Im wondering what your fav. houseplants are. Here is mine, its not my plant but here is a photo, mines is ina hanging pot
Anbuliton spp.


I also love my Adenium obesum

My favorite are the three below. The Hepeastrum because it blooms so much through the winter and when I put it outside in the summer. The Fire Flash because I like the leaves and the Tri Color because of the color.

Add to their specialness they are all so easy and do not demand attention. If I do not water which is often they are okay with no water. If I give them to much water they are fine too.

- Hippeastrum Puniceum
– Chlorophytum Amaniense ‘Fire Flash
- Rhoeo spathacea 'Tricolor ...

My favorite houseplants are easily my

Begonia




Philodendrons (I have 4, but this is my largest and favorite)




Diffenbachia

i think that philodendron is a pothos

It is actually hard for me to pick a favorite because it changes all the time.

Right now I am really enjoying my Monstera deliciosa, Ficus elastica 'Sylvie' (variegated), and my cane begonias (specifically Sophie Cecile and Cracklin Rosie).

However, I'm sure my faves will change depending on who is doing well.

I can't really say that I have any favorite in particular, I love them all. I do have a couple of Aglaonema (Chinese Evergreen) that I'm rather fond of. The little Siam Red I bought this year but the other two I've had awhile ... excuse the dust.

Aglaonema 'Siam Red' ....................... A. 'Silver Bay' ...................... and the common A. commutatum:

Hi Teen,
I didn't know you were also on ATP.

My favorite houseplants include:






Planto

I can't do this, pick one, or even few enough to add some pics here. Of the kinds of plants I have, Kalanchoes are the most numerous, so it's possible they're my fav. I wouldn't argue if someone suggested it.

I have others, but know what 14 of them are...
http://garden.org/lists/view/p...[Have]=on&genus=Kalanchoe&submit=Update+view

Tiff,
With all those plants you have, I'm not surprised you can't pick a favorite.

Planto

;) My link worked in preview...? It's supposed to go to the Kals I have in my plant list here.

Oh shoot, I didn't look at your list of Kalanchoes. Wow, there are some on there I've never heard of before (or seen for that matter). I can see why you want the 'Donkey Ears.'

Planto

These are my favorites:

Pothos



Dracaena marginata


Phalaenopsis orchids
Phalaenopsis stuartiana 'Sogo'

noid Phalaenopsis


Pinguiculas - pretty and carnivorous


Adenium obesum


Ficus microcarpa 'Ginseng'


Hoya shooting star


Sansevieria cylindrica patula


noid Amaryllis


Hoya kerrii variegata

Planto

I'm loving everyone's photos of their favorite plants!

tarev: Your noid Amaryllis looks a lot like Amaryllis (Hippeastrum 'Minerva')

wOW Traev I wish I could keep orchids alive. I keep buying them but I kill them before they flower again.

Tell us how you grow your orchids, Cinta, and what orchids you have killed. Orchids are no harder to grow than any other tropical plant.

Ken,

I buy your usual grocery store "Oh that is pretty Phalaenopsis". They cost $10 - $15 They are usually in every store this time of year. I buy them because the flower is so pretty. The flowers last through the holidays because I get the ones that do not have all the buds open. One lasted in flower until March once.

They seem to be doing good until the following winter. I even have new leaves growing. Then suddenly the leaves start to die and before I know it they are dead. It could be my (you heard this) I DO NOT LIKE TO WATER.

These are the ones I purchased last year.....

Every plant has to be watered, whether desert or tropical in nature. In my experience, 90% of orchids are killed by over-watering, not under-watering. Perhaps you fall in that other 10% where the plants die for other reasons than "drowning".

I am sure this will be redundant since I have previously posted similar statements, but be sure your orchid plants are not growing in sphagnum moss and that the pot is well-draining. Those are two things that first come to mind since they are usually the way the commercial grower packages their plants - in sphagnum moss and often without adequate (if any) drainage. Most orchids are epiphytic, and your "Moth Orchids" certainly are, so though those roots must have adequate moisture/nutrients, they also must have access to air to thrive.

There are folks that say they grow their orchids in sphagnum moss and are successful in doing so. My hat is off to them. I believe the secret to their success is that they do have their orchid(s) in a well-draining pot and that they water less frequently. But the real secret is that when they water they sit their plant(s) in a basin of water for a few minutes so that the sphagnum moss can re-hydrate. If you water dried-out sphagnum briefly, the water simply runs through the moss but really doesn't saturate much of it. Therefore, the moss stays dry and the plant will wither and finally die.

Hi Cinta, it took me awhile too, to understand what Phals needed. But eventually I understood it, have killed some along the way. Like Ken, I am not a fan of sphagnum moss. But it is a preference among orchid growers which media they like to use...I use bark mix, or in some Phals I have been experimenting with hygrolon baggies and it is working too. Some of my orchid friends in another forum just use clay rocks or lava rock, some have them mounted. But overall the discipline of watering is in place.

Most orchids have a rest time, so after blooming, they will rest, not dormant, because it is just gathering energy again to grow new roots and leaves, or simultaneously as the last of the blooms begin to fade. I always have to adjust watering frequency too, depending on the season. But in any case, I make sure I give them a good run with our ceiling fan, it likes lots of air movement. Sometimes people forget that too, keeping them in very tight containers, choking and drowning in very wet sphagnum moss, and no air circulation at all, so the plant dwindles later on.

In some ways, growing some orchids is similar to how I handle some of my succulents, where in both cases, important not to overwater, give proper drainage, good air circulation and depending on the variety, bright light, no freezing temps, orchids do not need heavy fertilizers, most of my succulents do not even need fertilizers to thrive.

Phals are low light orchids, so it is a favorite to grow indoors, plus I like that it is in bloom during cold season that lasts for about 3 to 6 months, just as some plants are beginning to sleep, or still waiting for a warm-up to wake up.

But these are Phals..I have also other orchids like those from the Oncidium alliance which are water hogs, so another adjustment in watering frequency. Just have to know which type you have.

The ones I have purchased are planted in bark and they are in plastic pots with lots of holes. I did not think with my low water habit that the bark was wet enough so I would let them sit in the water to hydrate the bark. It seems to work for a year. It is just strange to me that suddenly usually around this time of year is when they start to decline and die.