Can someone recommend me a house plant that I can sort of "get into"?

[buzzheath]

Going through a pretty grim time at the moment, and need a bit of a project and a distraction. However, I've not had many houseplants before - only succulents which basically thrive on neglect - so I don't want something massively difficult. But something to provide a sense of peace and purpose would massively help me. I live in a ground floor flat, living room has lots of light, if that's helpful.

Orchids are very easy!
Boston fern. Likes shade. And misting.
Prayer plants. Like being misted. Bright light.
Peperomia come in lots of forms and grow like mad and very easy
ZZ plant.Hardly water
Mother in laws tounge. Don't water hardly ever. Fine in shade.

String of anything have a death wish. Although I keep trying.

Spider plant or peace lily would be my choices

I'd suggest an orchid. The flowers are so beautiful they will surely lift your spirits. Also, their relationship with their host is a fascinating story to discover, and they need specific care, so there is a lot to grab your interest there.
Or
Those twists of bamboo kept permanently in a water jar are fun, like a grown up version of growing carrot tops in a saucer or beans in jam jar of blotting paper!

Calamondins! Easiest citrus and you get cute fruits that can go in drinks etc (or can be used for recipes esp when green) need good light but with a weekly citrus feed in summer they're very tolerant as long as not over watered and really satisfying as they flower and fruit pretty prolificly (at the same time) with minimal effort.. and if you forget to water it's pretty good at coming back to life..

Oooh this is intriguing. Do you do this? Any good resources? I understand bonsai is the method as opposed to a specific plant?

Yes, I’ve grown them since my teens. Bonsai Empire is a good place to start, as are YouTube videos and the bonsai subreddit, but it’s pretty easy to get into.

Calamondins don't like dry heat indoors in the summer. I've got half a dozen citrus,they live in a greenhouse over winter, apart from the calamondin and mandarin..I wouldn't say they were easy for a novice. They are also expensive,a decent one will set you back £50.

Me and my pothos, we've got a thing going on.

Definitely agree with the Chinese money plant - all my friends have babies from my ‘mother’ plant which I was originally gifted!

I can kill a houseplant simply by being in the same room as it but I had great sucess with a Spiderplant, even got babies from it. Lasted about 10 years until my then toddler got his hands on it.

Interesting, I grow other citrus commercially (in polytunnels) and find calamondins thrive in my house summer and winter with borderline neglect. Guess it's all about personal experience and conditions. I also suggested them as they're far more rewarding in my experience but different strokes for different folks!

I agree streptocarpus are beautiful and, iirc, Dibley's also stock African violets.

Sedum burrito (donkey's tail) is easy and fun to grow, very easy to propagate.

A pelargonium, one of the varieties with scented leaves. I've one, attar of roses, that might be my longest lived plant. Tough as old boots. Just repotted after possibly 20 years! It got greenfly once that I treated by dunking the whole plant in a bucket of cold water with a dash of washing up liquid. Just cut it back if it gets leggy. Smells lovely.

Thank you! This looks really interesting. I've had a skim of Bonsai Empire, and the subreddit. Might get myself a ficus - seems like it's good timing too given it's summer. Do you have trouble with it during the winter/darker days?

I had a Ficus Bonsai a few years ago. It was the biggest pain in the ass of all my plants. I ended up flinging it into the garden.

Ficus and its varieties are pretty much the only bonsai you can successfully grow indoors, since they are tropical and can tolerate the conditions. There are one or two others, but they are extremely tricky, even for the experienced bonsai enthusiast. All the rest are outdoor species and will die a slow death if kept indoors. They are not houseplants. I've got over 200 bonsai trees, and all but two live outside all year round. Even those two are outdoors for the summer.

Could you grow some strawberries or tomatoes

Nooo sorry to hear that! How so?

@buzzheath Whatever I did, it wasn't happy. It hated my house for some reason. I can grow most plants, but indoor ferns and bonsai are my nemesis.

Aww that sucks. I had my heart set on a ficus as I've heard they're the easiest variety to grow indoors.

@buzzheath Go for it. When you grow lots of plants, you soon find out which ones suit your environment the best. The only way is to try.

You'll learn a lot if you join a few plant groups. Be prepared to end up with a house full of plants, though.

My ficus are indestructible! I have 5. However I'm too embarrassed to confess to the number of peace lilies I have killed...they just hate me.

I have a few Pothos type plants: Epipremnums, Philodendrons, Scindapsus

I just googled for a site and this one shows a lot of the main varieties available.
https://growurban.uk/collections/pothos-plants?page=1

They grow really easily, and then you get involved in taking cuttings or weighing stems down to root...lots of plants to give to friends. They are cheaper elsewhere btw!

Same with Hoyas. If your room is sunny they would be perfect. I can't get mine to flower, but my friend does, and the scent is amazing.

Definitely orchids

I have a rubber tree which I bought for 50p in 2001. It’s still going strong and if I remember to water it it grows me a few new leaves in gratitude! It’s been potted on a few times and fed every year or so. As long as I keep it out of direct sunlight it’s a happy old friend! It’s about 1m tall these days - but if it had been better cared for could have grown much larger!