To want a houseplants that just bloody lives

DD is going through a plant phase, and the peace lily is the longest lived so far. Spider plants are also fairly unkillable. Succulents are far too easy to under or over water, so weve killed a few of those. Even cactii are not as easy as you might think.

Does anyone else find spider plants revolting and creepy? I don’t care if they can survive a nuclear bombing, I hate the bloody things. They’re the only plant that gives me the complete heebie-jeebies 😂

@38Ridingthegravytrain if your weeping fig is normally happy but is dropping all of its leaves it may need repotting. That's what ours does when it wants a bigger pot. Otherwise they seem to like light, but not direct sunlight and no draughts and will then happily cope with lots of neglect

Am I the only person that kills peace lilies then? For many years the only plant I could keep alive was a weeping fig. I nearly killed it in the beginning, shoved it in an alcove out of the way and accidentally discovered that it will happily cope with all sorts of neglect re watering etc but just hates draughts. It's now 6 foot tall. The peace lilies are all dead, but the blue fern now seems reasonably happy in the bathroom and the spider plant has just had babies.

There is only one plant I have not murdered and that was a gift from my last employer when I left. Its a large jar garden, the cork has never been removed and it lives on and on. I've had it for three years now.
Apparently you are never supposed to remove the lid and they create their own ecosystem in there. There is a guy that has had them for years and years.

biologicperformance.com/sealed-bottle-terrarium-garden-watered-once-53-years/

I am a plant killer but felt my house looked like it was missing something.

Over lockdown I started a subscription to leaf envy and get a plant with a pot delivered every two months. They come with instructions on how to care for them and I have two months to learn do that before the next one arrives. I’m now on plant three and they are thriving and make me very happy. Also, they’re not plants I would have chosen for myself but I really like the variety I’ve been sent.

At £35 for a plant and pot it’s not cheap but the money has made me keen to keep them alive. I’m CEV so don’t go out but you could always to something similar by choosing a new plant from a garden centre every 2-3 months.

It’s a bit early to say my murderous tendencies have been cured, but it looks positive so far

For a laugh, may I point you towards Classics, as there's a fairly recent thread on there about fugly plants That Will Not Die, despite the attempts of the owners- hilarious.

I'm green fingered outside and variable in. I wasnt well end of last year so plants got more neglected than is good for them. I now have a little hospital where I'm tending to the survivors! I had a load of spider plant babies in a pint of water by the sink for 6 months, which were very happy, have just shoved them in some soil so fingers crossed. My north facing, no direct light conservatory (it's about 2 inches sq, long story) seems to be the best place, got loads in there that are thriving!

Over watering is definitely the enemy.....

Wandering Sailor

Oh yes , when I had guinea-pigs as a child they managed to eat a load of these , like locusts they were
Happily the guineas were ok and the plants grew back better than ever .

I really don't like houseplants but I did have a gorgeous Asparagus Fern , you could see the growth after 24 hours and the new shoots did look like asparagus .

2 cats now ,, houseplants would be knocked over or chewed , no I'm passing .

God we’ve had loads of garden plant disasters.

Our neighbour is a proper expert and has given us loads of plants, which I suspect are too advanced for our level of expertise (ie thicko level). Most of them have died. I’m absolutely dreading inviting him round in the summer as he’ll ask where they all are....... answer to that is the green bin 😂

My dh is brilliant with indoor plants

Can make them last ages, even delicate little orchids

I can keep a bonsai tree alive

But between us, we suck at outdoor plants

I planted a beautiful bee garden last year. Fucker died within weeks

@Purplerayhan I am not an expert but I have a heart leaf philodendron on the windowsill in our downstairs loo - low-ish light levels which I thought would prove no good for it but it’s absolutely thriving! It’s been really easy to grow so maybe that could be an option? It’s trailing and looks gorgeous.

I know ferns are meant to be good for bathrooms but I think they like low light and lots of people here have said they can be temperamental to grow....:

I could of written this OP . I'm fine with garden plants but indoor 🤷🏻‍♀️

I am an avid houseplant collector/murderer. It's really hit and miss with me. Snake plants, papyrus and monkey mask... perfect.

Jade plants, peace Lily and monstera, absolutely not.

Plus I cannot resist anything reduced that looks as if it is on its last legs.

It doesn't help when I have to go away for 3/4 weeks at a time and DH and DC forget to water the plants. Despite reminders... my poor 7 foot ficus dropped so many leaves last autumn and they still have not fully recovered... it's quite sad. At least there are signs of new growth.

I have spider plants that an ex gave me about 5 years ago. They live on top of the dresser with a minimal amount of indirect light and get watered once in a blue moon and they Will Not Die.

Would you like them? I’ve no doubt the bastards would thrive in the post too.

They native Lord Howe island so think temperate extinct volcanic island off the Australian coast.
They are tough and a other that thrives on neglect and dislike being over watered.

Thank you, balanced, I'll check!

If its right next to the window, I wonder if its too cold?

I don't suppose anyone can advise what I should do with this please or if it is in fact dead? Orchids and peace lilies I can do. Not this! Its a NW facing window. Thank you!

I didn’t realise that as plastic pots are not permeable, water doesn’t seep out through the sides only through the drainage holes at the bottom. This means plants in plastic pots inside ceramic pots won’t need watered white as much. Totally obvious when you think about it!

I think most people tend to overwater. My granny always said houseplants thrive on neglect, and hers always looked great!

Soil moisture meters are a good bet for getting an idea of when your plants might need watering, and it really does vary from season to season, sunlight, room temperature. My larger houseplants have maybe only been watered twice since Christmas....over summer they will need watered twice a week.

Whitney168 Thank you! I've found out more thanks to your suggestion, it's Alocasia lauterbachiana "Purple Sword" 😁

Mainly because, most house pots dont have holes/tray in the bottom for water to drain away.