjoy.

[BlackCurtains]

Ooh! I've kept Venus Flytraps with great success. They like it humid. What type of container do you have them in? I always planted mine in a 2-liter soda bottle.

You can tell if it's dormant by the rhizome. If it's white, the plant is still alive and well, if it's black, it's dead. I'm thinking it is dormant though if it flowered in Dec. Did you cut the flower off? It's best to do that because it will sap the energy from the rest of the plant. Dormancy lasts about 3 months but can be longer. It doesn't require as much water or light. Don't force feed it. If the insides aren't red, the food will just rot.

Did you know that all Venus Flytraps are clones? They only grow wild in North and South Carolina. They are protected and can't be taken from the wild, though people still do it. They've been introduced to other places like here in Florida.

[Ponyfan]

Is mint easy to grow? I'm thinking about buying a mint plant and seeing if I can get it to grow.


Ponyfan

[Beth3346]

so i have a practical question about houseplants. how do you water without spilling all over? take them to the sink? i want to get some houseplants but i worry about making a mess. i'm very klutzy. to the point that when i cook my dog hangs around because she knows i will drop something. and i always do. i really don't want dirt all over the house. it's enough with the dogs.

[Taffeta]

On the watering, if the plant has a tray under it (you can use something you already have, like a foil tray or a carton that's watertight or something that the plant can sit in) and put the water in the tray, the plant will take it up at the bottom and you won't get any mess.

On the herbs, yes, fairly. It's the same kind of situation as with the Basil, really. Depending on the herb you choose. Making sure it doesn't dry out but doesn't get overwatered, keeping an eye on it for pests and such.

[Griffin]

Is mint easy to grow? I'm thinking about buying a mint plant and seeing if I can get it to grow.


Ponyfan

Very! Be careful, it spreads like crazy. So it's best to keep it in a pot. I think mint should do just fine if you buy it and repot it, but if needed you can take cuttings.

I'm making some progress - cleaning the balcony and preparing my pots for some new summer flowers! I still need to scrub the balcony and wash the rug (I have a cute yellow and grey woven rug, the material is some sort of plastic so it does well outdoors) before bringing any flowers. And I'd like to finally oil the hardwood furniture we've had for years, the set has a small table and two chairs and they are getting awfully grey. I know oiling is something you probably should do annually but it's tedious and working with self-combustible stuff always makes me nervous.

Sorry if this is getting off topic

[Taxel]

so i have a practical question about houseplants. how do you water without spilling all over? take them to the sink? i want to get some houseplants but i worry about making a mess. i'm very klutzy. to the point that when i cook my dog hangs around because she knows i will drop something. and i always do. i really don't want dirt all over the house. it's enough with the dogs.

For watering, it depends.

I have like 70+ succulents and most of them I bottom water in plant-only bowls. I mostly fill the bowls with water, put the pots in, and fill up the remainder of the bowl. They sit there for 20 minutes to 3 hours depending on how long I forget them for, lol. Others are too big so they go in the sink and get drenched. I use extremely fast-draining soil since its the best for succulents so I would not be able to water them without some kind of bowl/sink or being outside. Water literally pours from their pots like a waterfall.

My non-succulents (which I'm still trying to be successful with) get watered normally - some water poured on them from above. They have more organic soil and don't get the same drenching so there's not as much water. They also have saucers, which I find helpful. I don't like having pots without drainage.

Dirt isn't a huge issue for me but I mean, its dirt. Its gonna get places. I spent my day repotting most of my collection and took the opportunity to wipe down the windowsills and vacuum the carpet. Because my pots have proper drainage, a little soil falls out sometimes. Its not a big deal and its easy to clean but if you're super strict about cleaning it would probably be annoying. I wouldn't recommend houseplants for anyone who doesn't want to deal with dirt/water spills indoors because they definitely happen.

[BlackCurtains]

Ben is down to two stems. The other two turned black and fell over. But the stem on the left has tiny leaves sprouting, so maybe he'll make it.

I need to save my money to take my cat to the vet so I haven't gotten any pots or soil.

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[Taffeta]

The stem on the left (?) I think, as I look at it, looks quite healthy, with the new leaves growing. The other it's harder to see at this point, fingers crossed!

[MoonstoneMew]

Hang in there Ben!!!

I'm moving and my apartment isn't going to have the window space for all my plants to fit! So I gotta decide if I want to hone in on a small fern, orchid, or pothos collection... or maybe something else.

[Artemesia's Garden]

Some ferns and orchids would be OK in a bright room as long as they are out of direct sunlight, so if you have a south facing room you could have some shelving a a few feet back from the window and fit on a lot more... We have a lot of houseplants on the back wall of our south facing bedroom.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Does fruit count?  haha 

here is what is blooming right now:
the nanking cherry bush
the sand plums
the pear
the red currants
the honeyberries
the saskatoons
the crabapple and sour cherry are just about to bloom....

plus we have other things... 

[pinkkittywinks]

Thank you AG and BC

I have moved the Trap plant back onto the craft room window sill as it will get more light. I am glad to know I was using the DI water is ok, our tap water is very soft, but I know it still has minerals in that it won't like.

I tried to look for the rhizome, but couldn't see anything? The traps/leaves come from really deep in the pot, looks like I will have to dig further down.

Yes, it had pretty white flowers in December, I removed the stem/flowers after they had finished flowering.

AG I got my plant from the RHS website, they have a few carnivorous plants at reasonable prices. 

Love pkw xxx

[KarentheUnicorn]

I have sort of a love hate relationship with plants. They either go mad crazy plant town with me or I murder them.

This is what I have at work right now. I will have to take pics of what I have at home and add those. If anyone has any advice on these monsters I will gladly accept it since I really have no clue what I'm doing with all this green stuff...I'm surprised it actually lives (LOL).

African Violet - This was one of those $1 deal I'm almost dead at Lowe's kinda plants that I saved. So it's finally gotten to the point it's blooming. Yay purple.
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BEHOLD COFFEE, which I'm in the process of murdering. Not sure why I'm trying this but I'm having no luck with this coffee plant...I may just need to repot it but I need to research this since I'm confused on what it actually wants, a little water or a lot of water or if I just need to put it outside :/ What do you want coffee????

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I NO DIE PLANT - Yea, I don't know it's name...but it's a zombie plant that keeps making a comback...it no die. I think it may be some kinda ivy, and it's possible I got this when my mom died or, it just sorta snuck into the building one night to freeload. I'm still not sure.

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Next is Jade Plant who is coming back from Armagedon. I had a huge plant of this at home, but when I went to repot it last year it broke in half. I brought some if it to work and repoted it and this is the regrowth leftovers of that event.

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Last is the Jungle - I got this plant back in 2015 when my mom died, I actually got two of them. One is still at home very skimy. This one almost died and I had sat it out on the deck at home but then I eventually brought it to work where it's gone crazy plant. I've had to repot this twice and now it's going nutty where a few months ago it was standing up and now it's getting to be a lazy bumb so I'm gonna have to repot this again and get a big stick to help hold it upright so it can stop being crazy jungle plant..

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[Taffeta]

Uni, I think a couple of your crazy plants would get on well with my grumpy poinsettia plant.

I always liken it to a cat who's found a space it wants to claim and is not willing to give ground.

It lives on my cabinet but it has slowly taken over the whole cabinet to the point anything else on there is living essentially in a jungle, including a few blind bag ponies. It's about 7 years old now. It hasn't bracted since 2019 because since I've been here, the artificial light is on in the winter and so it doesn't get enough darkness to bract. BUT last time it bracted was July, so I think it just has its own grumpy rules.

It waits for me to vaccuum and then drops its leaves. It has ninja attacked my bed with old leaves before now, to the point I had to hoover the whole bed because it somehow got covered in old leaves. It is growing forwards, to both sides, and down. It has once turned on my tablet on its own, because it has textured leaves and apparently that means it can operate audible if it wants to.

Also, update on my dragon tree. It seems like the bug we caught in the tray the other day was the culprit that chewed its leaves. No further damage so far. But I am still not pleased something managed to get to it when for 2 years it's been impervious to anything that's come in by accident. I will be vigilant in future, and hopefully it will grow the damage out.

Suggest repotting the coffee plant, maybe feeding it as well if you can, uni.