topic Re: Houseplants in Home

Houseplants

Lagan — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 14:38:11 GMT

My mother and her friends always kept lots of houseplants, and I have some, as well. I was wondering if they are still popular, or if this is a "back in the day" hobby.

Re: Houseplants

rat2e — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 15:07:31 GMT

My grandmother had a house full of house plants. I use to have some and enjoyed them. I do not have a good place for them now. I had a huge rubber tree over 12 ft. that started out as a 1ft. baby. I hated giving that one away.

Re: Houseplants

babyb — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 15:28:03 GMT

I love my house plants and do not mind taking care of them or finding spaces for them. I love what they add to our decor. I have at least one in every room.

Re: Houseplants

Buck-i-Nana — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 15:34:10 GMT

I used to have lots of house plants. Then I got cats and they liked to eat them, so I got rid of the plants and replaced them with silk plants. Well, the cats liked to eat the silk plants too! My kids used to tease me that I even killed silk plants when they stopped by and some some of the twigs left of the silk plants. So, alas, the only plant like material I have around the house now is in my wreaths.

Re: Houseplants

pattypeep — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 15:53:42 GMT

You are right in that houseplants don't seem to be as popular as they used to be. For some reason my green thumb turned brown, so I was plant less for a few years. I have about six now and have a small humidifier in the center area where most of them are (near a window). I don't think the house I live in now is conducive for plant life, but I really missed having plants and am trying again. I won't have artificial plants in my home (not good energy). One thought I had was that so many of the new homes are very airtight, which probably makes the indoors drier causing plants to be prone to mites and missing the humidity that the outdoor offers.

Re: Houseplants

RedTop — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 15:57:51 GMT

Even though my mother and grandmothers had lots of houseplants, I have had very limited interest in them. Now that my husband has COPD, and my daughters have asthma, I no longer keep plants in the living area of the house due to mold spores in the dirt. I do have 2 plants I keep in the basement; a wax leaf begonia that belonged to my maternal grandmother, and a Christmas cactus that belonged to my paternal grandmother who died in 1969. I also have the large poinsettia from Christmas in the basement, and it is leafing out and greening up again, and will be ready to put on the front porch in June.

Re: Houseplants

DiAnne — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 16:25:38 GMT

I have many plants in my house. In fact today I am repotting several into larger pots. I always said I would never have fake plants or flowers but I have to admit I tucked a couple of small silk plants into a bookcase where nothing real would grow. I just water the ones that need it once a week and they thrive.

Re: Houseplants

Marsha2003 — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 16:33:15 GMT

I think you see fewer plants in homes for many reasons including allergies, pets, children, lack of time or interest to tend them, etc. I have two large fiddle leaf figs that survive despite my neglect, but mostly I keep plants outside where they are easier to water and get plenty of light.

Re: Houseplants

spookyghost — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 16:56:41 GMT

I love houseplants and I only have two currently. Lucky bamboo and I cant remember the name of the other one. It comes around in Lowes and Home Depot every spring and summer. Its a little tree looking thing that butterflies and/or humming birds tend to like and the flowers are beautiful but I swear the flowers only last a day or two before they fall off. So it looks green most of the time. In the winter time we keep our house at around 60-62 degrees because we heat by oil. So any new plant that I decide to get I will have to make sure they are very tolerant and dont mind that we keep our house a little chilly

But houseplants make me happy. And my dh too. He is excellent with plants. Im ok. He has had to revive some of mine that I thought were doing ok but not really. Im not horrible with plants but dh has a nack. I swear he can bring almost any plant back from the dead, and he will try his hardest too! Right now I want to transplant my lucky bamboo from the little clay pots they come in with the little pebbles to a nice pot with soil. I have to do some research on what kind of soil they like.

Re: Houseplants

sciencegeek_1 — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 17:51:03 GMT

I love houseplants but have a brown thumb. Every once in a while I will go crazy and buy a bunch of plants, determined that this time, I'll keep them alive. Ha! They're dead within 6 months.

Re: Houseplants

Lagan — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 19:57:54 GMT

Thanks for the replies, ladies. My house doesn't get a lot of light, and is chilly in winter, so I mostly have the different varieties of sansevieria, aka snake plant, and a few cacti. I give them as much light as possible, water sparingly in winter, and put them ouside on the porch in summer. The cacti bloom like crazy! My cats pretty much ignore them, too..........!

Re: Houseplants

corita — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 20:42:24 GMT

It might be a carry over from "the old days", but I have always had houseplants. I like seeing that green, real foliage around the house. I still have some macrame hanging planters!! I don't fuss a lot with any of them...just water once every week and half. I do confess that I do not buy expensive plants, so if one dies, I do not throw away lots of money!!

Re: Houseplants

shesallthat — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 13:32:32 GMT

my mom has always had lots of plants and so did my MIL! she had a formal living room and it was always filled with beautiful plants. i like peace lilly's but always seem to kill them!! the plant with the heart shaped leaves (i forget the name) is the only thing i can grow.

Re: Houseplants

ValuSkr — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 13:42:50 GMT

They are definitely still in style. Urban Outfitters has a hip plants / gardening chain called Terrain, with stores in Concordville, PA (near Philly) and Westport, CT. Check it out if you're in the area.

Re: Houseplants

PamelaSue72 — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 14:05:31 GMT

Many, many years ago B.C. (Before Cats), our house was full of plants of all types. I had flowering plants and all different kinds of plants and indoor trees. I love plants and flowers. But in my case, plants and flowers and cat don't mix well; the cats came and the plants died. The cats would chew on them (and then I'd worry about any plants that might be poisonous), the cats would play with the leaves (the poor plants had claw marks on their leaves), and the cats would try to climb up the trees. One of the cats was bound and determined to use the larger plant containers as litter boxes and we had to use chicken wire around the tops of the containers. It wasn't worth it. And since I dearly love my furkids, the cats won.

So, I have my plants in my office at work. And my office looks like a greenhouse. It worked out. People love to come into my office and sit down for awhile. (But I don't know where I'm going to put my plants when I retire.)

Re: Houseplants

Another new name Sue — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 15:09:55 GMT

I love houseplants and think they add so much to a room. I have a palm and a couple others. I don't think it's an "in" or "out" thing. Even if it is "out," do what you like.

Re: Houseplants

WVMusicFan — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 17:35:09 GMT

I just got back into having house plants and am loving it! Now that my children are grown and have left home I have more time to tend and care for them. I agree with some of the other posters that sometimes people just get to busy to take care of them. I think they add a touch of home to a room.

Re: Houseplants

WVMusicFan — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 17:36:15 GMT

I am curious....what is everybody's favorite house plant in their home...and why.

Re: Houseplants

Annabellethecat66 — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 17:41:53 GMT

Ditto Buck.....only she said it way better than I could have. My cats love to munch on the QVC plastic bags! I go crazy keeping them away from them.

I've read about it. Had blood work done, etc. They just love it. It is so dangerous. I don't see them swallowing it, but anyway, I'd love to have plants but it's not happening as my furbabies win out.

Re: Houseplants

KJPA — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 20:13:18 GMT

Wow, I can't even count the number of houseplants I have. Some of them go out on the deck in the summer but they have to winter inside. I always understood that they are healthy for us and "clean" the air so I'm surprised so many people don't have them for health reasons. I do understand the dirt and plants can carry mold, insects, etc. but I thought if you take care of them they are beneficial.

Believe me, I've killed more than my share of plants but I'm pretty successful now that I've learned a routine; not too much attention and not too little. Like Goldilocks I guess

I have succulents, philodendron, croton, orchids (not doing so well), African violets, African mask, peace lily, corn plants, arrowhead plants, anthurium.... I think you get the idea I probably have to say that the Croton is my favorite right now. Lots of different colors on the leaves and it grows a lot. Doesn't take much care and loves it outside on the deck, in the shade during the summer. Likes lots of water too.