Help me stop killing plants

Sakebomb

I suck at taking care of houseplants.
My latest victim was a Pride of Barbados that went belly up despite me feeding it regularly.

I need a plant that is "durable" that requires minimal upkeep. Preferably 3-5 ft tall..
Something for indoors, and something for my balcony.
I live in central Texas, where the summer is hot and humid and the winter is what the fuck ever it wants to be.


I'd really like bamboo, but there is all sorts of conflicting bamboo care on the interwebs.
And the website I want to order it from just has some generic care info:
http://www.willisorchards.com/product/Black+Bamboo+Plant

Where the green thumbs at?

Scrublet

Paper or plastic?

Seriously, as sarcastic as that sounds, do you care? There are some VERY real looking fake-plants you can buy, if you're in it for the appearance and not the actual care of the plant.

Sakebomb

Scrublet wrote: »

Paper or plastic?

Seriously, as sarcastic as that sounds, do you care? There are some VERY real looking fake-plants you can buy, if you're in it for the appearance and not the actual care of the plant.

I do want a real plant....
Although I may get a restraining order from greenpeace or something if I dont change my ways

Dissociater

You could always try a cactus (cacti?). We also have a bamboo, they're easy to take care of. I guess it depends on what kind you get, but with ours you just pour clean water (we pour filtered water from our brita) into the gravel in the pot and forget about it for a week.

Sakebomb

Dissociater wrote: »

You could always try a cactus (cacti?). We also have a bamboo, they're easy to take care of. I guess it depends on what kind you get, but with ours you just pour clean water (we pour filtered water from our brita) into the gravel in the pot and forget about it for a week.

How tall is your bamboo?
Ive had a tiny one (less than a foot tall) since last september. It seems to be the only thing that can tolerate me.
Id like to get some really tall bamboo

Dissociater

Mine is only about a foot and a half tall as well. I like the little things, they're not obtrusive, have a nice smell, require almost no work, and are pretty hardy. I can't really offer any advice on larger bamboos.

OT: I really want to cultivate a bonsai tree.

Sakebomb

Dissociater wrote: »

OT: I really want to cultivate a bonsai tree.

Yeah.....I killed one of those too

Apparently youre not supposed to water them, just spray with a mister once in a while....

Aegis

You could get a spider plant. I got one from a library program 17 years ago, and the thing (and its offshoots) are still alive today, with I believe only watering once a week. It wouldn't be as tall as what you were looking for though.

starmanbrand

So. Why did your last plant die? It's easy to figure out how to keep plants alive if you find out how you killed them.

My last plant that died did not have enough drainage in the decorative pot I had it in. This caused it to perish.

Were your plants drowning? Or were they not getting enough light?

Sakebomb

starmanbrand wrote: »

So. Why did your last plant die? It's easy to figure out how to keep plants alive if you find out how you killed them.

My last plant that died did not have enough drainage in the decorative pot I had it in. This caused it to perish.

Were your plants drowning? Or were they not getting enough light?

I have no frakking idea.
At first I kept it inside close to a window. I would fill a jug with water, then let it sit outside for 24 hours to evaporate the chlorine (tip from my mother), then add a little miracle grow and feed it once a week.

It started to look a bit droopy after a month, so I moved it to the balcony to get some more sun.
Then it started turning brown.
Now it is a skeleton.

Aegis wrote: »

You could get a spider plant. I got one from a library program 17 years ago, and the thing (and its offshoots) are still alive today, with I believe only watering once a week. It wouldn't be as tall as what you were looking for though.

Did a quick google image search and Im liking what I see.
The little offspring look wicked, I think I'll look into this.

starmanbrand

If you still have the plant, dig through the soil it is potted in.

There might be mold or a whole lot of wetness that wasn't leaking out because there was not enough drainage holes or the soil was packed too tight.

Dissociater

If the plant is too close to a window it could die from excessive heat build up. I'm going to assume that you're picking plants which can survive alright in a hot, Texas environment. Have you ever noticed if your plants have ever been attacked by any parasites or insects?

If you're really serious about taking care of plants, try setting up a rain barrel to catch rain water (If you get much rain where you live), and use it instead of tap water.

LewieP's Mummy

Spider plants are almost indestructible. So are ferns and Swiss Cheese plants. The key thing is watering - not over watering so you drown them, or letting them dry out too much, either. Peace lilies are quite easy to look after - just water them when their leaves droop a bit.
Some plants don't like too much sun, if their leaves go brown, it could be that the sun has burned them if they're behind glass.

Andrew_Jay

-

Sakebomb

lucky bamboo

Ahh. Yup, thats exactly what I have.
That thing is a serious trooper.

Only problem is mine hasnt grown at all. I'd like to get a large plant for my living room, and one for my balcony, and tall lucky bamboo stalks are super expensive.

Dissociater

I don't think mine was a lucky bamboo. It doesn't curve like that, but maybe they don't all curve. I didn't grow it from scratch, it was a house warming gift, and didn't come with any documents or anything, so i don't know if it's a bamboo or a lucky bamboo.

supabeast

Don’t use miracle grow. It can work well for some plants, but the chemicals in Miracle Grow kill all off all the microorganisms in the soil that make it useful for plants, so if you aren’t constantly adding more, it can kill some plants.

Gafoto

Realistically there aren't many bamboo plants you can grow as a houseplant or potted plant of any kind. Most bamboo tends to grow very fast (inches per day!) and spread out rapidly through runners. That particular bamboo you linked says it grows to about 15-20 feet tall which its relatively common for bamboo.

In terms of caring for plants you really need to watch out for over-watering and over-fertilization. Most people worry about their plants (especially if they only have one or two) and shower their plants with TLC. If you're watering the plant too much the roots can't engage in gas exchange and become susceptible to rotting.

Don't judge the relative moisture of the soil just by how the top of the soil looks. Dig your finger down into the soil and feel what it's like. You'll want the soil to dry out at least somewhat between waterings. In the summer, with the plants outside and actively growing you'll probably want to water everyday or every other day. A general rule for watering is to put water in until water drains from the bottom. Once that happens the soil is fully saturated and cannot hold any more. If you have a tray underneath the plant remove any excess water from the tray after watering the plant.

IstEl

Also what ever plant you end up getting google it, or wiki, and figure out what kind of sunlight they like. I have a wandering jew (i named him moses) and the thing is growing incredibly well, my gardening grandmother could not keep one of these alive, turns out it's because she kept it in full sunlight most the time.

mimizu

For bamboo, just keep it so that the water is just visable above the rocks, and the 'lucky' bamboo? IT DOESN'T GROW (well, a little, but very slowly).

I have a little bamboo, a pile of spider plants, and a few cati.

I got a juniper bonsai as a gift a few years ago, and it promply died. But, the leaves (?) didn't fall out, they just turned orange. So now, it's the same shape, looks nice, and doesn't need any care.

My spider plant has lived through under watering, over watering, fly maggots, lack of sun, to much sun, leaf rot, root rot, too small of a pot, root entanglement, and mistakently acidic water. And it's still making offspring.

I have a small catusy-tree thingy (6 thick puffy leaves on the top, with a thick, pale, throny stem), and last year all it's leaves fell off, and now it has all it's leaves again.

Lintilla

Check out a Jade plant, too. The care and upkeep is a bit like a cactus, they need minimal light and water, and they come out looking like weird little bonsais.

Also, I understand that you feel like you just kill plants and don't know what they need, but watering them on a strict schedule isn't as foolproof as it seems. Try to find out how moist the plant's soil should be and aim to keep that moisture level consistent instead. If it's really hot and dry and the plant is in the sun alot, it's going to need more waterings that week, but if it's humid and rainy and gray, it's not going to use as much water and you're going to end up drowning it if you give it it's whole weekly ration.

Trowizilla

My pothos has lived through me accidentally abandoning it for a month, mites, getting dropped, stepped on, and ridiculous periods of neglect. It's a nice-looking plant and, if my experience is typical, is almost impossible to kill.

Sakebomb

mimizu wrote: »

My spider plant has lived through under watering, over watering, fly maggots, lack of sun, to much sun, leaf rot, root rot, too small of a pot, rot entanglement, and mistakently acidic water. And it's still making offspring.

o_O
It may be birthing a small army to come after you one day.
Be careful bro!!

mimizu

Sakebomb wrote: »

mimizu wrote: »

My spider plant has lived through under watering, over watering, fly maggots, lack of sun, to much sun, leaf rot, root rot, too small of a pot, root entanglement, and mistakently acidic water. And it's still making offspring.

o_O
It may be birthing a small army to come after you one day.
Be careful bro!!

True, true, but I have to plant the babies
I even have one of the babies in a plastic soda bottle, as an experiment in isolation. It gets no water :P

ceres

Spider plants are awesome little plants.. I have to second that.

My mom has some bamboo in her living room, and I think soon it's going to outgrow the house. That stuff is pretty hardy. I'm not sure if it's lucky or not, but then I never took it to Vegas. Anyway, I can ask her.

Endomatic

Bamboo CAN grow something like 36 inches per day.

I would second or third spider plants. They are pretty low maintenance, and look pretty cool.

mimizu

well, some can, but not the ones they sell as house plants, which arn't really bamboo. The 'Lucky bamboos' are Dracaena sanderiana, the ribbon Dracaena.

LewieP's Mummy

I was given some flowers that had a stalk of bamboo in it. When the flowers died, I stick the stalk in a narrow vase with water, its grown about 5 inches in just over a year. I also have bamboo plants in my garden, in pots. Most bamboo is invasive, but some isn't. I've split mine 3 times now, and give the blinking things away - too bad Texas is so far away from Manchester, else you could have one!

Sakebomb

LewiePs Mummy wrote: »

I was given some flowers that had a stalk of bamboo in it. When the flowers died, I stick the stalk in a narrow vase with water, its grown about 5 inches in just over a year. I also have bamboo plants in my garden, in pots. Most bamboo is invasive, but some isn't. I've split mine 3 times now, and give the blinking things away - too bad Texas is so far away from Manchester, else you could have one!

What kind of soil and how big was the pot?

Unknown

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Gafoto

Aegeri wrote: »

The lesson to be learned from this poor cactus is not to over-water the damn thing. Like, twice a day watering or something. Especially when it tells you not to do that.

You don't need to water cacti, even if they're in pots. Plants like those are able to go months with no rain. Twice a day is more than almost any plant would ever need.

Pheezer

Pepper plants. Cayenne are really hardy. Just water 'em when the soil is dried out, and keep 'em in good sunlight. They're used to high heat and lots of light, so you'll probably have good odds there, and over watering them all the way to death is somewhat difficult.


EDIT:
Also you can make a mean fucking chili.

Dark_Side

I've got a Madagascar Dragon Tree which is really easy to care for, and it looks pretty nice too. They don't like direct sunlight at all, and are susceptible to root rot if you don't let the soil dry out between waterings. It can go quite awhile without being watered, all in all a really easy plant to care for.

I'm liking that pepper plant idea a lot, I might have to get one of those.

Unknown

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Dissociater

Aegeri wrote: »

Dissociater wrote: »

You could always try a cactus (cacti?). We also have a bamboo, they're easy to take care of. I guess it depends on what kind you get, but with ours you just pour clean water (we pour filtered water from our brita) into the gravel in the pot and forget about it for a week.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/Aegeri/DSC00025.jpg

That poor thing (it was my flatmates btw).

The lesson to be learned from this poor cactus is not to over-water the damn thing. Like, twice a day watering or something. Especially when it tells you not to do that.

Poor cactus

Shade

My tiger stalks(Sarracenia) are pretty hard and they eat wasps. They are supposed to take a lot of care, but I've found if you just keep it swampy it works fine, though you have to have an odd pot inside of a pot setup.

Gafoto

Shade wrote: »

My tiger stalks(Sarracenia) are pretty hard and they eat wasps. They are supposed to take a lot of care, but I've found if you just keep it swampy it works fine, though you have to have an odd pot inside of a pot setup.

You can just water frequently and they'll be happy. A basic plastic tray works well. Never heard them called tiger stalks before though.

Regina Fong

I can't grow anything. I'm pretty sure I could kill weeds if I paid attention to them. I've killed cacti, bamboo, and ivy. I haven't killed kudzu, but that's only because it's not legal to import it. Eventually I just gave up.