Plant me!

Magus`

So I'm looking for a plant to put in my room. Something reasonably inexpensive and easy to take care of. Something tall would be nice cause I could put it in the empty corner of the room. Hanging would also be ok, I guess.

I live in central Missouri, if that matters as far as plants go.

Anarchy Rules!

I was thinking about getting myself a houseplant as well. So that adds more imperative to solving this issue dammit!

see317

Here's an article with pictures of some hard to kill plants: http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-hard-to-kill-house-plants.php
Here's another article with fewer pictures: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/starting-a-home-92385

I remember reading an article about plants NASA recommended for use based on oxygen production and hardiness, and Mother-in-Laws tongue came in at the top of the list. It looks pretty cool, mostly a vertical growing plant.
Maybe pick up an aloe plant, them or another succulent plant, they're typically hard to kill and can look cool (look up Hens and Chicks). I'd avoid cacti though, they sound easy to take care of but most of them are very easy to over water, and if you stumble around in your room after dark (sleep walk or just getting up to get a drink of water late at night), a cactus isn't going to be your friend.

I'd suggest starting there. Otherwise, hit google up to search for "hard to kill houseplants" and see what pops up.

Gaffero

You have many options. Anything can be a houseplant per se but certain plants lend themselves to this distinction better than others. I'll leave a few of the easier-to-find plants as suggestions. * are my favorites. Check out the links for some basic information -- I can give you more specific information if you request it in this thread.

Most of these plants can be easily propagated by taking a 4-6" segment of pencil-thick stem and placing it in a glass of water. I always have a few cutting going to give away to friends or to restart a plant that has gotten leggy, damaged, etc.

Climbers (or Trailers if you don't give them support!):
Golden Pothos http://www.plant-care.com/pothos-number-one-houseplant.html
Philodendron http://houseplants.about.com/od/foliageplants/p/Philodendrons.htm
*English Ivy http://www.guide-to-houseplants.com/english-ivy.html
Arrowplant http://www.learn2grow.com/gardeningguides/houseplants/indoorfoliage/NoWorryNephthytis.aspx
Swedish Ivy http://www.guide-to-houseplants.com/swedish-ivy.html

Foliage:
Coleus http://houseplants.about.com/od/foliageplants/p/Coleus.htm
Tradescantia 'Purple Heart' http://www.guide-to-houseplants.com/tradescantia-pallida.html
*Maidenhair Fern http://www.guide-to-houseplants.com/maidenhair-fern.html
Spiderplant http://houseplants.about.com/od/foliageplants/p/SpiderPlant.htm

Flowering:
*Begonia http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/popluar-houseplants/begonias.htm
Pelargoniums http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8504.html

Magus`

Thanks, I will see what places sell plants locally. I know some grocery stores do, and there is a Wal*Mart, but I have no idea how good they'd be.

I'll update this once I find something!

dewprisms

Depending on what part of the country you live in, I can probably recommend grocery stores with floral departments (I'm a manager at one!) I recommend against florists. They're very expensive for what you get. You can also check places like Lowes and Home Depot. And I know Ikea sells houseplants too, but you have to kind of look at them all because half of them are fake.

Some of my recommendations if you are new to plants are:
Pothos
Arrowplant / Nepththytis
Ivy
Philodendrons

All of these start out small when you buy them but will just keep getting bigger with proper care through the years. Repotting them in an appropriate sized container as they outgrow their old ones is important- as is not putting them in too large of a container. For most plants, over watering is just as bad as under watering the plants.

I recommend against tropical plants. They look really cool when you first buy them, but often they flower once and never again because they require very specific conditions to reflower.

Orchids and African violets can be picky. While beautiful, they are very picky and will not reflower unless you put them in the right conditions. And orchids tend to only rebloom once, maybe twice a year if you are lucky.

If you want something that will bloom, cyclamen is a good choice. The blooms are delicate and do not last very long, but the foliage is also very pretty and relatively easy to care for.

I like Gaffero's suggestions, really. Easy to propagate plants are nice. That way when they get too large you can cut down some of the other sections and plant in a new pot and get another plant for another spot in the house. Or even expand the current one if you want to go up a size of pot.

When people come ask me about plants because they don't know, pothos is almost always my recommendation. They're really very hard to kill and they just keep growing and growing. You can place them near a wall and put little nails or thumb tacks or whatever and eventually you will have a whole wall section covered over the course of a few years.

If you want a larger plant, which it sounds like you may, saying you want it for a corner of your room, you may want to wait a few months and get a floor plant. A lot of grocery stores that have floral departments get a bunch of them in during the late spring and early summer. They'll usually be indoors and already in large tubs, and typically there are several types to choose from and at a decent price.

MetroidZoid

Man I'm always the last person to find these threads.

Just going to throw my hat into the ring with:

Pothos. All the Pothos.