Will my Tiny Cheap Plant Plan work?

[Pikachuwithyourmouthclosed]

I would like to have lots of lovely big house plants.

I can't afford lovely big house plants.

I have bought some tiny $2 scrawny, poor little things and put them in nice big pots with potting compost.
Will they grow to be lustrous, healthy and impressive one day? Or are the teeny little $2 plants on the clearance table good for nothing?

Well, you might be lucky, depends on how scrawny they are! However, it's a mistake to pot small plants into large pots, as the potting mix you use is likely to stay wet too long and go sour, thereby rotting the plant roots. It's always best to pot into the next size up, and not overwater.
It would help if you can tell us which plants you've bought, as they could be anything from desert plants to tropical rainforest plants! Always worth a gamble though..

Oh. I didn't know that about not putting them into too big a pot. Oh dear.

I've no idea what they are. I can take a picture.... hang on....

They had labels!

I've got a Pony Tail Palm, a Diefenbaker , and a Chamaedorea Elegans.

Pics

Diffenbachia?

Have you looked up how big they are likely to grow?

No. I've had them a few weeks and they've mostly done nothing. The cat ate a bit of one. That didn't help.

I worry about spending $$$ on lovely big plants and then killing them anyway.

I think part of the problem may be that at least two of these are slow growing plants. If you want huge plants, you either need to buy plants that grow a bit faster, or buy bigger plants!

It can be done though. I bought some tiny Ficus trees about 10 years ago and these have grown to well over 6 feet. But just like with outdoor plants, it helps to buy plants that are suited to the conditions that you can provide them with.

I'd really like one of those dark green ones with big shiny leaves. Do they grow fast?

I'm going to google 'plants that grow quickly'

These plants need to be repotted into smaller pots. The Ponytail Palm - Beaucarnia recurvata is a succulent Mexican plant which can potentially become enormous and needs good drainage and full sun. Dieffenbachia is also Mexican, but sub-tropical, so requires a shadier spot and plenty of water, it is also poisonous, so I hope that's not the one your cat nibbled. The Chamaedora isn't too fussy but will develop dry leaf tips if kept in strong light and too dry.

Have you thought of outdoor plants that will grow indoors. Ivy comes with some very pretty leaves and shades of green. It grows quickly and can be trained up canes.
Also types of Laurel can do well indoors. Maybe a friend might be able to give a starter shoot.

If you mean rubber plants, yes they are easy to grow and grow fairly quickly. Just don't give them too much water.

This may not always be the case, but I find that many people who say they are no good with houseplants, just water them too much. There's nothing a plant hates more than having its roots in water. I recommend putting a layer of pebbles between the inner and the outer pot, so that excess water has somewhere to go.

Slight hijack on the houseplant front:

I have two plants now in the bathroom. One is a fern I imported from the garden (so it was free and I have a load more if I get it wrong!). One is a Fittonia.
They are both in self-watering pots. Are these a bad idea in that they give the plant too much water?

It's this kind of thing from Ikea, but older and black and with a water level monitor spike thing.

www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/decoration/plants-pots-stands/ikea-ps-fej%C3%B6-self-watering-plant-pot-white-art-20039394/

Fittonias like constantly moist (but not wet) soil, and also humidity, so the bathroom is probably OK. They do best in terrariums, where the humidity is constantly high. No idea about your fern, depends on the species.

I've got no idea about my fern either, as it's a random one taken from the garden! Only time will tell, but the garden is pretty damp too.

Diefffenbachia res pretty poisonous, you might want to keepit away from your cat.

Are these your first plants? Plants are easy once you know how you take care of them. If you tend to forget them, get drought tolerant ones. If you tend to over water get one that likes lots of moisture. One that is easy on both fronts is a peace lily, besides too much sun it is hard to make it unhappy.