So we guys and gals in Texas love our outdoor plants but are you like me and have a room full of house plants? I grow African Violets, cacti, Chinesse Evergreen, Corn Plant, 20 or so Brugs indoors and 20 or so out doors, several Musa, Oleander, Aloe, Air plants, and Devils Backbone. I am on the hunt for Prayer Plant, Peacock Plant, and Philodendron cordatum.
So what do you grow in the house and what are you looking for Texans?
Houseplants
I only have a Cathedral cactus and an Aloe vera.
Josephine.
Aloe is just so easy in the house is it not?
Yes, I forget to water them, they are in the same pot, and they just keep on going.
Mitch,
I have to admit I draw the line on houseplants--at least for the last couple of years, anyway. The only 2 plants that always stay in are 2 of those Easter cactus (I can never remember the name--they are very close to Christmas cactus but bloom in the spring) and I have them because they were an Easter gift from a friend last year. And I have 2 plants on the windowsill now, just because they were Christmas gifts and I don't think they can go out yet. One's an adenium obesum and the other's an aloe humilis--all are small.
=)
You know I had house plants from my college days.. never got rid of them and still have a few of them - the plants I am looking for are just those plants all over again - why? I have no idea... but the long heat of summer and the short cold winter I love my house plants.
i have way too many house plants and i love them all!! i am waiting for a group of amarylus to bloom--i didn't know you can grow oleander indoors--
You sure can - learn that from the folks up North.. they bloom in the winter for me too.
don't they get too big?
They stay much small in a pot... if you let them get root bound they stop growing.
i have started oleander from branches and so will do again for the house!! glad you posted that! never would have imagined them indoors
I know right? I was talking to some Northern folk and that is the only way they can grow them - made me think and yep I like it.
I am big on houseplants too! Mainly because when you live up north where it's winter 9mo out of the year, you need something green to keep you going. I collect hoyas, got probably over 100 now, and begonias. Also cacti and succulents which actually live out in the greenhouse to get their cool spell, so technically not houseplants. Got a couple streps and avs too, although I never seem to do well with them. They are so pretty though so I keep on trying!
:) Kim
Oh Begonias - I am trying my hand at them for the first time... tell me your secret.
All the common run of the mill plants ~ spiders, plectranthus, a few hoyas. I have many succulents but NO cactus. I have a spine aversion. I can get near them at the store and they jump out and stick me. LOL
Right now on the windowsill, I have angelwing begonias rooting in water and blooming like crazy. Love those guys. An aloe striata, a peperomia belly button (shared by a neighbor) and the allspice tree which is tropical and shrinks at the thought of cool temps. Behind me is a variegated tropical hibiscus with buds and blooms. It suffers tropicalitis too so is firmly escounced in the warmth of the house.
New plants I am looking for? I will know them when I see them...
One of my favorite spiders ~ an older photo of Bonnie ~ a real curly girlie...
Pod - sounds like you have the house plant place, what a great collection.
That is just scratching the surface as I stand here scratching my head on what to do with them all. Anyone grow the Sansevieria or snake plant or mother in laws tongue? They do so well in the house with limited lighting.
What kind of begonias are you trying Mitch?
Rex, Cane, and a few root ones...
Snake plant - I have grown it before with next to no light just fine... this and zz plant are very forgiving.
Mitch....I had a nice little collection of begonias when I lived in Ohio. Unfortunately they didn't move well. I lost most of them and gave up on them for a while. But then I decided to give them another try, and I am glad I did. I have them all under lights and in plastic tubs and aquariums to maintain humidity. They do very well in there now.
Pod....I grow some sans, haven't gotten any new ones in a while. But they make great houseplants and have interesting colors and textures.
:) Kim
ahh aquariums - now that I can do just need to find them in all my old school stuff.
Thank you for the tip!
The canes shouldn't need extra care. I have pots of them on an enclosed porch that drops to the 50s on cold nights. They are green and just blooming away.
One of the reasons I like the Sans ~ in winter they will also deliver blooms.
*sigh*...I'm gonna have to stop strolling around posts I used to have house plants before we moved but had to part with them......no room to move them.
Mitch I'll have to go through my granny's note book she used to raise african violets in her basement and all over her house for as long as I can remember and I got her notebook when she passed on...has her notes on soil and what not and she grew amaryllis' too when she got some as a gift one year.
They work great. And also for rooting, I root all of my hoyas in the cooler months in the aquariums in some moist perlite. I keep a heat mat underneath and cover the top with saran wrap. But I only use the heat mat if I am rooting cuttings, otherwise it doesn't seem to be necessary. Hoyas don't like to root when they are cool.
Question please... do you place the heat mat underneath the aquarium or in it?
I put it underneath the aquarium, outside. It seems to keep the inside warm enough for rooting. Of course, I keep my house quite cool so that may be why. It worked well for rooting a good number of outdoor plant cuttings as well. I rooted plumbago, shrimp plant, coleus, thunbergia, and hibiscus this way.
Interesting, thanks. That is a good idea. And plastic wrap on top means you don't use the aquarium light? That would probably even work well for staring seeds...
No aquarium light, these are just old aquariums I have bought or been given without accessories. I do have them all on a light stand though, with two 4' fluorescents, one cool and one warm. For planting seeds this year I did a very similar set up but instead of using the aquariums I used roaster pans from walmart. They come with lids, and then I just sat the pots/seed trays/cups inside. And then the heat mat underneath. So far working very well.
I will have to shop the flea markets for an aquarium or two. Thanks for the tips.
That is a great tip - rooting in them too..
Notes on African Violets! Bet she had some great info in there.
Before I had a yard, I used to live by houseplants. The flowers have largely replaced them in my affections. Now most of mine are very old, and were gifts, and I'm too sentimental to part with them.
There's the sanseviera that came to the hospital when my son was born in 1986. Someone (Randy Weston, do y'all know him?) gave me a Christmas cactus in 1983. A variegated spider plant that I started in 1981 out in California. A 22-year-old ficus. A philodendron that I don't even remember when/where I got it. A pothos that someone gave me in college (NO, I'm NOT saying how old that one is!). Swedish ivy. Several different begonias, all noids. Another common houseplant that it's been so many years I can't even remember what it's called. It's the one with thick gnarly stems and red berries.
Mine are all VERY well-trained. Did y'all know that houseplants can learn to live with water only every three weeks? :)
Right now I have outdoor plants living inside. I decided it was really dumb to spend so much money year after year on impatiens, angellonia, coleus & begonias, when they are so easy to root. My big red hibiscus is happily spending its fourth winter in the kitchen. The double pink begonia is the same age. Skullcap, rosemary, red ruellia, basil, chives, brugs, foxtail ferns. My houseplants love the winter because, with all the outdoor plants coming in, they get a lot more attention. They all sure help keep winter outside.
Mitch, years ago, I used to grow prayer plants, both the white and red ones. As I recall, they were pretty easy to grow, but only lived 3-4 years. No idea where you'd find one these days.
I also had another houseplant, years ago, that I've been trying to remember the name of. Trail of hearts vine? Rosary vine? Trail of tears? Something like that. Little heart-shaped leaves--very low-growing but long trailers. Once in awhile, under lights, it would bloom tiny white flowers. I haven't seen one in years, but I'd sure like to find one. I grew it as a houseplant in Maryland, but it might be hardy in some parts of Texas. Anyone recognize it and remember the name?
rosary vine - I used to have one of those, very nice plant but same deal they are so hard to find
Patti, it looks like you are a very sentimental lady about your plants, and I like that, my sentimental plants all live outside, but most of my plants have thoughtful memories attached to them, and that makes them very special.
Josephine.
I have a few bosai trees, amarylis, and lots of clivia. I'm big time into growing clivia.
Oh I almost forgot, now I have a brug that Kim gave me at the swap.
Tell me about clivia - I have heard a little about them.
I have some rosary vine, it has been neglected somewhat so it is still small. I got cuttings from someone here in a trade.
Although the winters are not near as harsh down here, I think having plants in the house cheers up the place. Especially when they bloom. I have a hoya blooming right now, and it smells so good! But I hear pbtx....mine go a while without water sometimes too...life gets busy!
Oh, they are gorgeous.
Ooohhh..,..yes! Tell us! I have one that has never bloomed, not sure what I am doing wrong.
Clivia are odd plants they say thrive on neglect. The worst thing for them is overwatering. They are shade plants and cannot take much direct sun at all. Clivia bloom at times when most other plants don't.
Kim, How to get them to bloom is the number #1 asked question. It's quite simple they need a 8-10 week period dry cool weather. Put them in a unheated porch or outside under an overhang (so they don't get rained on). they bloom best if they've had a couple of months in the 50s. But don't let them freeze. Without the cool/dry spell your plant just keeps growing. How many leaves doea it have?
sounds like a great plant to have and grow