Favorite type of houseplant?

Our favorite is Killer, a White Bird of Paradise that's about 10 feet tall. Killer came with our new house -- it was too big to fit into the old owners' new house. We named Killer because, when we were painting the room where it resides, it kept hitting us with leaves (well, maybe we just kept running into it...). Anyway, Killer is in a room with a 14-foot ceiling and has a nice skylight to provide sun, so is doing quite well.

Killer sounds wonderful....post pictures, please :))

I voted other because my wife is the houseplant person here. She has all kinds, African Violets, Peace Lilies, Begonias, & lots of foilage things. Probably near 100, & all true houseplants, they never go outdoors.
Of course us guys have the basement full of our stock plants for the nursery business.
Bernie

I voted "other" because I usually raise houseplants that fall under the heading "playing with your food". I just can't stand to throw away a nice big pit without trying to make it sprout. Right now the population consists of two avocados and a sweet potato, but whoever posted above about a lemon from seed sure has me salivating!

Pretty much anything but if it dies none of his family members get to come to my house.

I chose "other" because my house is crammed full of anything I wanted to rescue from the greatdoors - from peppers to brugs to fuscia to daturas to Passis to snail vine to lobelia to herbs- the cats think "all the world's a jungle"!

I voted for the flowering plants. Of all the things listed, cacti and succulents are probably my favorites, but I grow them outside, plus I like them best when they are blooming, so we're back to the flowering plants again. I also like forced bulbs (amaryllis), but for the flowers of course, so once more, we're back to the flowering plants. I have some tropicals in the house and I like them, but I don't like them quite as much as the flowering plants. Once in a blue moon, one of them might bloom and that's the most exciting time with them, so guess what - flowering plants again.

I voted tropical foliage, because my house isn't bright enough for flowering plants to bloom. I do, however, have a few hoyas that bloom when I hang them outside for the spring and summer months....which seems to be now here in Tx. lol

I voted other, too, as I have many favorites....with the exception of silk or plastic!

I love all the gesneriads, but cannot keep one alive for very long. I don't know if it's me, or what!! I have followed all the instructions ever given, but me taking one home is a death sentence for it. I've tried AV's, many many Streps (they're my favorite plant), Columnea, nothing lasts very long. I'm trying a Columnea at work, now. Maybe it'll like the fluorescent lighting!!
Deb

I voted others and meaning of this "All Of Above". All are my favorite.
Kaleem

WHAT! You want me to choose? If it grows, has leaves and perhaps flowers, I love 'em all. When we moved 3 years ago to our present house, I, not my wife, had to give away and downsize my houseplants from around 80 to 25 or so. My wife has green money, I have a green thumb. Ah, balance! P.S. A picture of my new best plant below. :)

The majority of my houseplants are from either the Araceae or Solanaceae family and all are considered to be "tropicals".

Mostly succulents or cacti. My specialty is tiny planters. I have a scilla that seems to grow in the smallest of containers. Hoyas, Easter cactus, Hawarthias, Aloes, Ripsalis.
ceedubs hoyas make my mouth (green thumb) water. My smallest container is a toothpick holder about the size of my thumb's end digit. A two inch by 1 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch toothpick holder has been growing a scilla for about 23 years.

I'm laughing at the Silk or Plastic option! That is wayyy too funny Dave!

I only keep forced bulbs as house plants. They are so short lived they don't die from neglect but die a natural death.

I love my orchids (I voted flowering)
This one was in full bloom in September and some of those blooms are still fresh and beautiful today.
I can't think of any other flower that lasts 3 and 1/2 months.

Dove

Frogbutterfly, exactly what is that that's holding up your succulent? I have one and it needs supporting. I like what you've done...

I found these at a local Wal-Mart in their craft department. I broke off the needed curley part and wove those into the plant and the rest was pushed into the soil about three inches. Not only does it give decor to the plant but makes for a sturdy "pole" too. The twisted sticks come in colors for added attraction. Thanks for asking.

I voted succulents because I think Christmas and Easter Cactus are considered succulent. I love these as their foliage is beautiful even when not in bloom and when in bloom they are so breathtaking. I have found they just "want" to live! I also grow Crown of Thorns which I love becase it blooms off and on all the time. I have MANY hoyas but none have really ever bloomed. For the most part they are all quite small. I plan to put them outside this year for the first time and am a little hesitant about it because most of my pots don't have drainage holes. I can't seem to get an AV to live to save my life although they are very cute. I have a few amaryllis bulbs (used to have a collection and spent lots of $ to try to fight the red blotch/blight disease even cooked the soil etc. all died) ( am trying to save the Peacock ones).

Here is a picture of some of my Christmas Cactus this year:




Kim

Jadwin,
Your cat is adorable!

it was really fun to read everyone's posts- we're all so different, but are hooked on one plant or another- I'm in the or another category- sooo many plants that actually are sort of accidentally mine- that i agreed to baby sit for, and then somehow they never got taken back- but many others from lack of shopping control too- I'm improving on my indoor gardening (maybe cause the kids are older? maybe me?) the phals are blooming, I have the bugs under pretty good control, and I haven't killed the maidenhair fern yet.........

Amazing! Without a seperate category for Orchids the survey is flawed and should be redone. This forced me to vote "other".

I am a silk or plastic voter...I have so little light that everything else just ends up sickly looking. My fake ones always look purdy!

I had to vote other. I have several trees, some over 9' tall, a couple of 8' Norfolk, a couple of citrus, and something I haven't a clue what it is. I bought it at Lowe's when the store was called Eagles many years ago. It looked like a Draceana but grew up to around 10' tall, varigated stiff pointed leaves, stalk like a palm and very non-demanding except for bamboo poles to help support it.

I have many kinds of vines both foliage type and flowering in the sunroom as well as other foliage plants. I have Christmas cactus in a very large pot that loves to bloom about 4 times a year, a couple of crown of thorns that has bloomed continually for three years, and in the pond in the sunroom I have lilies and Black Elephant ear.

I also have my outdoor Zonal Geraniums in the sunroom which would bloom year round if I'd let them. Two of those are around ten years old. The rest are cuttings from the parent plants.

My hoya, moses in a basket, spider plants are all over the house.

Several types of ferns, palms, peacelily and a bunch more...too many to mention.

I couldn't name a favorite to save my life.

">Without a seperate category for Orchids the survey is flawed and should be redone. This forced me to vote "other". "

Can someone tell me why orchids don't fall into the flowering plants category???

I agree that Orchids deserve(d) their own category (or at least a mention within the "flowering plants" category.) They're a huge family of plants that deserved more recognition, it was an oversight on my part, and I apologize.

However, since the results of our weekly voting booth are far from scientific or precise, there's no reason to re-do the poll at this time (the question may come up again at some point in the future ;o)

Have to laugh at the silk option- my MIL had some silk flowers in a large container outside and went to move it one day but found it was REALLY heavy!! There was a TON of water in them! She asked her husband about it and he was pretty proud of himself and said that yes, he'd been watering them...didn't she think they still looked good?? She almost didn't have the heart to tell him what he'd done!

hahaha

Cheryl

I voted flowering plants because our favorite house plants are phalaenopsis and dendrobium orchids; nothing that gets to big. We live in a condo and there isn't much space available for house plants. However, given proper care, what few plants we do keep have to be willing to grow and bloom. Each time I water them, I tell them they can be replaced with tacky stuff from the dollar store at the drop of a hat. So far, it works beautifully. Talking to your plants is fine but threatening them works even better.

Sylvain

I prefer ferns, caladiums and deffenbachia (dumbcane) mostly.

Kim, your Christmas cactuses are gorgeous! Thanks for posting the picture.

Thank you so much! I love my Christmas Cactus as they are so easy and reward me 2-3 times a year with beautiful blooms. I think the foliage is attractive also even when they are not in bloom. Like birds in flight aren't they?

Kim