Let me start by saying this: if you’re not interested in houseplants, I’m afraid this blog will be painfully boring to you. There’s a possibility even if you do like houseplants, this blog will be painfully boring to you. I’ve lost all perspective about what’s interesting to other people. It won’t hurt my feelings if you close down this tab right now.

Oh, hey! You’re still here. Ok! Let’s talk about plants!

I’ve loved plants for as long as I can remember. I was probably 8 or 9 when I asked my mom for a bag of bulbs at the grocery store to grow in our huge picture window in the dining room. “Asiatic Lily” the tag said. Pulling back the curtain every day, and then watching that bulb grow into a spiky green plant changed something in me. Then- wonder of all wonders- it bloomed! A perfect orange and white lily! I was hooked.

The first time Brian walked into my apartment when we started dating, he said “wow…this looks like a jungle!” I looked around, surprised, like Oh really? Looks normal to me… While I was growing up, my mom always had houseplants and it just seemed like an everyday part of life. I wasn’t always great at it…with no Google or Facebook groups to turn to, it was trial and error a lot of times. In college and when Brian and I were first married, I would take plants back to my mom for “emergency care.” She could always save them. My biggest problem as a teenager was forgetting to water…my biggest problem as an adult has been overwatering. Go figure.

My love of houseplants has grown to new proportions since moving to a bright 2nd floor apartment in Florida, with a well stocked Lowe’s around the corner. Apparently, the houseplant market has exploded since the pandemic started, so even Walmart is carrying more varieties than I ever remember before. The one downside being that some plants I used to be able to get for $1 (I’m looking at you, tiny succulents!) are now $4, $5, or even $6! Ah, well. I kind of suck at succulents anyway, it was just easy to try again for $1. One big benefit to the plant boom is the abundance of adorable pots available for good prices.

Today I’m going to show you a few of my favorite plants and the treacherous journey to save one from the brink of the compost heap. *Gasp*

Monstera

No matter how you pronounce it, this plant is stunning! So tropical, so exotic! Those fenestrations! Sigh. After hearing from people on my houseplant Facebook group that Monstera can be temperamental and hard to grow, I was a little concerned. But when Brian found one lone plant at Home Depot for $15, I knew it was meant to be! Turns out there were 3 plants in that one pot, so as she grew bigger and bigger, I split her into 2 pots. This is what the top left pic has turned into in less than a year!

One of my favorite things is watching the new Monstera leaves unfurling. It’s really amazing. I’ve never done it, but people have done time lapse videos of new leaves forming and unfurling. Look it up on YouTube…it’s fascinating!

Heart Leaf Philodendron

On the other hand, Heart Leaf Philodendron has got to be one of the easiest plants to grow. Throughout the year, I’ve had this one in low light, medium light, and bright light. It grows much faster in bright light, of course, but it did just fine in lower light levels, too.

This was just a little piece off the big plant I propagated in water several months ago. Since this planter doesn’t have drainage holes, not all plants love it…but HLP doesn’t care. She’s low maintenance. AND she tells you what she needs…this what she looks like when she wants water.

All The Pothos

Pothos are another really easy plant to grow. They’re super easy to propagate, so I love having little starts ready to go to give to friends. These are the five varieties I have currently, out of approximately 20 kinds available!

A Rescue Story

The Rojo Congo Philodendron. I saw her at Lowe’s and just fell in love. I had never had one…actually, had never even SEEN one! But she was so big and so pretty, I just wrangled her into the back seat and brought her home before I had almost anything else in our apartment. See her back in the corner?

This is what she looked like at first. So happy in that sunny corner by the balcony…but then the Fiddle Leaf Fig came home and I was REALLY concerned about how finicky she was going to be. (More on that later.) So FLF got that primo spot and RCP got the much less sunny spot on the side of the couch away from the door. That actually put her halfway to the window on the other side of the living room, so I thought it might work out. The transition was sssllllllooooooowwwww…but after a few months I thought maybe her leaves were starting to droop. I became a little obsessive about it. I’d ask Brian and Ashton if the leaves looked like they were falling only to be met with blank stares. I started taking pictures every day to compare. I was making myself crazy. Eventually, I could tell for sure there was a problem. This is what she looked like at her worst, 4 months after I got her.

After asking for advice on my houseplant group, and after some trial and error, I realized she might just not be getting enough light. Could it be that easy? I mentioned to Brian that some people used grow lights to be able to keep their plants in less than optimal spaces in their homes. He ordered one right then, and things slowly got better. It took about a month, and then I started to see a new leaf forming! I’ll spare you the dozens of photos I have and get right to the good stuff. This is how she looks today!

Surprise, surprise!

This might surprise you if you know anything about houseplants, but my least dramatic plant is my Fiddle Leaf Fig. She’s just sure and steady. I think I just got lucky, putting her in a place she likes right away. People say not to even look at a FLF the wrong way, or it’ll start dropping leaves. It just hasn’t been my experience and I’m so glad!

Well, if you’ve made it this far, I’m impressed…and I need your number. I don’t think anyone has ever let me talk that much about my houseplants without falling asleep! And this is just the beginning….LOL