To want a houseplants that just bloody lives

@WinoLino any advice on keeping Boston ferns? I’ve got two recently and they’re not looking too happy, but I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. They’re both in rooms that are reasonably bright but not right by the window and I water every week or two when the soil looks dry.

@WinoLino that is a beautiful display!

Is the one in the brown pot a fern? I think I need to go up a few experience levels before I can attempt ferns.

Does anyone have experience of Lithops/living stones? Got some from Amazon so may not have been great specimens to start with, but now they seem to be precariously treading the fine line between life and death....not quite there yet but I’m scared one more watering will finish them off. I do love them though.

@Whitney168 I love a Boston fern

I should unsubscribe from this thread ... it has just made me (MADE, I tells ya!) order a nice new pot and a Boston Fern.

Could you be killing your plants with kindness Purple, that is, overwatering them? My garden is pretty fab (on the whole) and from seeing that you couldn't possibly tell how bad I am with houseplants - I even managed to kill a spider plant and 'living stones' - they're meant to be pretty indestructible - mine weren't.

But I have kept an aloe alive - mustn't speak too soon - and I only water it a little once month, every fortnight in summer. It's in a little terrarium which may help. I love to see healthy plants but find it difficult to manage this so caved in and bought a small plastic plant from the supermarket last week.

I think my peace lily will outlive me. I've not had much luck with anything else!

Some of my most thriving plants live here, but I'm no good at knowing which way the garden faces, they get some light but not full on if you see what I mean. The hanging one is always so happy

I'm wondering if this photo will work...

Pretty not petty 😂

@NotJosieGrosieAnymore yeah it's a lovely shop, they also sell gorgeous cards and petty things for gifts/the home.

I think my furry feather is a calathea? Maybe someone with more knowledge can advise. Should we start our own plant thread on here? Maybe in time we can do swaps etc

If it’s a dark spot it’s got to be a fern.
I’ve got a green lady fern by my front door, it gets dappled shade all the time and seems to be doing well. It’s a pretty thing.
My spider plant and asparagus fern seem to do well in the bathroom.
I had air plants that were doing amazingly well, I used to drown them in rain water twice a week and hang them upside down to drip dry. But then they just randomly died within a few months of each other.

Can you check the Carbon Monoxide levels in your house?

Low CO will kill plants but it's worth it if they are the 'canary in the mine' that leads you to resolving a problem.

Don't worry @fabulousspider, mother hasn't got a garden :-) but the buggers are indestructible...

Don't get a mexican hat plant! I understand they are highly invasive and a pest to get rid of if they took over your garden or whatever!!

Mother Of Thousands aka Mexican hat plant.
The Boy Mole grew some from seed and gave them to my mum as part of a little succulent garden.
She now has literally hundreds of the bloody things. I mean, she was in HOSPITAL for 6 weeks, no one went into her flat, they thrived.

LOL

I am trying to get in to the habit of using rainwater from the water butt for houseplants - and I also tend to have a watering can of tap water sitting around so the chlorine goes off too. Not 100% compliance, but mostly I don't use fresh tap water.

@Whitney168 I still have so much guilt! Mine was absolutely beautiful and I feel like I murdered it. It’ll take a long time before I can go there again! 😂

www.instagram.com/reel/CHsvKH7gwiM/?igshid=1tk7gqugxsvfo

Noooo, Calatheas are dead easy. When they're thirsty they look dead, just soak them in the sink for an hour and they'll be great. Mine get a soak most weekends, definitely thirsty plants.

Ahaha that’s funny!

I’m nowhere near Norwich but think I found them randomly online when I was looking for a philodendron after googling unkillable plants! They seem reasonable in price (though i don’t have anything to compare them to) and offer lots of lovely unusual plants. I got my Pilea peperomiodes from there for a decent price, and is still alive! Winning.

We deffo need a houseplant section if there isn’t one already. I’m so happy at no longer killing my plants that I need to share the joy!

Just don’t mention Calathea. That’s a swear word in my house 😂 Stupid diva plant.

I love this thread!

Furiously googled Elm as I live near Norwich, only to discover I used to go in there all the time not knowing what it was called

I've got loads of plants and most are doing well. However recently had to get rid of a pothos due to root rot and I've got a furry feather which is dying I think (brown droopy leaves), we have put it in the bathroom for some moisture but also think it's overwatered.

We seem to do well with Boston ferns.

My weeping fig is also dropping leaves, apparently they don't like to be moved!

I do think though, even with the most experienced of plant person, it's a lottery and some just die no matter what care they receive.

Maybe we need a plant group on here? 🌿🌱

I have 18 plants. The first few I got were succulents and cacti and I read that you should water them thoroughly and allow the soil to dry out completely - at least a week or two (the longer the better actually, but not more than a month) - before giving them a thorough water again.

I usually just water the soil till the water just stops 'sinking in' if YKWIM. Don't want to drown it. Then I leave it to dry. Succs like a lo-o-t of light too so if you put them on windowsills they just sit there happily. They are unhappy if you put them in the middle of a room that's further away from a window.

Other plants have different rules but in my experience I actually treat them the same way I do the succs - water and then leave! Usually once a week or so - but if the soil still appears damp don't add any more water, leave it till it looks dry and then water. Seems to work for most plants (IME).

With non-succs you have to mist them every day because they like humidity. I have to do that with my Dragon tree, my braided money tree and my Devil's Ivy.

And read up in where you place them - succulents/cacti thrive in a sunny south-facing window. Other plants like less sun, like north or east facing.

If a plant isn't thriving move it to another area of the house. But don't move plants all the time, they're like cats, they don't like being moved! They get stressed. I guess plants in the wild never walk about, so that's probably why! Give them a few weeks after moving to see if they perk up or not.

I've had quite a lot of plants die on me, eg my chinese money plant which I overwatered because I didn't realise it was a succulent!

Another thing I do is whenever I notice a brown or dead leaf or stem I pick it off. I don't let them stay on the plant as they may spread to the rest of the plant. I prune every now and then but not too often.

I would start again with just one or two succulents/cacti in a sunny window and see how it goes, before adding other plants.

IME it's really about the water, just don't overwater most plants and they're usually fine. I have a schedule in my journal of when I last watered each plant (I know, I'm sad).