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good, small indoor plants?
fightinfilipino
Angry as Hell#BLMRegistered User regular
Angry as Hell#BLMRegistered User regular
i need a nice little plant for my bathroom, but can't figure out what might be good.
it would have to be a plant that is fine indoors, would be in low-to-no light a lot of the time, and be colorful. it doesn't have to flower; while flowers would be nice, i really just want something that's colorful.
any suggestions?
it would have to be a plant that is fine indoors, would be in low-to-no light a lot of the time, and be colorful. it doesn't have to flower; while flowers would be nice, i really just want something that's colorful.
any suggestions?
fightinfilipino on
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Peace Lilly:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spathiphyllum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracaena_sanderiana
Lowes and Home Depot will have some succulents/cacti, but you'll find more interesting varieties at an actual garden center. The conservatory here actually sells cuttings from their succulent/desert room, so if you have any conservatories in your area they may have similar things.
If you're interested in something a bit odd, cryptocorenes will grow in a fishbowl or pitcher with nothing more than some aquarium plant root tabs and weekly water changes for nutrients. You can get them pretty cheap at most fish stores. Just make sure to carefully remove the pot and rock wool if it comes in it, then bury it in some gravel or play sand.
You could also try marimo moss balls in the same setup. They're a bit harder to take care of, but they look really cool, and have the bizarre tendency to move around from day to day, even with no current to push them.
I'm not a big fan of peace lily (Spathiphyllum) but that's just personal preference. I will note that they are toxic to pets.
The Dinosaur Plant (Selaginella lepidophylla) is pretty hardy -- it's also called resurrection moss as it is legendary for its ability to survive complete dessication and revive itself upon receiving water. If you're concerned about keeping your plant alive you can't go wrong here.
The Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana) is another good, hardy plant for indoors. It's distantly related to the Mother-in-law's Tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata) which is another plant I can recommend. Both plants do well in low light -- and the Lucky Bamboo can be grown solely in water which means you don't have to worry about having it dry out. The Sansevieria prefers less water and can safely be watered as little as once a month.
English Ivy (Hedera helix) is one of my favorite indoor plants. It does well in low light (it's a shade plant outdoors) and its main shoots can trail or climb depending on how you guide them. I've never had an issue with overwatering, and underwatering doesn't seem to be a factor either. It's readily available, and you might even be able to get it for free if you know where to score a cutting from a friend (or public location).
In terms of succulents, my picks would be jade (Crassula ovata), zebra plant (Haworthia fasciata), true aloe (Aloe vera), Mamillaria cacti, Opuntia cacti, or holiday cacti (Schlumbergera sp.). They all prefer brighter light if you can provide it, but they can handle lower light situations. Water sparingly, once a month or so.
Other common house plants are ornamental figs (Ficus benjamina), cyclamen (Cyclamen sp.), philodendron (Philodendron sp.), pothos (Epipremnum aureum) and coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides).
You mentioned that you want colorful foliage in a low light plant. My recommendation would be coleus as there are well over 500 widely available cultivars (cultivated varieties) including ones that are variegated (two or more colors) and some that are just one. The one drawback to coleus is that it can dry out rather easily and it needs at least some daylight or else it gets leggy and unhealthy looking quickly.
The pothos and philodendron might do well as they would love the residual moisture from your showers. They can get big fast, but pruning/pinching them back is easy and can provide you with cutting to give away to friends, etc.
If you don't have daylight to spare then I would go with either the jade (Crassula ovata) or the English Ivy (Hedera helix). Otherwise, coleus would a good choice.
Mechanic ones are noisy and costly, and I like plants.
Also, the mother-in-law's tongue (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sansevieria_trifasciata) is pretty good at fairly low light levels. I have one in my apartment, which is pretty damn dark a lot of the time, and it survives (doesn't grow too, too tall, but stays green and compact).
Dracaena Reflexa.
In my experience they are super tolerant of different light levels and lazy watering schedules. Also, they are SUPER SUPER SUPER easy to propagate via cuttings. So if you buy one of a decent size, you can just snap parts of it off and get many many more houseplants.
The plant is so ugly I can't stand look at it for a few seconds.
What is the right way to multiply a plant? I have no idea how big of a cutting I need and what to do with it.
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I'm not terribly sure. With the plants that I have used, I've just broken them off in an area that is actively growing (not a wooded area) and then placed that in a cup filled with water on my window sill.
In a month or two it has roots, and then I just put it in dirt.
Pretty much the limed part. You can propagate from woody tissue, but it can be quite tricky and difficult even if you know what you're doing. I'm not going to discuss it as most houseplants are not woody -- though some can be semi-woody if grown for long enough.
The water propagation method will work for about 90% of houseplants and is pretty much idiot-proof. Cutting lengths should be between 2" to 4". To increase rooting, wound the cutting by removing all but the topmost two or three leaves. This will leave some open sites at the nodes from which the new roots can develop. Be careful to limit the amount of time between wounding the cutting and getting into water as the additional wound sites are excellent vectors for diseases and other pathogens.
Roots can form in as little as two weeks given the right conditions but I will say that the time varies from plant to plant. Avoid placing the cutting in direct sunlight; indirect light is okay. You can transfer the cutting to soil as soon as you see root hairs developing on the new roots.
Another method to propagating plants involves rooting hormones and can be equally successful. Instead of placing the wounded cutting into water, you apply a tiny amount of rooting hormone (Rootone, Take Root, Quik Root, etc) to those wounded node sites. After that, you place the cutting into soil (covering all of the nodes) and water it just enough to let the water run out the bottom of the pot. Keep the cutting moist by either covering it with plastic or by misting daily. If you can place it on top of bottom heat (the top of the refrigerator works) you can induce even faster rooting -- just make sure its not too hot or you will dessicate the cutting. Again, avoid direct sunlight if possible.
Succulents are a bit different. To propagate a succulent plant, merely breaking off a piece (any size) and sticking it in soil will suffice. These plants store water in their leaves so avoid the temptation to mist the cuttings -- benign neglect works best. Using rooting hormone can help but it is not required.
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