House plant success and defeats--What are you growing?

[Zacha341]

Grew up with and had cats, dogs, fish etc. However, after last cat died of old-age a couple of years I decided to end pet ownership. But something green and growing makes a home more inviting so we went with plants. I want to branch out and grow Lavender and other healing, food herbs this summer outside. So far in the house:

- Three Sansevierias [[snake plants), two purchased at Home Depot [[great place for buying large plants cheap). One a gift. The big one variegated striped and is almost three feet tall.
- A weary Christmas Cactus [[not sure what the official name is) and it is nearly dead. I just cannot grow those. I keep thinking to toss it but have not.
- Two nearly indestructible Dracaenas, also known as the Office or Cane Plant. My one Dracana is the striped variety and is short not long cane-tall like most. Nothing hurts it not even two days when the furnace went out during the winter!
- A couple of Pathos and Philodendrons [[Vine plant) and a heart leafed Caladium that grows fast yet almost bought the farm when furnace went out.
- In water I have a few rootings, here and there. The most notable is a Split Leaf Philodendron. I hope to get it into dirt this spring!
- The latest plant is a huge Staghorn Fern in a basket. Supposedly they don't need dirt, but yet it came in dirt [[purchased cheap at Miejers) I am leaving it be. Epiphytics can be picky. House is dry in the winter so my Staghorn seems water misting and its leaves dipped a bit in water. So it is my most high maintenance plant [[as most orchid related plants are IMO).

Anyone here had long-term success with a Staghorn Fern? What's growing in your house?

[gazhekwe]

I have very little luck with houseplants. Eventually I forget to water them long enough they croak. Well, my MIL gave me a beautiful red shamrock when I had hip surgery, 2010. The poor thing dried out then froze solid when our sunroom heater gave up the ghost while we were in FL. It managed to resurrect outside in the summer so I brought it down here and planted it in the garden where it is thriving. Other transplanted houseplants from Michigan are also doing well, Snake Plants, Boston ferns, spider plants, Peace lily. The poor amaryllis were overwhelmed by the dang lubbers which seem to find Amaryllis a gourmet treat. This is the second year of no amaryllis.

[Zacha341]

I have sorta a 'light' green thumb, so it's best I purchase plants with discernment -- avoiding the the difficult ones or those requiring more light than I have [[though I do get alot). I'll see someone pick up a finicky plant at a store and know it will be dead soon, unless all 101 conditions are met!

I water once a week, but sometimes miss that by a few days. I almost killed a Snake plant [[who can do that?), but it started to get pot bound mid-winter, and had to re-pot it February. Not the best option but it survived!

Peace lilies [[a form of Aspidistra) are very sturdy and can take some ignoring. I know to steer far from a Boston Fern.

I would like a Cast Iron plant [[Aspidistra Elatior) but they're hard to find. See photo of one attached. Great for dry winter indoor Michigan low light home settings!

[sumas]

I have an excellent green thumb for outdoor plants. Zero with houseplants but then again I forget to water them. Might explain that

[Pam]

I've had one of these for about 16 years now:

http://gardening.about.com/od/specif...s/p/Pothos.htm

I just water it once a week and fertilize it occasionally.

[sumas]

Actually was thinking I only have 3 indoor plants. A bonsai ficus, a tuboris begonia and assorted plants in one pot from my Mom's funeral. Then realized I had Bamboo, a fledging jade plant and some kind of plant of which I have no clue. Zero skills with indoor plants. Whatever survives goes outdoors for the summer. They like it out there. I am an outdoor person and they get TLC if outside.

[Dumpling]

Pam, how long is your pothos now? Back in the eighties my boyfriend and I would go
to a now-closed Big Boy on Michigan Avenue in East Dearborn for Saturday breakfast.
We would sit in the sunny glassy area with all of the plants overhead, some of which I
think were pothos. These indoor patios were all the rage then. I suspect that they are a lot of work on top of an already labor intensive business though.
Today's garden project was slicing a giant reed stem into six inch lengths and wrapping
the lengths with tape, similar to what is described by xerces dot org. This is for native bees. I need to find an east facing niche for the little bundle. I have no idea how well it will work.

[Zacha341]

My Pathos is not doing too good. I must have a bad one as they are usually indistructable and I've heard of super long ones. I have a variant with white spots as it's markings and it is almost picky and hardly growing at all......

I've had one of these for about 16 years now:

http://gardening.about.com/od/specif...s/p/Pothos.htm

I just water it once a week and fertilize it occasionally.

[Zacha341]

Jades and Aloes die soon as I get them, I can grow noting that has succulent leaves, except a Snake plant. I am about to toss my Christmas Cactus with never bloomed or thrived. I just must have a toxic thumb to those kinds of plants so I've long given up. Bonsai's of any variety are picky I hear, so you must have some green on that thumb of yours!

Actually was thinking I only have 3 indoor plants. A bonsai ficus, a tuboris begonia and assorted plants in one pot from my Mom's funeral.

[sumas]

To keep this thread Detroit, I keep digging fall Clematis from a vacant lot and finally have some success. I have a girl friend who owns multiple city lots that she farms. Now into Bee Keeping too.

My dogs love to ruin any landscape I do. Have already bought grass seed, seed starter and peat for my back yard. Pretty sure I wasted my money. Dogs are distructive!

Bonsai.... I have killed at least 3. Fertilizer is the the trick with those buggers. Now I do Gonzo gardening. Live/die... my maintenance patience is limited these days.

[Pam]

Pam, how long is your pothos now

It's not long. I keep it trimmed.

[Zacha341]

Has anyone a suggestion for a good house plant fertilizer? Some can be too strong. Recommendations welcome.

[Zacha341]

I'm sure you are familiar with Forsythia -- they can get wild, but otherwise low maintenance. It's not really spring to me until they 'briefly' bloom in all yellow glory!

....My maintenance patience is limited these days.

[sumas]

Yes I like Forsythia. Maintenance is relatively low, whack the suckers right after blooms are done. Shape anyway you want. They set buds on new growth. People wait til late summer or fall to trim and wonder why they don't get spectular blooms the following year. Sprays are easy to force blooms in February when we all crave spring to come.

[Dumpling]

Thank you, Pam. If you had a very long pothos or other vine you probably had a
sunroom.
I have a pit bull sized dog cage in my dining room with a four foot long fluorescent
light fixture in it. In 2011 I acquired a Maine Coon mix cat that loves to munch houseplants. With delight, he sampled a bunch that were brought in for the winter, but then threw
up in his dinner dish...he needed a vet visit and then my sister checking in on him while
I was at work. So some houseplants were removed from the collection, and all but
two of the largest houseplants are now squeezed into the dog cage.
The Christmas cactus are just fine. They have a two-pot system where water drains through
the plant pot into a decorative ceramic pot below. They bloomed soon after being brought
in for winter - beautiful! The Kalanchoe have moldy spots on them [[ugh) and did not bloom.
Given that they were not overwatered, the low light level played a part in this. I mix a tiny
bit of Miracle-Gro For Roses in the plant water every time - about what would fit on one tine
of a fork in about half gallon of lukewarm water.

[Dumpling]

I read somewhere - maybe in a Detroit News or Detroit Free Press gardening column,
or maybe in a Michigan Gardener, but I can't find any info on it right now - that
Bordine's has their own tissue culture laboratory in which they culture geraniums
[[the ones also known as pelargoniums). They can basically "purify" their geranium
strains of viruses and bacteria by harvesting the meristem growing tip of a plant,
treating it specially for the viruses and bacteria as needed, seeding the resulting plant
cells into agar, and cultivating the plant cells into plantlets which become the rows of
geraniums that you can see in spring in their greenhouses.
Commercial growers think you should get fresh geraniums for your yard every year.
Moral of this story is, sometimes you just can't save a plant. Other times you can
repot a tip, and if it isn't too badly infected, and the growing conditions are ideal,
it will come back okay. It should still be considered as infected.

[sumas]

Baking soda disolved in water, wash leafs with powdery mildew. Ideally repot with fresh soil. If not, use any kind of mulch that suits your fancy. Splash back is what really reinfects leafs.

Ideally, under water plants in trays and let them soak up water as needed. The trays should have pea gravel marbles etc which creates a mini ecology.

[sumas]

A good friend brought over a garden gift basket. Who is distributing I do not know. So cool, two Fiskar trowels, three really good pairs of garden gloves, a garden mat and seeds I actually will plant.

[Dumpling]

You have some good neighbors, Sumas. Your street will be beautiful this year!

[Honky Tonk]

Has anyone a suggestion for a good house plant fertilizer? Some can be too strong. Recommendations welcome.

Rapid-Gro has worked for years for me. Don't over add it to your water. Use it for a few waterings, then back off for a few, giving your plant time to use and burn off what they've ingested. People have a tendency to over-love their plants. Rapid-Gro comes in different formulas, so read the label and get the right chemical mix for your plants. [[flowers, greens, outside, etc.) I just use a "one size fits all" sparingly.

[sumas]

You have some good neighbors, Sumas. Your street will be beautiful this year!

I really do have nice neighbors. I buy the annuals and special geraniums for a dear senior.

Others mow the vacant lots. Lots of clean ups done by area residents. Sad in way that has to happen.

Had some creeps scoping my street. I am soooo not brave. Went out after viewing them for at least 2 hours and Told them everyone had their plate numbers. [[Two vans). It was true. Talked to neighbors. The 7th precinct has been good to us as we relay info.

Will not tolerate shits thinking they can canvas my neighborhood for theft purposes.

[Dumpling]

My California sister [[who grew up in Royal Oak with me) just sent me a World
Cup Of Gardening brochure for the event taking place on Belle Isle starting
June 16th. She is coming to Detroit for it and taking Mom to it.

Contacted a landscaping firm about putting two inches of topsoil or garden soil on
top of two lots on the block that have just had their houses torn down and the
basement holes had been filled back in, but they said they were not the right kind
of firm for that. They did shrub and flower planting and paver installations.

[sumas]

My California sister [[who grew up in Royal Oak with me) just sent me a World
Cup Of Gardening brochure for the event taking place on Belle Isle starting
June 16th. She is coming to Detroit for it and taking Mom to it.

Contacted a landscaping firm about putting two inches of topsoil or garden soil on
top of two lots on the block that have just had their houses torn down and the
basement holes had been filled back in, but they said they were not the right kind
of firm for that. They did shrub and flower planting and paver installations.

Awesome, had no clue about the Belle Isle event. It's my neighbor. Slowed down alot but still have some juice in me. Post more info. I'll volunteer! islandview resident. Sumas

[Pam]

https://www.facebook.com/pages/World...51763188181208

This says it has been postponed until 2016.

[sumas]

Went to the dollar tree and bought several packets of gladiola bulbs. Hoping the weather would be warmer today, but than there is always tomorrow Have packets of seeds to plant but need a new gate to keep my destructo dogs out of my little fenched produce veggie patch.