What is your favorite houseplant and why?

[taskeinc]

My favorite houseplant is the Phalaenopsis Orchid. I used to see this beautiful flower in Publix or at a nursery and just admire its beauty but I really never thought about buying it. I saw it as a decorative plant that was not a good candidate to keep at home; I saw it more as a plant to purchase as a gift. A couple years ago, on a whim, I purchased one that was in bloom. Fortunately the blooms lasted a couple months and I managed to place the orchid in the right spot.

After the blooms fell off I started to see new growth from the leaves. I discovered by watching and researching the orchid that when it flowers, the leaves don't grow because the plants' energy goes toward the flowers and stems. Once the orchid has bloomed, the energy goes toward the stems and leaves. Orchid roots are beautiful and majestic in their own right because they can actually grow above the soil, and don't need soil to grow. Therefore, when you have no blooms or your orchid, you can still appreciate the plants overall beauty.

So what's your favorite houseplant?

 

[taskeinc]

Here's my Alocasia Polly.. this is a slow grower but I am seeing progress .. the leaves are big, bold, and beautiful..

Alocasia Polly .. (tried to post it as a Flickr image)

 

[claudine]

It's so beautiful, Taskeinc!
My favourite houseplants are my miniature roses. They were all gifts from my boyfriend and they're my little treasures . If there was a fire in my home, my roses would be the first thing I'd be trying to rescue . I love them, their delicate leafs and flowers, I love how fast they grow and that they always have some interesting surprises for me - every morning. And maybe this sound sentimental but taking care of them really makes me happy

 

[Jed]

So many dedicated indoor gardeners put my aloe vera plant and olive tree to shame.
We've had our olive tree for many years growing on our enclosed front veranda.
It's been used many times as a Christmas tree but now just plods along giving some fruit and looking a bit bonsai.

 

[maddie]

Taskeinc, I really don't know if I can play favorites.. I love all my plants and enjoy every single one of them. I tend to them with care and hang around them all day long.. I cannot imagine life without them.. I almost bought a huger house... but I realized that I had no balcony space and can't take my plants.. I walked out of the deal... :/ I loved that house.. but I love my plants more..

 

[taskeinc]

I cannot imagine life without them.. I almost bought a huger house... but I realized that I had no balcony space and can't take my plants.. I walked out of the deal... :/ I loved that house.. but I love my plants more..

I feel you Maddie .. I love all my plants too and would not move into a home without lots of windows. My next home will have more than what I have now because I basically want an indoor Green House, I want my home to look like an organized, indoor, Rain Forest ..

Would love to have a house with windows like this one, or the other.. it's 2 nice looking "Eco Houses" on this page.

 

[Lanie]

I would love to move into one of those eco houses taskeinc, but I heard that they are super-pricey to build. My favorite plant? I have many loved and favorite to choose from, but if you pressure me I would have to say my fig tree. It's really easy to grow and it is so lush and impressive it takes up an entire corner of my living room. It would be a sad day for me if anything ever happened to it.

 

[taskeinc]

I would love to move into one of those eco houses taskeinc, but I heard that they are super-pricey to build. My favorite plant? I have many loved and favorite to choose from, but if you pressure me I would have to say my fig tree. It's really easy to grow and it is so lush and impressive it takes up an entire corner of my living room. It would be a sad day for me if anything ever happened to it.

I know how you feel. Practically all my houseplants, especially the larger ones, I'd have a tough time dealing with the loss of one. I wouldn't go jump off a bridge or anything but it would be disappointing. However, as you know, as long as we keep an eye on our plants, make sure the dreaded "mealy bugs" don't appear, there's usually not too much you have to worry about. I have one plant over 20 years old, it's a Dracaena Marginata (and I've rooted at least 4 other plants from the one) and another, a Aglaonema Silver Queen, that's about 10 years old. So they live a long time, as long as we give them the care they so richly deserve..

Guys, don't take my "Man Card," I absolutely love plants!

Would love to see a picture of your fig tree, if you have one ..

 

[Lanie]

I do have a picture of it, but I can't post photos from my computer because it is very old. My husband has a new computer that I can use for this purpose, but he's in the middle of an epic battle right now that threatens the future of all mankind. Maybe I can sneak on his computer later when he's sleeping

 

[JaimieSkye]

I used to have so many house plants, but my two cats won't leave them alone. Are there any house plants that cats won't eat? The only one I have left is a palm plant. I really miss my spider plants that I had hanging everywhere. They grew so fast and looked so pretty in front of my window. I had a beautiful peace lily that they left alone for 3 years and one day they decided it was tasty so I had to give it to my Mom.

 

[taskeinc]

I used to have so many house plants, but my two cats won't leave them alone. Are there any house plants that cats won't eat? The only one I have left is a palm plant. I really miss my spider plants that I had hanging everywhere. They grew so fast and looked so pretty in front of my window. I had a beautiful peace lily that they left alone for 3 years and one day they decided it was tasty so I had to give it to my Mom.

I have so many plants and admire them so much, I'd have to get rid of a cat or dog if it didn't respect my plants. Dogs can be trained not to tamper with plants. I had a poodle for 15 years and she never bothered my plants. Then I had a shih tzu for about 4 years (ended up giving him to a friend) and I trained him not to bother my plants. I'm not sure you can do that with cats, but I would not know.

I heard cats don't like tin foil. Place a sheet of tin foil underneath the pot, extending it out a few inches. Your feline will stay away from the pot to keep from coming in contact with the foil. Not sure if this works, but it won't hurt to try it. If it works, let us know.

 

[JaimieSkye]

My cats are so old that I doubt they are trainable anymore. lol They are 13 and 14. My dog could care less about my plants. I was actually worried he would pee on the palm that is on the floor. You know how male dogs and outside plants can be. He has never bothered it. Now that you say that about the tin foil, I guess I have heard that before. I'll have to get a plant and test that out.

 

[taskeinc]

This is another of my favorites, the Orchid, or Phalaenopsis Orchid.. Look at an image of these hanging orchids, aren't they gorgeous? I have a couple orchids but not nearly as big as the ones in the image. You can tell by the healthy, beautiful, long flowing roots that these Orchids have been around for several years..

 

[maddie]

They look so beautiful.. Yes, orchids could easily become a passion. I have a few here and I potter around them all day long.


This hardy plant is so easy to grow and blooms all year long.. the Eurphobia milli is easily the most colorful and easy to grow plant for me...

 

[taskeinc]

Those are gorgeous plants. Never heard of the Eurphobia Milli, I'm wondering what region they grow in and if they are only available at nurseries in early Spring? Around about Feb 2013 I'm going to begin planning on my backyard, shade garden. From the pictures above, the Eurphobia looks to be a full-sun type of plant, but I'm not sure.

Actually, the third flower, the yellow flower to the far right, looks like the yellow flowers in the large picture of the Orchids. Is it the same flower; is it part of the Orchid?