Indoor plants

[luxome]

Indoor Design

Do you guys have indoor plants in your house/condo? I've been considering having some plants in my apartment. My girlfriend keeps telling me to get one, saying my apartment is too plain and told me to add some plantlife. She also says it brings healthier living conditions (true?).

I'm just wondering, will i have to deal with spider/insect problems (one of the reason why i live in a condo is to avoid it. Never seen a single spider/fly ever )?

I'm new to plants (as well as paint colour as some of you may know ). Any suggestions on the type of plants i should look into? nothing too big, around waist height, easy to take care of, long lifespan...

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

if you have small kids or pets maybe stay away from sharp prickly things like cactus. also check to make sure you don't get plants that are poisonous in that situation.

if you don't wanna deal with soil and bugs that might be in the soil, get some bamboo canes and put them in a vase of water with some small stones. all you gotta do is add water once and a while to make up for evaporation.


it's good to have some living plants in your home. they oxygenate. just keep them near a window with some light exposure. once and a while you'll have to rotate the pot because they tend to bend to the light. watering isn't a big deal.

p.s, don't be too afraid of those regular cream colored house spiders. they eat smaller insects such as mites, etc. they're probably more afraid of you than you are of them. even centipedes eat other smaller insects but they can look really scary because they're fast. earwigs, flies, dark spiders or unusual spiders, etc. those are the ones i don't have tolerance for.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

I see an earwig & I'm out cold.

Bamboo looks great and is virtually maintenance free.
Try a Peace Lily if you have a window with direct or indirect sun (preferably not a north facing window). These plants are great for people starting out because they don't need a lot of maintenance and they are a fairly hardy houseplant so you can't go too wrong. Peace Lilies have really nice deep green leaves that look healthy year 'round. Perhaps 6 or 7 times a year the plant sprouts white lilies which last for many weeks. Pruning brown leaves and the blooms once they are finished needs to be done about every two months, occasionally more often - depends on how fussy you are too. Water every 3 or 4 days to keep the soil moist, more frequently in winter if your place is dry. Fertilize sparingly. The only downside to this plant is the lilies drop white dust in the beginning of a bloom. No big deal.
I've had mine for 5 or 6 years and it's still in the same pot! Easy, easy.

 

[tissot]

Since I'm arachnophobic, I would probably get some fake plants. Does bamboo canes attract any spiders or insects?

 

[afransen]

Frankly, any insects that might be on plants are probably too small for you to notice.

 

[cacruden]

Since even the "cleanest" of humans is still a cesspool of bacteria - I would not worry too much about running into one itty bitty little bug

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

Since even the "cleanest" of humans is still a cesspool of bacteria - I would not worry too much about running into one itty bitty little bug

don't forget the viruses.

 

[Glen]

Spathiphyllum, golden pothos or a palm all make good indoor plants. Replant them in sterlile potting soil.

 

[BobBob]

One of my faves is a braided money tree. Beautiful and very easy to maintain.

 

[luxome]

One of my faves is a braided money tree. Beautiful and very easy to maintain.

that's what i was just about to ask!!

thanks to the suggestions, i'm now considering both "Money Tree" and Bamboo canes.

"Money Tree" easy to take care of?

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

"Money Tree" easy to take care of?

Yes, I have one of those too. It's 5 years old, still in it's original small pot with that spongy stuff around it. Put it in or near a window, keep the plant watered/moist and it'll go for years.

 

[lead82]

I have a couple of plants in my condo. I have a very bright unit so plants love it. I have a palm tree plant growing by the balcony entrance and a 'xmas' plant in the other room. Very easy to maintain, just need watering once a week. I tried having an orchid but I over-watered it and it died.

I think plants add a certain element to a place. Make it more complete. It's healthy to have a plant especially if you don't open your windows much, since plants generate fresh oxygen and absorb some of the indoor pollutants and dust, in essence cleaning the air a bit. My place doesn't have room for many plants but I think having 1 - 3 in key locations is good. Ideally you want one per room.

I haven't found any issues with bugs. As long as you keep your place clean, the plants wont really create bugs on their own. ;-)

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Spathiphyllum, golden pothos or a palm all make good indoor plants. Replant them in sterlile potting soil.

Spathiphyllum (Peace Lily):

Spathiphyllum was one of the top performing plants in NASA's study on air cleaning plants, especially for trichloroethylene.

Source

 

[luxome]

My bamboo cane....is turning yellow after 2 weeks, i don't know why. I've added water as directed

Can anyone help me save my bamboo cane before it goes?

I know this is not a Plant/Gardening forum. Perhaps, we can use this thread to inquire about indoor plants?

 

[lister]

We've had a bamboo plant for over a year now. It's in a glass vase that has some little rocks, dirt and a gel down at the bottom. We get very little direct sunlight other than early in the morning for maybe 20-30 minutes. I water the plant once a week. Easy as pie. It has grown a fair bit with lots of new offshoots and big leaves. The roots are easily seen in the soil going every which way. I've named it Robert Plant.