Need A Plant for South-facing Bay Window

I've had a spider plant here since we moved in this past April, but I think it was getting too much direct sun there. I'd like to find a nice, full plant for this space (not a trailing type), but my houseplant knowledge is rather limited. Somewhere I read that direct sunlight usually doesn't go well with foliage plants. Too bad, I'd really like one here. But, I'm interested in some of the blooming houseplants, an azalea maybe? Don't want anything highly toxic (3 small children). I've posted a few pics to give you an idea of the space. What I'd really love here is a hosta :) But, I can learn to love houseplants, I'm sure. lol. Any suggestions out there? Thanks!

This will give an idea of the room/space

I'd like the sewing table to look more "full". I need a nice, lush plant that won't be too high maintenance. House temp stays around 68.

What about hanging succulents?
http://houseplants4less.com/plantstore/product_info.php/products_id/246


This message was edited Nov 19, 2004 5:46 AM

Plants for low light
Cast Iron Plant (Aspidistra)
Corn Plant, Dragon Tree (Dracaena)
Kentia Palm (Howea)
Parlor Palm, Neanthe Bella (Chamaedorea)
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)
Philodendron (Philodendron)
Pothos, Devil’s Ivy (Epipremnum)
Snake Plant (Sansevieria)

Plants for medium light
African Violet (Saintpaulia)
Amaryllis (Hippeastrum)
Azalea (Rhododendron)
Boston Fern (Nephrolepis)
Bromeliad
Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema)
Dumb Cane (Dieffenbachia)
English Ivy (Hedera)
False Aralia (Dizygotheca)
Grape Ivy (Cissus)
Peperomia (Peperomia)
Prayer Plant (Maranta)
Rex Begonia (Begonia)
Schefflera (Brassaia)
Spider Plant (Chlorophytum)
Swedish Ivy (Plectranthus)
Weeping Fig (Ficus)

Plants for high light
Cacti
Citrus plants
Croton (Codiaeum)
Jade Plant (Crassula)
Kalanchoe (Kalanchoe)
Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria)
Poinsettia (Euphorbia)
Ponytail Palm (Beaucarnea)
Rubber Plant (Ficus)
Unguentine Plant, Aloe (Aloe)

I have two very big south facing windows, and many many houseplants. I have an anthurium and an hibiscus, both good bloomers, one in each window. They need lots of water with the amount of hot sun they get, but they're happy and bloom more all the time. A good sized hibiscus will grow into a tree given time and proper care, and will fill a lot of the window eventually. I also keep all my cacti and most of my succulents in these windows. While cacti and succulent flowers can be simply breathtaking, most don't bloom very often. Good luck with your decision!

Thanks so much for your suggestions :) It's really great of you to take time!

I'm a little confused about how to designate the lighting in this window. Is it medium light? I had a spider plant there that just didn't do well. Maybe it was incorrect watering instead of the light??? I love ivy, but have had trouble with pests on them. Could an ivy do well here? I like the romatic/welcoming feel of an ivy plant on this table. Although there are some lovely succulents, I have trouble visualizing them in my home.

Could anyone help me define the light here better and give more info an ivy possibility? I had assumed the window gave too much light for ivy. Thanks!

I have a hard time recommending ivy because of their invasiveness even as a house plant, especially if you have it on a table rather than hanging. They put out sucker roots that will attach themselves to anything and everything and will damage wood. And they are definitely trailing plants. I get the sense from both of your thread that you prefer low growing, large leaf, trailling type plants. But if you want a plant that isn't going to trail, then you need to consider something like a snake plant, upright fern, succulents, or other more stemmy plants that grow up rather than out or down.

hugahosta, a south exposure is maximum sun if the plant is right in the window - that's where I keep my cacti. Most ivies prefer medium to low light, so if you put one in that window, it would be best to have it back aways from the strong light in the window.

Thanks for your help, everyone! I don't mind "trailing" if I can easily snip off the gangly parts and still keep the plant's basic habit intact. Maybe I like trailing, but not "gangly". Thanks again!

huga, you can also trail the plant around itself once it grows long, if you're set on having an ivy or vine of some sort. I do that with a Burgundy Philodendron I have that has lost a lot of its leaves close to the base, and the untrained eye can't see the defect.

Thanks, ceedub. Do philodendrons lose their leaves at the base often? Is there pruning that can be done right when the plant is potted to help avoid it? I think I've decided on a heart-leaf philodendron for the other table in this room. See post on "another plant suggestion" if you want. Still not sure what I'll do with this spot, yet.

Typing error edit

This message was edited Nov 20, 2004 10:38 PM

Any info on azaleas in this spot? Impatiens? Geraniums?

Hi Hugahosta,

why not try a Hoya carnosa in a green or variegated version?...they have great looking foliage and the variegated kind wont take over the entire room....I am partial to hoyas so speaking from being that they are my favourites! lol....the philodendron and chinese evergreen would look great too and all of them very easy care....you look like you have a great window for many varieties of plants..you are lucky...

Sandy

sandy, I don't think a hoya would do well in a south window; I have several, and had them in a south window for about a year - the colour faded in the leaves and I lost quite a few leaves in all the plants, but they bloomed like crazy. Now that I've taken them back from the window so they still have a lot of light, but not much direct sun, the colours in the leaves are again brilliant, and more leaves are growing. Carol (Alohahoya) says that if you put a hoya in direct sun for to long it may kill it, but it will bloom - she's right, mine did bloom like crazy. But the damage to the leaves was not nice.

Huga, if you cut back a philodendron it will grow back nicely, and sometimes another vine will start too. I normally only cut off the trailers that lose their leaves at the base. It is common for them to lose leaves at the base, but if you water them properly, it will be minimal. The worst thing you can get out of a healthy philodendron is more plants. But agin, they're low light and won't work well in this window. A heart-leaf is perfect for your other space. I have one taking over my kitchen window (faces north, no sun). In this space on the table, you should give it a piece of bark to trail on, or a wooden trellis maybe, and you'll keep the growth under control.

Christine.

Yes Ceedub, direct sun wouldnt be a good thing.....I had a place where I lived with a south window also but kept the blinds tilted (or completely closed in the summer) and the plants thrived but I did not let them have direct sun on them....In the wintertime it was a great window for growing.....I guess it depends if the blinds are fully open all the time or not, especially in the summer at mid afternoon....

Sandy

LOL Sandy, I never thought of controlling the light with blinds. I just open mine in the a.m., and close them at night, as my cacti and a lot of my succulents need the full sun. I guess I'm an all or nothing kinda girl ... lol.

Christine.

thats funny Christine......yes your poor hoyas would have a sunburn!....i am sure your cacti would thrive in that south window though..do they ever bloom for you?....now i am getting off topic...yikes..maybe HH will find a plant to suit that spot....

Sandy

The cacti haven't bloomed since I've been here, nor has my lithops. Maybe next year .... sigh.

lol. That was a fun little exchange to read ;) Okay, I'm still not really coming to a conclusion on the south window plant. No offense, really, but I'm not really into hoyas yet and succulents are not really my thing yet either. Am I a difficult client or what?! Maybe I'll have a "tropical phase" later on in my life :) Anybody have a really common houseplant for here?

Ok I wouldn't recommend cactus anyway if you have children-bad way to learn how not to touch!
how about an agave? Slow growing, not a water hog, can take the heat.
The jade and ponytail palm would also be good low care, slow growers. low water, easy!!

Caron, aren't agave invasive? :)

Just kidding, I just read the thread about trading and invasiveness. Really appreciated your comments there. Really difficult sometimes to know what not to plant when you're a beginner. Purple loosestrife was so pretty in the sample garden at a local (well-respected) nursery this summer. I made a mental note to "try that plant" next year. Thankfully, in a search to learn more about it, my first 30 or so responses were all about erradicating it! No loosestrife in this gardener's garden! Thanks for those links you gave on the thread. I may need to use them :)

I'll try to take a look at photos of jade & ponytail palms. Thanks again!

How about amaryllis? Potted herbs ought to do well also. I keep a tuberous begonia, Iron Cross, in a south window- the winter sun is weaker than summer sun, and there's little direct sun in the summer because the sun's too high to shine in the window. Escarole is another tuberous begonia that has really neat leaves.

Also, you could use a variegated ivy and train it up a support, rather than letting it droop.

Just some stray thoughts- I also keep a geranium over the winter- but the spent blooms are a bit messy. I'm trying a verbena this winter.

Susan

Right now I'm wondering if I should just toss my failed Spider Plant and try another one. Maybe Spidey got a little dry a few times too many and the light wan't really the problem. Should I try a spider plant again? I kept the "babies" trimmed off to keep the trailers under control. Thoughts? Suggestions about growing Spider Plant more successfully if it turns out to be a good choice for this amount of light? Thanks!

I didn't think it was possible to kill a spider plant. I had one that I didn't want anymore, and tossed it a back stairwell, where it sat for 2 months totally ignored - it never lost it green-ness, but looked pretty washed out. A friend took it - for the pot - hung it on a low eavestrough and went away for a long weekend. It rained all weekend. When she got home, the plant was totally recovered and had sent out two new babies. In 4 days. The plant stayed there all summer in the hot hot sun. I don't think your south-face window will kill it - maybe your snipping off the babies wasn't a good thing? Just a thought.

Christine.

Too dark for the Amaryllis unless it's just to force the bloom. After that they need better light to keep them going. Mine get very bright light almost all day with about 4 hrs direct light too

Ok, Hug--thought i was looking at your other post, LOL!!! (sure wish someone has pointed out what and IDIOT I was earlier than this...LOL!!!!)
Should have said that the Amaryliss will appreciate the light from this window. And you can grow them all year without forcing them to go dormant.

This message was edited Nov 27, 2004 11:02 AM

OOORRRR, it's not a spider plant. LOL. I'm pretty sure it is. ha. I have to admit though that I never took any babies off this particular one, nor did it have a tag when I bought it. ha. lol. I think it yellowed pretty bad lately because it got too dry when i had Joy. Now I'm laughing because I have to fess up and show a picture of my poor plant. I gave it a "haircut" (heaven help my houseplants) and it obviously did no good. My DH says I'd better watch it or someone on DG will call Plant Services and report me ;) SO here's my pic. Poor thing. lol at myself.

Yes, it is a spider plant. Luckily I live in Canada, and have no access to the proper reporting authorities ... lol. Okay, start by plucking out all the yellow; snip it if you wish at the base of the plant. Then take it out of the pot to check the roots, likely it needs repotting into a bigger pot, it looks pretty crowded. Then just water it thoroughly (really soak it) and regularly, letting it dry out between waterings. It should come back just fine. Like I said, I didn't think it was possible to kill one, and I think I'm right. Good luck! And good night.

Christine

Thanks so much Ceedub. That was humbling ;) I really am better with my outside stuff :) lol.

Okay, rescue efforts underway soon. But, I'm putting another one in this window instead, because the current plant looks horrid. Fertilizing? Thanks for the help and info everyone. I liked this Spider Plant and it was okay for the light apparently, so we'll try again. I would like to know about fertilizing it and if it's okay to snip off the babies.

I'll put this poor guy in a bigger pot and give hime some tlc, somewhere less public ;) Thanks a lot!!! I will someday be able to say that I owe all of my huge houseplant success to my friends at DG :) Thanks!