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Indoor plant?

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  • 17-02-2019 3:54pm
    #1
    Addle
    Registered Users Posts: 4,812 ✭✭✭


    I have a dreadful reputation for not being able keep plants alive.
    But I like to have a couple in the house.
    Unfortunately they've become disposable items. It's a dreadful waste.
    Can anyone recommend some indoor potted plants that are relatively easy to keep please?


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    #2
    New Home
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 76,451 Mod ✭✭✭✭New Home


    Tillandsia, or air plants. Zero maintenance. They come in a variety of shapes and colours.


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    #3
    macraignil
    Registered Users Posts: 3,376 ✭✭✭macraignil


    Aloe vera is not much work to keep going. Only needs water every couple of months since it's a cactus. Got one in the garage window for years and it is doing fine with just a bit of water every few weeks or months.

    Orchids that are sold in supermarkets as nice living gifts are also relatively easy. They are usually sold with a reservoir of water under the roots that are held in a kind of basket that sits in the outer reservoir pot. I've one going in the utility room window for a few years now with nothing more complicated than keeping the reservoir topped up with water. These orchids normally live on the branches of big tropical trees as epiphytes so don't need soil. The one I got seems to be flowering for most of the year with only a break for a couple of months and has only really looked unhealthy once when I left the reservoir go dry. It recovered as soon as I topped it up again.


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    #4
    New Home
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 76,451 Mod ✭✭✭✭New Home


    Fair play for keeping orchids alive - whatever I do or not to with them, I manage to kill them all off. :( Mind you, I've only tried with phalaenopsis.


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    #5
    New Home
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 76,451 Mod ✭✭✭✭New Home


    You'd be hard pushed at killing off ivy, too. There are some variegated varieties that are really pretty.


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    #6
    Addle
    Registered Users Posts: 4,812 ✭✭✭Addle


    Can you have a weed like ivy inside?
    I've killed a few orchids over the years too.
    Spider plant and succulents look good.
    Thanks for the replies.


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    #7
    New Home
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 76,451 Mod ✭✭✭✭New Home


    Yes, you can. It works well in bathrooms, too. :)

    english-ivy-tdy-home-tease-ae_d8a688e86e43bc301556fdcbb0f9378d.jpg
    20160316-GA045.jpg


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    #8
    looksee
    Registered Users Posts: 28,113 ✭✭✭✭looksee


    I have killed ivy indoors too, though I don't really lose much. I think they don't like the dry air. Orchids (phalaenopsis) I agree, easy and will keep flowering with almost no effort - you need a bright but not direct sun position and don't leave them standing in water.

    Sorry NH I don't agree about the air plants, you really need a suitable spot for them, they need to have some moisture in the air, some need sun and others don't. I had some that were doing well in my last house but I have not got a suitable spot for them here (temporary house) two have died completely, two are struggling and one is very happy.

    Spider plant - easy, aloe vera - easy. Anthurium - easy once you find the right place for it.


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    #9
    New Home
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 76,451 Mod ✭✭✭✭New Home


    looksee wrote: »
    I have killed ivy indoors too, though I don't really lose much. I think they don't like the dry air. Orchids (phalaenopsis) I agree, easy and will keep flowering with almost no effort - you need a bright but not direct sun position and don't leave them standing in water.

    Sorry NH I don't agree about the air plants, you really need a suitable spot for them, they need to have some moisture in the air, some need sun and others don't. I had some that were doing well in my last house but I have not got a suitable spot for them here (temporary house) two have died completely, two are struggling and one is very happy.

    Spider plant - easy, aloe vera - easy. Anthurium - easy once you find the right place for it.

    Fair enough. :) I guess different people can handle different plants, so. I've killed off three aloe veras and all orchids, irrespective of how I treated them. I'm not too bad with other plants, and my ivies are thriving. :p

    Spathiphyllum (peace lily), epiphyllum (orchid cactus) and kentias I find are very easy to manage, as well as Ficus binnendijkii aka Ficus maclellandii. Don't know about everyone else. :)


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    #10
    Achasanai
    Closed Accounts Posts: 730 ✭✭✭Achasanai


    I don't have a spider plant, but I have heard from others that they are near impossible to kill.



    If you have a nice bright spot, you might think of getting a succulent. I have a crassula/jade plant, fairly hardy and doesn't require a huge amount of care (watering every two weeks or so).


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    #11
    looksee
    Registered Users Posts: 28,113 ✭✭✭✭looksee


    I did manage to kill a spider plant. I put it outside in the summer to get a bit of fresh air and soft rain...and I just never brought it in. Sometime around early October it just died. Poor thing.


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