Your favourite houseplant

[AndWhatNext]

What's your favourite houseplant and why?

Photo or link to it would be appreciated too.

Oh also cat proof...as in not poisonous. I know cheese plants aren't great for them.

I have loads of house plants - my most vigorous growing are a Swiss cheese plant and a zebrina. I have a money plant which is not thriving (hopefully that is not a bad omen )- I have moved it but keeping meaning to Google how to look after it properly

Ooh what sort of Hoya @Beebumble2? I’m in need of something that is both hardwearing and fragrant.

My best specimens are my snake plants. I have two of the classic golden edge type and one which is almost black-green.

But I think my favourites are my aglaonemas. I’ve got a chocolate one and a tiny red zircon. Both really pretty and yet quite tough.

This one seems to be doing pretty well. It's a young Monstera, and it seems to tolerate my "benign neglect" plant parenting style pretty well.

Rather fond of my Boston fern!

My favourites are my mini monstera plant and my elephants foot plant

Peace lily. It was one, but keep splitting it and now have 7:
Audrey
Audrey2
Seymour
Vera
and the new triplets, Alpha,Delta and Omicron.

Oh my, I'm a bit if a mad houseplant fan and I have almost 100 - by hubby is 'tolerating' them lol. I've been like this since I was given my first coleus age 5 so that's well over 50 years of growing plants.

So it's difficult to choose one. I'm currently obsessed with begonia but I think my favourites are my Dracaena Marginata which I've had for over 30 years, my Saxifraga stolonifera and my Pilea Peperomioides. And my monstera and my Maranta leuconeura ‘Kerchoveana’.

So yeah, hard to decide 🤣

@dementedma

Peace lily. It was one, but keep splitting it and now have 7: Audrey Audrey2 Seymour Vera and the new triplets, Alpha,Delta and Omicron.

Excellent names

@user1471530109

Anyone got a suggestion for a big pot in the shade? My living room is north facing and I've tried numerous times to put a plant by the TV (it is near a window). Killed the devil's ivy (which didn't recover in the south facing window) and now my cheese plant that been there 6 months looks sad .

Spider plant and cactuses doing v well!

Try a dracaena Marginata. They grow big and don't mind the lack of sun. Use rain water though if you can, and don't drown them. Hopefully the TV isn't close enough to dry them out. Otherwise a peace lily could work

@MereDintofPandiculation

Tradescantia. Tradescantia zebrina has leaves which are deep purple underneath and two broad stripes of metallic silver above. Z pallida is vivid purple throughout. And there’s another with green and white striped leaves and triangular purplish blue flowers whose centres are fluffy blue pincushions with 5 gold pins.

Thank you @MereDintofPandiculation for the proper name for this and the descriptions. I've got several of these plants as they're so easy to propagate but I didn't know what the name is.

Wandering Jew....mine is stunning 😁

Cissus striata is lovely and very easy to care for - think it’s also called the miniature grape vine. It trails beautifully and you can take cuttings off the main plant to propagate. Pic here.

Also the Chinese money plant Pilea pepermiodes - again really easy to care for and looks so cheerful.

@user1471530109 have you thought about a cast iron plant? I’d love one just because, but they seem to be pricey.

Artificial ones. They're the only ones I can keep!

Thank you both! Off to Google. The TV isn't on enough for it to be an issue and not near a radiator.
I might put my lovely cheese plant on the landing for a few weeks in the sun. I did choose it because I read they don't need lots of sun though. How often should I be giving them some food?. Maybe that's the issue?

Just to say, I'm not completely hopeless. I've become quite a keen outdoor gardener the last few years. But houseplants seem to struggle here.

@user1471530109

Thank you both! Off to Google. The TV isn't on enough for it to be an issue and not near a radiator. I might put my lovely cheese plant on the landing for a few weeks in the sun. I did choose it because I read they don't need lots of sun though. How often should I be giving them some food?. Maybe that's the issue?

Just to say, I'm not completely hopeless. I've become quite a keen outdoor gardener the last few years. But houseplants seem to struggle here.

What's your maranta doing? Any pics? My Dracaena is in a NW room with late afternoon sun but only for an hour or so. It's set well back from the window. Seems to love it. I'll try and post a pic of it

Here he is, next to his pilea pal 🤣

I don't have a maranta. I think someone suggested one.

My Swiss cheese plant definitely hasn't given up yet. It just looks a bit sad. I've put it down to lack of sun. But it could be lack of nutrients or something else. I only got it last summer.

@RedBonnet they look lovely

Following for ideas.

I have a lot of spider plants. Brought the babies from the office one home at the start of lockdown one and....

Oh help, where do I even start? I have a conservatory which I wanted for growing houseplants. I've got five massive strelitzia reginae (Bird of Paradise) in there (currently in full bloom) and if I had to rescue one plant it would have to be the Mandela's gold. My oldest is 21 now and I am facing having to chop it back as it's 2m wide and tall. All seed-grown.

Apart from my giants, I've marantas (both kerchoveana and erythroneura) orchids, a huge money tree, a dracaena and three bougainvillea (pink, white and gold). And a grape ivy. And a happy stephanotis which has wound itself round the dracaena and two of the strelitzias. And an umbrella tree.

OK I don't have houseplants. I have a tame jungle. And I love it. It's been my mental oasis these past two years.

ps I also have a mahoosive bathroom spider plant.

My Clivia, fabulous orangy red flowers and dark green strappy leaves. it produces offsets each year which I have potted on and given away. My Streptocarpus Katie & Christmas cactus are a close second

@NightmareSlashDelightful

Ooh what sort of Hoya *@Beebumble2*? I’m in need of something that is both hardwearing and fragrant.

It’s a Hoya Carnosa. It even survived a house move when it was looked after by someone who didn’t do plants.