apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Maybe I'm a horrible person, but I've always thought of plants as decoration, not so much as living things. I want plants to be where they fit visually, not necessarily where they will flourish. Perhaps this is why they always die on me? Ha.

At any rate, my suggestion is bamboo, which is the one plant I haven't yet killed. It's in the darkest spot of our apartment, and that sucker just keeps on growing! Good luck.

Ok, how about plants for lots of light. My apt during the day gets a ridiculous amount of light. In fact the sun accounts for most of my heating.
So what do you recommend for plants that can deal with too much light?

Think about plants in their natural enviroment. Those which thrive on the floor of the forest do not get much light. Ferns, ivy and many tropical plants. But it is most important to sustain the same type of soil and moisture as the plant would have in it native habitat. Also, I too grow bamboo, but in the ground on my patio. After much research, I was able to find the best one for our zone. I ended up buying it from this total character from Morristown, NJ named Bamboo Bob. Check out his website at Idigbamboo.com. Not only is it entertaining, but educational as well. Tell him the redheaded broad from Brooklyn sent you!

MRoman, sounds likd a great apartment!
for lots of light, try from the succulent family--they have worked well for me. These are not to be thought of as a cactus, nor do they feel that way in a home. They're very inviting and bring an element of textured life to any space. Specifically, look for Sedum morganianum, aka "donkey's tail," and for Crassula ovata, aka "Trumpet Jade." I have several of both of these; they're ridiculously easy to take care of--they basically thrive on neglect and need water at most once a week. They're quite visually interesting and you'll rarely see them anywhere else. When the trumpet jade gets a good deal of sun, the tips of the petals turn a nice reddish color--truly beautiful. I can email URLs as well if that'd be helpful. Have fun!

okay, I have fairly low light... My two windows face due north and I'm on the first floor of a narrow street. I don't think I EVER get direct light. One thing I do have that I believe helps is a leg upon climate control... A/C in the summer keeps things from getting too humid.

I have a few plants that thrive, though, and lately I've been a bad daddy about watering them.

1. Mother-in-law tongue... one of the most common plants I've seen in modern housing mags... and just about impossible to kill.

2. Lucky bamboo... again, close to impossible to kill... not even supposed to be near direct light... the trendiness is over, I think, but they look great. Some places have these really long slender ones... drama.

3. bamboo tree... similar to the above. I was lucky enough to receive this as a gift. at least $100 in the plant district.

4. Aloe... Normally these do need light and lots of it, but mine is about 4 or 5 years old and it's been in three apartments... the climate control I've talked about keeps it healthy... I never water this sweetheart. And of course it's great for burns. Everyone should have an aloe, any variety.

5. a "money tree"... my sister-in-law got me this... dunno the proper name. braided slender woody stems and a bunch of long leaves... this is realy a shrub, I think.

6. String of Pearls... My favorite plant of all time I think... SENECIO ROWLEANUS... a succulent that is EASY to kill, but gorgeous when you figure out how to care for it... which I have yet to do. If anyone has tips on this one, please let me know. This plant looks like green peas on a long vine... Everyone says it needs a lot of light, but last year I saw one thriving at R-twentieth Century at their reception desk, far from the window, and they said all they did was water it... which I find hard to believe... so I'm not convinced light is the key there.

Maybe AT and the audience that loves them could do a spread on great apartment plants... varieties, different light levels, great pots and where to get these things... what do you think?

Some more suggestions for low light house plants

Dracaena marginata, one of my favorites, completely different looking from 'Janet Craig'. The taller ones are expensive but, look like spikey trees with a bamboo-like trunk. It stays skinny, so doesn't take up a lot of space. 'Tricolor' is a pink-leaved version.

Ficus lyrata (fiddle-leaf Fig) is another plant that you can find in small tree form. Has huge, glossy leaves and looks very modern. Doesn't appreciate drafts so if your charming apartment is anything like my last charmer...

Fatsia japonica is tougher, also with big, glossy leaves.

Monstera deliciosa (Swiss Cheese Plant) is also very modern looking, easy to find and tough.

Sansevaria (Snake Plant) is smaller (the plants above are all pretty large) , there are lots of interesting cultivars, I like 'Moonshine.'

I could go on but, with the links above from Maxwell you're probably all set anyway.

Derek please do ;)
Thanks soo much!

Does anyone know if any of these plants are kid-safe (not poisonous)?

treehugger recently listed the top 5 air-cleaning plants good for apartment living which you may want to cross-reference. basically...

"Plants that top the clean-air list include peace lily, bamboo palm, English ivy, mums, and gerbera daisies..."

www.treehugger.com/files/2004/10/top_5_plants_fo.php

Try the ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia) it doesn't look like the standard low-light foliage plants that you see in most reception areas and is almost indestructable!

MRoman, (and for anyone looking for high-light plants),

for donkey's tail, check out google and www.burkesbackyard.com.au/2000/archives/2000/in_the_garden/flowering_plants_and_shrubs/donkeys_tail

and www.edmonton.ca/ArtCultAttr/BurrosTail.pdf

You can see a gorgeous trumpet jade--looks almost identical to mine--at www.davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/4282.

have fun!

Bamboo palms are also low light plants and flourish anywhere (although watch out for spider mites; Plant House sold me an infested one).

Oh yea, I also have a ZZ and adore it. They are often given as wedding presents b/c they are so "indestructible."

Only problem is that most of these plants are poisonous, especially for small animals. [sigh]

Some suggestions from my mother (who is a landscape architect)

Sally, here are some good low light plants. The botanic name is Darceana Janet Craig. Another one is Cast Iron Plant. The category would be "elevator plants" because they're common within office building lobbies. Easy on the eyes, too.

I hope that helps.

That "lucky bamboo" that everyone is growing these days in water with pebbles is not really a bamboo at all; it's a dracaena, and dracaenas can grow practically anywhere (either in sun with more water, or shade with less water), while true bamboo does better in direct/outdoor sunlight. Other shade loving apartment plants are (African) violets, lady slipper (Paphiopedilum) orchids, moth (Phalaenopsis) orchids, creeping charlie, anthuriums, the jewel orchid (Ludisia discolor), begonias, Gloxinia, Alocasia, bromeliads, streptocarpus, the walking iris, jades (but they can get too big), and many other non-cacti succulents (just keep them on the dry side). Just make sure that you realize that nothing can grow in a windowles closet, and that whenever something is being grown in shadier areas that you take care not to overwater it (most of our houseplants only get watered once a week). You can also replace your light bulbs with broader-spectrum, more energy efficient bulbs (halogen is the closest thing to real sunlight, but fluorescent works well, too) if you are worried about the ability of your apartment to sustain indoor life, and this always makes it a little easier for the plants.

As for bright-growing houseplants, you can grow practically anything if you have the light for it. Plants with food on them are awfully cool, and lychee bushes are really easy container plants. Randia formosa (the blackberry jam fruit) is an awesome bright-growing bush with white fragrant flowers that smell like gardenias. Dwarf bananas or citrus could even work if they got enough sunlight and you had the space for large pots. Orchids such as cattleyas, vandas, epidendrums, laelias, cymbidiums, and oncidiums do very well in bright areas, and you can even grow succulent orchids that look like cacti (but have much prettier flowers), such as Eulophia speciosa, E. petersii, E. macra, or Oeceoclades calcarata. (Also, don't confuse eulophias, the succulent orchids, with euphorbias, the spiny, cactusy plants with toxic sap and often red flowers, but these are great for very sunny locations, too, just stay away from their sap.) Another succulent, the Epiphyllum, is an awesome plant that has flowers that can be practically any color and almost as large as your head (and these can grow very shady, too). Pretty much any culinary herb will do well in a warm and sunny apartment, and medicinal plants like Coleus, Brunfelsia, and red Lobelia could work too. You could also get a Brazilian jaboticaba tree and bonsai it to look more bush like, and this will produce deliciously grapey tasting fruits right from the trunk and branches. Plus, any of the shadier growing plants mentioned above could also grow in a hot and sunny apartment with extra watering to compensate for the increased light and decreased humidity. (You have about 10 million choices if you want to grow bright.) Find something you like, repot it the minute you get it home a larger container, and move it around until it gets just the right amount of light and isn't wilting or bleaching. Make sure that all the pots you use have good drainage holes, and put saucers under all your plants (instead of using pots with no holes--these deprive roots of very necessary oxygen and make roots rot). And don't be afraid to grow your own food--after all, 10% of the world's food supply comes from urban gardens, even from lowly apartments. Finally, don't forget to keep tropical plants away from drafty windows in the winter.

My lucky bamboo plant is producing new leaves, but is creating an ordor. The odor is coming from roots and stems that are in water. I did fertizier the with mircule grow for house plants. Also, the stems have black specks on them, it looks like mold.
Can you help?

What can I do to provide better lighting for my apartment plants? I have a couple of darkened corners (depending on the time of year) and I desparately want to save all of my plants -- right now I have some whose leaves are browning.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

how do you bamboo trees and keep them gone for good.

i have alot of house plants and dont know what they are called can you help me with a site that has photoes?

How do you kill a bamboo bush... well, dig it out, that what i did... i chased that sucker 20 meters from the main bush, it had roots going everywhere, even started making offsping next door. We just ripped out every trace of it... now its gone.

I hope somebody reads this. Would the majestic palm be a good indoor plant? If not, what can I use that looks just like this? I'd like to be reminded of being in Florida occasionally and the Majestic Palm does just that. :)

I'm looking for a tall, narrow, low-light, low maintenance, CAT-friendly plant... don't want to poison my feline friend. Any ideas?

larry-take out youre lucky bamboo and wash off the roots with a soft soap and rinse thuroghly, clip the roots which are growing to long unless U are planing to put it in soil. put them back into regular clean water -do not use fertelizer with lucky bamboo.
the fertilizer is the reason youre having algie growing on the roots.