I'm getting so annoyed!

I'm just now starting to venture into buying houseplants - since I have finally stopped smoking and have a house with some decent lighting - but I'm getting very annoyed at the way plants are sold.

For instance: I just found a lovely little plant. OK, so I bought it at the grocery store, and I'm sure you're all saying "that was your first mistake!" - but it was so cute! Anyway, the tag said that it was a "Pin Cushion", and while it seemed to give decent enough instruction on how to care for the plant, there was no clue about what the plant really was. By that I mean no mention of a botanical name. Just "Pin Cushion".

I've run into this same problem at nursery centers. The pot will just say "foliage plant", or in the case of one fern I bought, it was called a "tongue fern", but it looked nothing like any of the tongue ferns I could find on the Internet, and of course, once again there was no botanical name listed on the tag.

Anyway, going back to the "Pin Cushion": here is a picture of the plant that I took off the Nurserymen's Exchange web site, which is the company that sells these things. Anybody out there have a clue about what this plant is? The orange bulbs are like berries, and the foliage reminds me of a moss.

I almost bought one of those too at Safeway grocery store but went for something different. I thought they were so cute. It will be interesting to find out what it is. I think it was some kind of succulent though if I remember right. You may have better luck with ID if you put it in the Identification forum or even in the cactus and succulent forum.

This message was edited Jul 10, 2004 3:13 PM

It's Nertera granadensis
http://plantsdatabase.com/go/1342.html
Keep the soil consistently moist and do not let it dry out.

Thank you, P.C.! :)

I've been growing mainly house plants for about 2 years now (I live in an apt) and I feel your frustration. Almost always there's the 'Assorted Foliage' or random/sometimes wrong common name. But because of this, I have gotten very into the id forum!! I usually have to search for a while for 'real' culture information as well as botanical names. Just post pics on the id forum and folks like PC can serve up a name in minutes :)

It is enough to drive you nuts, isn't it! lol
I see plants mislabled all the time, too.
You have to check a couple of tags to make sure someone didn't put the wrong tag in the wrong pot, too.LOL
It does make it hard when you are just getting started.
Hang in there you'll be a pro in no time!

I have been helping to ID plants at our flower show for over 15 years. Someone always manages to bring something in that has no name. This is where it pays off to have a large number of gardening friends close at hand, like here on DG. Someone has always seen it or can give you an additional clue as to the ID. Companies that sell these plants wholesale are often going for what looks cute right away. They don't expect the vast majority of them to last long at all.

The ever popular "assorted tropical." The growers don't know what they are either. The entire plectranthus family gets named "creeping charlie." Better to have to look it up than to have the name of your favorite plant incorrect. Good luck.

By the way cece, you should upload that picture into the database, since there's no picture yet. :)

Cool!! Those are rather hard to find...I've never seen one for sale. I'd also read in the past that you should keep this plant as cool as possible, as well.

I love the great assortment of plants at Home Depot/Lowe's etc...but always the same problem with vague and often improper names. The Exotic Angel website has a survey page, and many people I know have filled it out, including in the comments section that we'd like to see better, more accurate and concise labeling. If anyone wishes to complete this survey, here's the link:
http://www.exoticangel.com/Survey/Survey.htm

Actually I often see them for sale but they are in the store without the fruits and people rarely give them a second glance when they are sitting there all green with their little leaves.
Mine did well until I went on vacation and the home caretaker forgot to water that poor thing. It needs to stay always moist which is a challenge since it "guzzles" water like there is no tomorrow :).

It seems like Exotic Angel plants are the best labeled ones. At least at my Lowe's they are. I'm trying to think of other brands that are bad about it though...

Growers really should make more of an effort to label their products. Those "Tropical Foliage Plant" and "10-inch Hanging Basket" tags keep me busy in our Identification forum!

Those Pincushion plants are SO cute! Before I knew where to get them more cheaply, I paid $27 EACH for two of them from Smith & Hawken. They both dropped dead. Saw one a few days ago on eBay, but figured I'd kill that one too :(

Do they really do well as house plants?

I purchased mine for $2.00, which is the only reason I took a chance on it. It is sitting by my kitchen sink where it is getting plenty of water, but very indirect light.

I don't think I can upload that picture, since I...ahem..."borrowed" from the Nurserymen's Exchange website. If I ever get my digital camera back from the repair shop I will take some snaps and post them.

This message was edited Jul 13, 2004 9:02 PM

This is a picture of the plant I bought from Smith&Hawken. I should have taken a picture of it after it croaked :)

I understand this frustration all too well. Being new to the plant world, I can't just look at one and know what it is. I'm trying to find cat friendly plants for indoors, and a tag that says "foliage" or "ivy" means nothing to me. I have bought several Exotic Angel plants, and I love them. They seem to be the healthiest ones in our stores. They have a little more info in the label.