advise me of plants

Reznik

I would like to get a plant. I don't know shit all about plants. It has to meet the following criteria:

- cat safe
- will survive in a basement apartment
- easy to take care of
- won't attract ants

Something smallish that I can put on a windowsill or desk or shelf would be ideal

Thanks in advance

Enc

Reznik wrote: »

I would like to get a plant. I don't know shit all about plants. It has to meet the following criteria:

- cat safe
- will survive in a basement apartment
- easy to take care of
- won't attract ants

Something smallish that I can put on a windowsill or desk or shelf would be ideal

Thanks in advance

The only things that meets these requirements are oat grass or catnip.

Shadowfire

You could fake it with an air fern.

NightDragon

What is your lighting situation like? What kinds of lights do you have now, and how bright are the spaces you'd like to put your plants? Would you be willing to get a grow light?

Some plants can grow in artificial light, but only certain kinds of artificial light. A grow light would allow you to consider a larger variety of plants that would suit your needs.

Surfpossum

The sturdiest cat safe indoor plants I have come across are:

bird's-nest ferns (Asplenium nidus)
nerve plants (Fittonia albivenis or similar)
actual bamboo (Phyllostachys aurea)
spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum)
neanthe bella palms (Chamaedorea elegans)
Christmas cacti (Schlumbergera russelliana or similar)

These should all be non-toxic to cats, tho the spider plant is, allegedly, hallucinogenic (we have two cats and they've eaten some but who knows if they got high). I've ranked them according to my gut feeling of how easily they'll survive.

All of these will put up with quite a lot when it comes to watering etc. The last two you can leave until the soil gets a bit more dry to water, the rest can be kept moist, and bamboo usually just sits in water. All of these have done more or less fine sitting near our kitchen windows.

Consider also:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR2Lo0rOF7g

Fuzzy Cumulonimbus Cloud

How basement are we talking? How much light do you get during the day?

Quid

Enc wrote: »

Reznik wrote: »

I would like to get a plant. I don't know shit all about plants. It has to meet the following criteria:

- cat safe
- will survive in a basement apartment
- easy to take care of
- won't attract ants

Something smallish that I can put on a windowsill or desk or shelf would be ideal

Thanks in advance

The only things that meets these requirements are oat grass or catnip.

Lies.

Spider plants, prayer plants, cast iron plants, and various ferns can all thrive indoors. They're nontoxic to cats and fine with indirect light. If you literally have no windows, grow lights are also an option and relatively cheap.

Reznik

In my livingroom I generally get enough light in the spring/summer from say 8 AM to 7 PM that I don't need to turn on any lights in the room. The front window is pretty large. It gets pretty bright in the afternoon but I couldn't say for how long. Once winter comes around that drops to probably like 9 AM to 3 PM. For artificial light I only have a corner lamp (LED, I think?) that isn't really the brightest. The other windows I generally keep the curtains closed on all day because I don't want people in the parking lot seeing in.

Surfpossum

That sounds like plenty of light for most any kind of indoor plant.

Just grab one or two and see how they do! You can get most of them for like five bucks if you get a small one.

see317

Surfpossum wrote: »

That sounds like plenty of light for most any kind of indoor plant.

Just grab one or two and see how they do! You can get most of them for like five bucks if you get a small one.

Problem is the cats though. A lot of cats like to gnaw on plants, and a lot of plants are moderately to severely toxic when ingested.

I was about to suggest a snake plant, because they're easy to keep and really tough to kill, but it turns out they're toxic to cats. Not like instant death, but nausea, vomiting, diarrhea... all things you love in a house cat.

Maybe some small succulents, like Hens and Chicks? A bit of research says they're safe. And the ones I've seen grow like weeds. Easy to repot cuttings if you like them and want more.

Maybe a cactus? The cats may mess with it a bit at first, but once the cats figure out the plant bites back it should leave the plant alone, or push it off the window ledge (cats gonna cat). Research says they're non toxic, and a small one won't have huge spines capable of doing much more than a minor scratch.

If your looking for non-spiny cactus like plants, maybe check out lithops? Granted, they look more like rocks so nobody is going to be impressed by your green thumb, but they're plants and non-toxic and come in a really wide spectrum of colors. As a bonus, they don't grow tall, so when one of your cats decides the lithop bed is a great place for a nap, no harm done.

Burtletoy

You could do a herb garden!

Basil, Cilantro, Thyme, Dill, Rosemary, Sage

All pet safe, most would be fine in a lighted window sill