Easy indoor plant for a young child?

[mj512]

My 2 year old has enjoyed helping me water out garden this summer and with winter approaching I'm wondering if there are any plants I could keep in a pot inside to let her water and watch grow over the cold months. Maybe a type of flower? I suppose it doesn't have to be pretty but that would be an added bonus.

 

[claudine]

If I were you, I would make a toy like this for her:

It's very easy to make, you just have to fill old pantyhose with soil and grass seeds and form something that will look like a head from it. I'm sure that your child will love it

 

[Gardener]

I'm not sure if everyone refers to this plant as what I do, but it is called the money plant. Grow one and you will make money in your life! That's how a friend of mine taught her child to start having a green thumb. Also, it doesn't even require having soil, as water is good enough to grow one in the beginning and you can also make one from a cutting! Try it out and see how it goes.

 

[Gina145]

Ficus Benjamina and Schefflera are both evergreen and easy to care for.

I have a Schefflera that used to live in a very dark corner in the entrance to our house and it grew long and spindly, but never gave me any problems. I eventually cut both trunks back quite low with no remaining foliage and it grew back well. I've now starting keeping it outdoors unless it's really cold and it's fattened up nicely. It even gets flowers in summer which it never did when I kept it inside.

If you get one it will be fine indoors. Though I suggest you try to give it better light than I gave mine.

 

[yellowbird]

Have you heard of Straw flowers? They are pretty neat, can be beautiful, and are easy to grow!
http://www.silive.com/homegarden/index.ssf/2012/11/everlasting_strawflowers_are_e.html

 

[ACSAPA]

If I were you, I would make a toy like this for her:

It's very easy to make, you just have to fill old pantyhose with soil and grass seeds and form something that will look like a head from it. I'm sure that your child will love it

That is adorable and those grass seeds are pretty hard to kill.
This is such a cute idea.

 

[claudine]

That is adorable and those grass seeds are pretty hard to kill.
This is such a cute idea.

Yup, I think that it's perfect for children. I had a toy like this and I really enjoyed watering it and looking at the grass. It was growing very quickly! Cutting it was fun too, I was pretending that I'm a hairdresser

 

[Steverd]

I was thinking something like a Spiderplant. I loved those as a child. Easy to grow and they have those cool hanging runners that you can put in dirt and they will propagate. How about Cactus and Succulates, I loved those also.

 

[lemonzest]

When my brother was little he had a whole bunch of little cactus plants, they are extremely sturdy and kind of cool. And some of them had lovely little flowers.

 

[Cheerio]

The little potato people are cute.

How about the old trick of putting toothpicks into a potato and sticking it into some water and watching it grow? They do make a nice plant. Once it gets to a certain size, it can be planted in a pot. It would be easy for the little one to help "water" the new potato plant by changing out the water, or adding more to it everyday.

I don't think cacti would be a great idea for small children. They would want to touch the plant and... well, that might not be good.

 

[Gina145]

I don't think cacti would be a great idea for small children. They would want to touch the plant and... well, that might not be good.

I agree about cacti, but what about a succulent plant that doesn't have thorns? They don't need a lot of water so they are much easier to look after than most plants.

 

[Cheerio]

A succulent would be easy to care for and definitely wouldn't cause any pricked fingers.

I think planting some sort of seeds and watching them grow would be the most fun. Kids get so excited to see the changes in their little plant each day,

 

[Trellum]

I'd pick a plant that is really hard to kill I'd pick any of the species available of spiderworts... they are very LOW maintenance plants and VERY hard to kill. Even if the steams are severely damage and die... the roots are still alive and a new plant will show up there. I'd go for the purple heart one... it's a plant with purple leaves and pink flowers You can trim it and will get a nice bush-shaped plant

 

[Gina145]

I'd pick a plant that is really hard to kill I'd pick any of the species available of spiderworts... they are very LOW maintenance plants and VERY hard to kill. Even if the steams are severely damage and die... the roots are still alive and a new plant will show up there. I'd go for the purple heart one... it's a plant with purple leaves and pink flowers You can trim it and will get a nice bush-shaped plant

Trellum you make a good point about low maintenance plants. I had to look up spiderwort, but from what I read on this page it looks perfect. It has edible parts and even has medicinal properties.

 

[justusforus]

If I were you, I would make a toy like this for her:

It's very easy to make, you just have to fill old pantyhose with soil and grass seeds and form something that will look like a head from it. I'm sure that your child will love it

Those are great. My first thought too was something non-toxic. How great to promote the love of plants at a young age. It happened to me, and probably most here.