houseplant question

[MaeveoSliabh]

What type of houseplant(s) will grow well in fairly small pots, low to medium light, with an average house temperature between 65 - 70 degrees? Hard to kill preferable...

 

[impressive]

Philodendron grows anywhere.

 

[christabelll]

african violets

 

[MaeveoSliabh]

Thanks, guys.

Philodendrons are definitely an option. African violets tend to die in this house. LOL...

 

[Guest]

Philodendron grows anywhere.

Yep.

Even the cats can't kill 'em.

 

[The_Fool]

Silk Plants? Plastic ones?

 

[starrkers]

Try a fern or two.

 

[john-the-author]

Gloxinia. Creeping Charlie. Jade plants. Ivy will do nicely.

 

[phoenixphair]

Try a colocasia or shield plant. There are many diff varieties (most widely known is the elephant ear) but there are a couple that do great in the house. We call them shield plants where i live. I have two in small pots on a shelf in my shower that are dark green to the point of being black with bright white veins that are gorgeous. They love humidity and wet soil and are super easy to care for.
EDIT: (I work in a nursery btw, so pardon my enthusiasm. My house looks like a jungle) try pretty much any variety of hoya. they're beautiful and do all sorts of things, from bush to vine and are easy to take care of. any home improvement store with a decent indoor greenhouse (lowes is usually great) should have at least three or four varieties.

 

[TE999]

Pothos--oyster plant--succulents (varieties abound)--kalanchoe--cacti--ferns and orchids.

 

[Vermilion]

peace lily

 

[carrie-on]

EDIT: (I work in a nursery btw, so pardon my enthusiasm. My house looks like a jungle)

This sounds like my house. Hubby is always razzing me and telling me he needs a machete to watch TV.
Peace Lily is one of the easiest and even if You think it's dead, give it some water, it w ill perk right up. Warning though, after awhile,they get HUGE! (at least mine did).

 

[SensualCealy]

My first thought was african violets- they love filtered light and you can even get them in miniature versions.

Second idea was Hoya, heavy looking wax leaf, slow growing but look great if you dust their leaves off every month, they almost look plastic.

Umbrella tree, if you keep it in a small pot it wont grow fast, if you move it to a larger pot, it will go crazy and be off before you know it.

Baby Tears, its a fern that has tiny circle leaves, very delicate, does not like bright sun and stays fairly small.

Caladium, heart shaped leaves of pink, white and green. Likes filtered light and comes in all different sizes from miniature to about 3" diametre leaves.

FYI, Kolanchoes usually like a bright window specially to blossom, as does the hoya, but if you dont care if it blossoms (hoya), west or eastern light will be enough.

Hope it helps, I can look up more of ones I dont have if you want more info.
C

 

[MaeveoSliabh]

*insert blank look here*

uuuuummmm.... The whole houseplant thing is new to me. Scuse me while I go sit in the corner and cry now...

 

[Vermilion]

Seriously, just get a peace lily. I always forget to water plants and that's the only one that hasn't died yet. As long as you water it eventually, it'll be fine. It has big dark shiny leaves and occasionally gets white, non-scented flowers. If you keep it in a small pot it will stay small and it needs almost no attention at all, as long as it gets watered occasionally.

Trust me.

x
V

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

Cactus. They are spiny like me and don't really care if you water them or not.

 

[Huckleman2000]

Cactus. They are spiny like me and don't really care if you water them or not.

There's the title for your autobiography, Jenny.
"Spiny Like Me"

 

[starrkers]

*insert blank look here*

uuuuummmm.... The whole houseplant thing is new to me. Scuse me while I go sit in the corner and cry now...

In that case, a piece of advice: if you have any indoor pets, check whether the plant you choose is dangerous to pets before getting it. Many seeming innocuous plants can harm bored animals (I have a cat that will eat anything in a pot and have seen a labrador trying to eat a cactus).

 

[matriarch]

This sounds like my house. Hubby is always razzing me and telling me he needs a machete to watch TV.
Peace Lily is one of the easiest and even if You think it's dead, give it some water, it w ill perk right up. Warning though, after awhile,they get HUGE! (at least mine did).

Indeed. I was given one as a birthday present, 8 years ago. It got so big in the pot it was in, I have since split it into 2 plants, and both are thriving.

And yes, the watering is wonderful to watch. I just realised one of mine was drooping badly. I've drowned it, left it in the kitchen, and when I come down in the morning it will be up straight and strong again. (So many connotations there, I'm just not even going to try !!).

The other one I have and can't kill, is what we call Mother in Law's Tongue - Sansevaria:

http://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/zippy_1020274113_63.jpg

 

[MaeveoSliabh]

OK, mother in law's tongue I've heard of. We have those in the yard, out by the banana tree.

Peace lilies I've actually tried to grow before. They died. All four times I got them.

So did the spider plant.

The ginormous aloe plant was close to death, until it got put outside. Now it's planted in the yard at the house we just moved from.

Indoor plants... not so good with them. If it can go outdoors and in the ground, it tends to grow like weeds for me.

So what I really need is something that just won't die, needs low to medium light, small pots, and preferally stays fairly short. It's to go on top of a short bookcase. We have a small hydroponics system (oh yeah, stuff grows in THOSE for me fine too) on the matching bookcase. It's maximum height is about a foot and a half. Something right along that size would be wonderful.

Thank you all so, SO much for trying to help. It's just... uh... difficult.

 

[phoenixphair]

i have two HUGE spaths.... peace lilies (god, i'm a show-off) that live in near darkness, but one is over 3ft tall, so not the best for a small pot or low space.

On a moderately lit bookshelf i have...gotta go look... a lipstick plant, a pothos, a wandering jew, and bridal veil. all hang so it's not so much a bookshelf as a wall of foilage that's 4ft across and 8ft high. but they seem to thrive on me forgetting about them.

 

[matriarch]

.................
.................. They died. .....................

So did the spider plant.

..................................

*gasp*..........you ................managed..................to..............kill...............a.............spider plant......!!!!!!!!!!

Freakin' hell, you must be the only person in the world. I can't even kill those if I try to. Leave the darn thing without water for months, and it looks dead, all those dried up little whisps of leaves....add water and bingo! It grows again!! Almost overnight.

We even managed to grow them outside......in the UK!!.........they even flowered outside.

*bows down in awe to the only person I know who can kill a spider plant*.

Seriously......ferns are good, but you really do need to water them regularly, or they will just die.

The peace lily.......mine looked dead last night, poured gallons of water into the pot, left it overnight, and it now looks like a new plant. Amazing.

 

[SensualCealy]

HOYA I say!!!

I water mine maybe, just maybe once a month, looks fantastic !
It is hung beside a cupboard- not much natural light, all it gets pretty much is the florecent kitchen lights when the kids leave them on. Now it has never flowered because it doesnt get alot of light but it still looks so good people think its plastic- its not!

C

 

[carrie-on]

HOYA I say!!!

I water mine maybe, just maybe once a month, looks fantastic !
It is hung beside a cupboard- not much natural light, all it gets pretty much is the florecent kitchen lights when the kids leave them on. Now it has never flowered because it doesnt get alot of light but it still looks so good people think its plastic- its not!

C

i have a Hoya called a Mauna Loa that looks like a lei from Hawaii. I'm always getting someone saying "Is that REAL???"

http://re3.mm-a5.yimg.com/image/3250513730

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

Actually, I have a strange affinity for the Piggyback Plant (Tolmiea menziesii). They grow wild in the forests here, but tend to be scrawny. Dig one up and put it in a pot, fertilize it and talk dirty to it and it makes a wonderful hanging plant.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l27/Jenny_Jackson/ScreenShot238-1.jpg