thebigcheese wrote:This reminds me of a burning question my husband had the other day -- is it necessary to keep plants near windows, or will indoor light suffice?
It does indeed depend largely on the plant. Most nurseries are idiot-proof these days and will indicate the amount of sunlight required for the plant; any but very low sunlight requirements will need to be in a window that receives adequate light.
DL, I was very amused by you referring to your pruning of a plant as "surgery."
Marduk wrote:DL, I was very amused by you referring to your pruning of a plant as "surgery."
It's not just pruning. It's a long vine that the leaves right next to the root all died. So it's a long stem with leaves at the end. I'm planning on cutting it off closer to the leaves, then sticking it in water to hope it roots, and if it does, I'll replant it.
So… it's like cutting off someone's hand, then hoping to regrow the arm to put it back on the body. I'd consider that surgery.
DL, I wish I could, but well, I don't live even remotely close to Utah, even when I'm in the US. I applaud you for naming your plants, though. In college my roommate and I had an English ivy named Ivan the Terrible, a miniature rose bush named Louisa, a basil named Basil, and a rosemary bush named (you guessed it...) Rosemary.
Emiliana, you just made me very happy. My wandering jews are named Juliette and Tamar (read Genesis 38 if you don't know who that is, but don't actually read it if you're the type that hates the more scandalous stories in the bible.) My spider plants are Toby and MJ. My shamrock is Darby (from Darby O'Gill and the Little People). My last two plants from mother's day are Bertha and Luella (my grandma and great-grandma, not in that order). Naming plants is just so much fun!
Man. I love plants. I am growing tomato and basil seedlings under grow lights in my room right now. But I fear that my roommates might look askance at me if I brought home some more houseplants.
But I am going to share a story about a 5" potted palm that I had for about a year before it withered away mysteriously. I did research to figure out why it was going dry and found some suggestions that taking it in the bathroom to soak up the humidity from a shower might be good. My roommate had named the palm Lorenzo and she was very concerned that he was dying. So she started taking him in the tiny bathroom with her (the kind you find in a lot of college apartment so she had to balance the plant on the toilet to fit it in there). The funny part came when she started casually and unwittingly talking about how she had taken a shower with Lorenzo that morning . . . I heard her say this at work once. It cracked me up.
Perhaps this isn't a good time to admit that after I started to give my plants away because I just don't have space… I went and bought two more.
But they're bulbs! And I can plant them in pots that can go outside! I don't need space for them in my house! And THEY'RE PRETTY! I can always use more flowers. (I kept almost all of the plants that produce flowers. I'm selfish that way.) </rationalization>
I told my husband about this thread, and we both had a good laugh. I am amazingly talented at killing all plants that come under my responsibility. I've watered too little, I've watered too much, I've put in the wrong places, you name it.
So, if you ever need any plants put out of their misery, I'm your gal.
I guess Dragon Baby planted peas weeks ago in her nursery class in a paper cup. They're growing beautifully in our window sill. Turns out, they grow even without direct sunlight or more than 2" of dirt. I just wonder how long that'll last and if it'll actually grow peas.
