what do you grow indoors?

Hi there! I'm sorta wondering... what do you all like to grow as indoor, or "house", plants?

It's something we've not sold any of at work as long as I've been there, but it's time to make some changes and incorporate them into our stock, so I'd like some ideas please.

I've already got African Violets at the top of my list... but, that is currently ALL that is on my list. ;) Can y'all help me make my list grow, please? Oh, and along with your favourite plants, can ya talk about how you care for them too, please? Like, what sorts of pots and/or soil they prefer... if there is a preference?

Thanks all!!

=)

Speedie, When I worked as a waterier at Lowes I often wondered why they bothered to sell AV's. They would get the plants in and it was hard to water them without soaking the leaves in the little plastic sleeves. (I took a small watering can from the shelves and used that but I saw other employees just hose them down) Then they would sit them on a shelf under hanging baskets and the water from those would drip down all over the AV's and within a few days the AV's looked terrible were rotting and we were tossing them out only to get in a new batch and then start the whole process all over again. That said I just love AV's and I am always looking for some new ones. In fact I just picked up two new AV's at the flower show. 2 for $5 show special was very nice but seems that the nurseries that are carrying the AV's never have names for them. I guess cheap from the distributor means no Id tag.
You are a zone different than me so some of my house plants are different than yours would be. I just love that Lowes carried a lot of succulents. They have them already planted in mixed pots and lots of tiny little cell packs with helpful diagrams showing you how to mix and match them together to make your own dish garden. If you could put together a living wreath, hanging sedum ball or wall hanger with succulents I bet you could sell a lot of them.

I agree with Holly about AVs. Watering them can be a drag if you have a lot of them in store.

Many flowering plants can look very plain when they are not blooming. Unless you can sell them very quickly, they may not attract many customers once blooming is over. People who buy house plants are not necessarily gardeners who recognize plants even when they are not blooming. Maybe you want to start with some attractive foliage plants and succulents.

That's an awesome idea! Living walls are very trendy, too.

I have a Norfolk pine that is over twenty years old. It is still in the same smallish pot it was in when the lady that owned the farm got it. I try to remember to water it weekly. It sits in the kitchen in a east southeast window. I have some Swedish ivy that came from Gita. It is in a westerly window and seems to be doing well.

I don't do well with AVs. Maybe I should say that they don't do well with me. I KNOW they are easy-peasy plants, just NOT in this house. Hehehe

Your employer will be sooo happy with your initiative in getting ideas from here. Wouldn't it be a blast to descend on you for a work day?

I generally do not care for house plants although I've had a bunch of epi's that wintered extremely well and even flowered indoors. My 8' scheffleara that I brought inside before first frost also did quite well once it lost its leaves from the move and then put out new leaves.

If I had to recommend a house plant, I'd go with Epiphyllums because there are so many wonderful colors and choices and their care is easy. I'm still a sometimes smoker so I always have a philodendron, spider plant or maybe a peace lily in the house since they absorb and clean the smoke odors that tend to linger otherwise.

I think the problem with house plants is that they are not marketed properly, and no customer info about the benefits.

Air plants are very "in" right now. As well as the cute little glass hanging holders for them.
Fiddleleaf figs are all over the blogosphere.
Succulents and all things for the terrarium-also pinterest popular.
Aloes, jade plants.
Orchids.
I have a rubber plant that is practically a member of the family.

I would suggest looking at pinterest to get some ideas.

Oops, forgot my spider plant that also came from Gita

Oh, I also overwintered an elephant ear. I love to look at it. Is it bad that I didn't let it go dormant in the basement for a bit?

Speedie, do you know about NASA's experiment? They found that certain common houseplants were excellent air purifiers. Maybe you could set up a display with pamphlets and an eye-catching sign. I think the plants on the list were the ones mentioned by Darius already, like spider plants, snake plants, palms, peace lilies, and pothos.

I love mini succulents!

We have 2 Beaucarnea recurvata (Ponytail Palms), one of which I have had for close to 40 years. Very low maintenance. Also some peace lilies and snake plants which are not demanding. Then there are the Queen's Tears bromeliads which spend the warm weather outdoors and are inside, some in the basement) for the winter and keep on blooming with next to no watering. The smaller succulents are enjoyed by both of us, too.

What a great idea, SSG, on the NASA tie-in.

Great googley moogley, you guys ROCK!

I've got a nice looking list started now, thanks to you all. I'll need to spend a bit of time compiling some info on each plant, such as sort of pot and type of soil (components) it will need. If we're gonna sell the plant, we should carry EVERYTHING that plant will need, right?

I've peeked around a bit online to see where I might order "plant care pamphlets", but came up with zilch so far. If any of you already knows off the top of your heads where I might look, could you share it please? I'll contact some of our growers on Monday to ask them what they have available.

OH BOY, this is exciting!!! < =D THANK YOU ALL A TON!

When I was growing up in Montana, my Mom had a miniature orange tree. It was fabulous. And lipstick plants grow long vines with very little light. Also, hindu rope is always hard to find because they sell out so fast.

I really like the miniature citrus suggestion, 2ndchance. And Bosslady can move them around in summer, sell them as patio plants in warm weather.

speedie, seems like there would be interest in easy foliage plants. Aglaonema is bullet proof. And you might find a few new cultivars. Ivies are so pretty and some say easy but I've had setbacks most years with my ivy. I love my little palm, a clumping kind that I probably first got in a mixed planter? Succulents sound cool and easy for the nursery to keep alive and kicking. THose also could be patio plants as well.
Cane begonias seem tough and exotic looking.
I mostly don't go big on anything flowering inside because then you'll have blooms to clean up.

Interesting idea 2ndchance, I'll have to do some checking up on mini citrus - not sure how much of a demand we'd have in this area, but... I can always create it! =)

I'm with you, Sally, about the foliage vs. flowers indoors. Then again, I prefer foliage over blooms anyway, but around here, I think people really like to have colour indoors during the 'off' season, so I'll have to be ready to cater to those as well.

Believe it or not, succulents at work have often NOT fared well... I don't know what it is; maybe (probably) not being watered correctly, but they seem to rot like nuts. And, I'm talking about the potted STOCK, not anything grown in-situ. I guess we've just had people working there who don't pay attention to proper watering needs. We are going to HAVE to change that!
(had that same talk with the new Boss about AV's).

Schefflera also for bullet proof in almost any light situation- if my plant is any indication of normal. the Variegated are pretty.

I guess flowers always sell! and Phalaenopsis orchid flowers tend to stay on bloom pretty long.
Succulents could seem boring cuz many grow so slowly. And they don't have the visual grace of foliage.

Portulacaceae would be one family of succulent at the top of my list (especially Calandrinia); they are very easy to grow, and there are many great blooms colours to choose from. Portulaca Grandiflora are always popular around here since they can be grown indoors or out.

Really?? never thought of it indoors.
Remember marketing displays- Of course you'll make sure they name things correctly . When I looked at Portulaca just now, it was in Floridata as a 'Tried and Trouble Free" what a great little sign to add to the tray of these guys. or a table of trouble free.
Bulletproof Houseplants.
well maybe bullet is a sensitive word.. Indestructible? Houseplants that will Survive Nuclear Holocaust (not really...but conveys toughness) Foolproof ..Brown Thumb Selections.. and then a few really cool ones for Elite Gardeners (us!)

(I am doing displays for library and it can get obsessive. But it is fun to try for catchy phrases and cute clip art to go with them.)

Oh sure, they are definitely good for indoors as well -- provided they are given good bright light and drainage, and are not over-watered.

I've always had great fun in creating what to say on the sign out front, I'm sure I can come up with some fun wording for display signs. I think Scott (Boss) "has someone" who does signage n' stuff for him. It'd be fun to contribute to the end-product of that! =)

Right now, all I have is:
--kalanchoe
--asparagus fern
--two types of coleus
--3 amaryllis bulbs

I don't think I'll overwinter the coleus again. The kalanchoe and asparagus fern have done very well on the window sill. I'm wondering if I should just keep them in containers now throughout the year and save the trouble of transplanting?

The amaryllis has been fun. Flamenco Queen is done blooming now; I'm ready for Double Dream to open soon. Maybe someday Misty will bloom for me, too...

Catmint, my parents loved Double Dream! I hope you get huge blooms!

Thanks, SSG! BTW, that's amazing that your crocus are blooming already-- and they survived the squirrels, too! I don't see any crocus shoots anywhere, though some other things are sending up shoots. I wonder if the squirrels found all my crocus bulbs?

Robin

Robin, the squirrels are very territorial by the oak tree out front and don't even go to the backyard. Nothing gets dug up in the back. It's just a shame because no one else gets to see the crocus blooms!

Well, except for all of you! I'd be such a lonely gardener without you all!

And I would keep the asparagus fern in a pot rather than transplanting it back and forth. I had one that I liked but it shed its needles like crazy all winter.

thanks, SSG! Yes, we enjoy seeing your crocuses! :-)

The asparagus fern I have does not seem to be a heavy shedder. It's Asparagus densiflorus 'Sprengeri'. It's been very well-behaved.

What about cyclamen and tirucallis. I have a gazillion cyclamen plants right now as my plant re-seeded in its pot last year. I have a tirucallis that is 8 ft tall that lives in my stairwell. It is in a somewhat flat 10" pot and has been there for decades in front of the 6 ft window. I have AV's and Shefflera and pothos and heartleaf philodendron. The heart leaf needs almost no light. Dracaena the corn plant also for very low light situations. The Christmas cacti do well in front of a bright window, (Schlumbergera) sp. and they will bloom indoors. I had a fishtail palm once until I had kittens and they destroyed it in a couple of months. I also had a ficus tree for many years until cats used it for a litter box and it did not survive the "watering". I would decorate my ficus tree at Christmas with twinkly lights. It would spend some time on the porch some summers.

Speedie, When I worked at an upscale florist while in college I kept a large 2x3' baking tray under one of the benches, when I watered the AVs, I'd just fill the tray with pots and add water for a bit, then swap them out. We sold tons of AVs, many never had the shipping sleeve removed. But as Holly said some people couldn't water a horse and would wet the foliage and crowns. Because I was successful in my care the boss had a nice laminated sign made (so the fools couldn't water it) showing how to water an AV. Nice simple care signs prompted people to try new things same as a eye catching display. We also sold a lot of Cineraria and Calceolaria as house plants, but made sure the client knew it was an annual and after bloom to toss them or plant in the garden for a chance to rebloom if the season was right.

Steadycam, Oh Wow, thank you, I hadn't thought about the Euphorbia! Will it prefer a slightly "shallow" pot (being a succulent), or, will it be ok in a 'regular-depth' pot if it's in a good cactus growing medium? I've added it and the Cyclamen to the list, those are some great looking indoor ideas.

Ric, Excellent thinking on the watering of the AV's!! New Boss is already a bit skeptical about getting AV's again, after having seen previous failures in care. I think I've made it clear that I know how to notover water, or improperly water, but there's always a little something more I could do. I will suggest a small display of them to start with, ('til he's assured of my competency), and suggest this watering method to him. Thank you a ton; brilliant!

Hey speedie, I saw this on pinterest for you to add to your advertising sign ideas:

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/475833516849694886/

haha aspenhill that is a classic, coleup posted it once too I think.
mum's the word…haha, cute rhyme!

Kalanchoe (blossefeldiana ?) is another classic flowering gift plant that is probably very easy for the nursery to keep looking good.

SSG, just make sure you keep the soil evenly moist for the asparagus ferm. They shed needles if the soil ever dries out. The type I have is Asparagus 'Plumosus'.

FWIW I've been giving bothmy kalanchoe and my aasparagus fern 1 cup of water each once a week. They're on a northern exposure window sill where they get little if any direct sun. This has been a good combo for both of them.

I have spent many a year taking care of Houseplants in some of my jobs.
2 years for a grower---5 years at Franks--and first 5 years at my HD--
when the WHOLE GH full was under my care. I was very good at it...

Now--nowadays--Houseplants are provided by bell Nursery--and they
do an exceptional job merchandising them, culling them, and caring for them--
in the limited time they have, but they do not really have time to talk to customers..
that is our job.
Since i am now back in garden (since mid-October), i will, once again, be able to
talk "shop" with customers...guide them and discourage them--whichever id needed...

I love doing that--and live giving them options until they "get it"....

Speedie--
we all know plants to some degree--but the average customer does not.
They go more by looks and colors than knowing anything about the plants needs--
light--watering--etc--and they ALL want to, immediately, re-pot their newly purchased
plants, because they hate the pots. Here is where I caan sell them a deco pot
and tell them to just put the nursery pot inside the pretty one...kaching!.....

Re-potting plants is a serious issue--as not everyone knows how to do it and what NOT
to do --like putting the plant in a BIG pot and dumping soil on it until the pot is full.
Guaranteed death within a couple months....

What i am trying to say--is "go easy" on your choices. Start with easy plants...do not
overwhelm the senses with fancy Tropicals. OH, they will sell--but how long will they
live under a newbie's care? What will be your return policy?????

My observation is that novelty plants do well. The "Money Plant" is a good seller.
It even comes semi-bonsaid now. Thr "Lucky Bamboo" also sells well. Any form of it.
Everyone LOVES the Majesty palms--but this is one of the hardest plants to keep in the house.
There are easier Palms...

A big seller always are the little "Angel Plants"--in the 3.8" pots. Cheap enough--
not much profit margin, but people love the small plants. Then you can sell terrarium
supplies for them to plant the small plants in.
Come warmer weather--you will sell piles and piles of Boston Ferns. People love them
hanging on patios and around gazebos--around pools....

Have you seen the newer varieties of Aglaonemas?? There are red/green ones now--
and green/pink speckled ones...
Pothos HB are also a sure fire sale. There are at least 3 or 4 new varieties as well.
The colors and patterns on the leaves... HB sell well-over all.

Darius mentioned Epis....You all know I have a few...Yes! They are gorgeous in bloom--
but if you start with a small plant of one--it may be 3-4 years before they dazzle you.
Will people want to wait that long? Are there small Epis even sold?

Cactus and succulent Dish gardens sell well. Low care...pretty...
D. Marginatas sell pretty good too as do the Sheffleara Arboricolas and Spaths.

And as darius mentioned--certain plants do clean your air in the house.
Most of these are all LOW LIGHT plants that work the best...

ALSO---You have to stay with the Seasons when you get plants in.
Like right now--Easter is already rearing its head...Lots of flowering Azaleas and
Cyclamen and Bromiliads are everywhere...Then come the Lillies and the Callas.
etc...etc...etc...It will be hard to stay on top of it all--but i KNOW IT that you will
be awesome at it!

What do I grow inside? I would not know where to begin to tell you....
My house is like a tropical Forrest in the winter...Plants all over...every room, every window...
every horizontal surface has plants....

I do have a lot of Holiday cacti and AV's--as I cannot stop propagating these....

Another suggestion---
Perhaps you could purchase a really simple but good book on Houseplants
--one that if informative and helpful--but not overwhelming for a newbie--
and have it sitting on a podium or table somewhere where customers can page
through and read about plant care. Ollies is loaded with gardening books!!!

OK. Enough yakking. Good luck and GO GIRLl!!!! Gita

I enjoyed reading that Gita. It is one thing to know plants and another to know what the average shopper goes for. And you know both!

Terri, Hahaahaahaaa!!! YES, that would be the sort of thing I would put on our BIG road-side sign!! =)

Wonderful idea about a houseplant book (or 2) for customer reference sitting near displays, thank you! I just peeked around amazon and added a couple to my wishlist. (well... OK, I added 4, but who's counting?) ;)

One of the biggies I think, for customers, will be little care-cards for each plant - I have told Boss that we should get little "cards" made up (laminated, about 3" x 7") tucked into one of those plastic card-holder-thingies for each kind of plant we are offering. Often times the little inserts in the pots don't give enough info on the plants' needs, will be nice to have more info! We also discussed again the needed signage.

I learned yesterday, after making numerous phone calls for houseplants, that, really this is not the best time for making retail purchases for these things; the Fall is really the best time. Now, people are looking to GET OUTSIDE - what can I grow outside!! Growers are focusing on what can be outside for the season. Around August or so (end of July) I'll start re-contacting vendors about what I can get for 'houseplants'. Thankfully, in the interim, AV's seem to be one of the main-stays - readily available at most places. Good.

Sub-BossMan told me yesterday "You could fill the greenhouse with cuttings from my Pothos!" OH BOY!!! Bring it, Man, I'll pot 'em up for us!! < =D

Saw a really pretty plant at HD today, reminded me of a Crotan but not quite very colorful. All the tag said was low light houseplant. Really........how about a name.

Holly---
I bet it was the new coloration (red and dull green and cream) of the new Aglaoneamas.
We have many of them--and they are stunning...6" pots--about $10, I think.
Some almost look like dark, speckled Caladiums....
And--the OLD "Chinese Evergreen" is not even seen any more. I kind of miss it....
Always loved that deep, shiny green.

Was this it? http://www.costafarms.com/Public/PlantLibraryView.aspx?Id=420&Letter=R&var=RedAglaonema

If you Google Red Aglaomena and click "Images"--it will blow you away!!!

G.

I think that might be it. These were speckled, pinkish, green and cream. Think there was a solid color band around the leaf margin. $14.95 in a paper covered pot about 6" I think.

Growers really need to ramp it up when it comes to plant ID tagging! "Low light houseplant" -- REALLY!?!? Come on, that's the best they could do!?!? It makes me think - is it the growers being lazy, or is it that the buyers are not demanding better?

maybe both- there are lots of people out there who don't need the name.
I know, sad isn't it?

I bet 80% of people that pick up house plants don't care about the name Low Light Houseplant is good enough for them.

Many plant tags are now printed with a 2D scannable code that with the use of a consummer's smart phone links directly to plant info. Bonnies Vegetables has it
http://bonnieplants.com/library/scan-codes-and-connect-with-bonnie-mobile/

along with many perennials and shrubs and trees. It is considered to be the future for plant retailing. We can also print our own!

http://www.pfaf.org/user/cmspage.aspx?pageid=180

Yes, I have seen them and wondered if they would actually give me the info I want. But I don't have a smart phone and don't see me getting one in the future. I know they have all kinds of great tools on them and can do all kinds of things but I don't see the need for them for me yet. The tags also have websites you can go on and find the plant but many of them don't give you a code for a specific plant you end up scrolling thru the website looking at a ton of plants and trying to figure out is it this one or that one. Just had that experience with the AV's I recently bought.