in-house gardening

[perSue]

okay so i want more plants in the house. i know what kinds i want... but i dont know where to put 'em!!!

we have a big dog who loves to run & play - so i dont want those dippy metal plant stands that are easily knocked over.

i COULD do hanging plants from the ceiling (most of the plants i want look better hanging anyway)... but i'm concerned with location... light, temperature (if near window), etc.

where do YOU have your plants in your house?
what do you put them in?

advice/recommendations are all welcome.

thanks in advance!!

[madhen]

I have plants all over the house, pretty much in every room. Depending on the plant, some don't need as much light as others. I would recommend that you decide WHERE you want your plant first, then get a plant that works for that location. Some love shade, some love sun, some want indirect light only, so you have a lot of choices, no matter where you decide to put them. Most houseplants do well in "normal" indoor temps.

[perSue]

honestly i wanna spider plant more than anything... what could you recommend to me?

i gotta keep away from flowers (guys are allergic to lotsa flowering plants), so i wanna keep it simple. i gotta pretty fern & coleus right now.
our house is pretty dark more often than not (even during the day) this time of year.

[madhen]

I have a spider plant that is probably ten years old now. "She" keeps pumping out baby plants every year, and I cut them off and give them away, so there are decades of generations of my plant all over California.

Spider plants are pretty forgiving. I keep mine in a sunny room, but not in direct light, sitting on a counter. She does quite well there. I've had to re-pot her several times, as she has outgrown each pot, and I feed her with a diluted fertilizer about every third or fourth feeding, but other than that, I don't do much.

Another plant you might want to consider is a Christmas cactus. BEAUTIFUL blooms, but not fragrant, so no allergy concerns. Also a very easy plant to maintain.

For darker areas, you might look for some of the hardier plants: snake plants do well and are very exotic looking. I have a four-year-old that again has outgrown most of its pots. It is huge now and looks very cool. Many of the climbing/ivy plants also do well in darker conditions.

[perSue]

Ooooh! i LOVE snake plants (or mother in law tongue as we call it)... but they're SO hard to find around here... i may have to take an offshoot from my mother's plant (she's had for over 30 yrs!)

thanks for the ideas... maybe the spider plant could go in the kitchen (i have an open corner on the ceiling near a window).

thanks!!!!

[madhen]

Both are super hardy, so if they don't seem happy, just move them. Mine have been moved from room to room (and from northern California to southern and back to northern) and seem to just keep thriving! I think it does help that I don't have central heat and air, so my plants actually experience the seasons. I collect cacti, and most of them bloom beautifully every year. Others tell me that they have a terrible time getting theirs to bloom, but I think they need that cold, dormant spell.

Too bad you don't live closer. I could give you about 20 spider plantlets!!

[perSue]

lol that'd be nice.

i'll have to check out the cacti - never been something i ever looked into - except aloe. i'll have to keep 'em up - away from the dog... or maybe he'll learn the hard way lol

thanks for the great info... i'm excited now!

[madhen]

Here are some pics of my outdoor cactus garden. I have a ton of indoor cacti, cacti on my deck, cacti at work....

[perSue]

oh wow!
i dont know what any of 'em are called - but i really like that one that grows into the teardrop/round shape (top left corner of the 1st pic). just amazing the different ways it grows...
those are beautiful! i like the long snakelike one growing over the rock too!

[madhen]

Thank you. The tear-shaped is an opuntia species. The elongated one is an aperocactus. The opuntia is a little monster. It's common name is teddy bear or bunny ears, but it is a vicious little plant. All those soft fuzzy little buttons are actually hundreds of little spiked hairs that will stick in you if you even just barely touch the plant. Not a plant I'd recommend around curious dogs!!

[perSue]

LOL and you got my dog pegged - curious he is.
I think I'll start small... my DH thinks i kill plants... (he just doesnt understand that some don't survive winter OR really last longer than a year's cycle) LOL

I've gotta fern - asparagus fern - that the dog tried to eat - so i had to hang it up (for the plant to survive). otherwise, dh still wonders how i've gotten that to survive! lol

i know i'm no "green thumb" like many others, but i know how to kill or not kill a plant. now "flourish" may be a different story! lol

but i wanna go to the garden center and take a look around - maybe in spring when there's more variety & check out the small cacti... i'd love one for my kitchen counter. it'd really spruce it up.

[madhen]

Back when I raised cockatiels, I had to keep all my plants in bird cages to keep the birds from eating them!!

[perSue]

LOL
i understand... but find it funny ya kept the plants in cages too!
cockatiels are wonderful pets but can be rather destructive, as i understand.

bless our little creatures! lol