Ideas needed

Hi everyone,
I have developed an addiction to house plants as well as my garden plants. I now would like to add something to my office. I have no daylight that reaches it though. I have two fluorescent lights overhead in my office. Can anyone give me some suggestions for plants that might survive this enviroment?

Marie .... there are MANY plants that do real well in low light and very low light situations. Click on this link and you can read about some of the different ones people suggested.

Lin


http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/685707/

Yes. Go down to my thread (thank you, thank you very much) about best low maintenance house plants, not air plants. There are many good suggestions. I expect your office is pretty well lit to work and that will be fine for a lot of easy to find plants. Choice kind of depends on whether you want it to vine or be tall or bushy......

Oh yeah! that thread too!! Especially the remark about overwatering being more lethal than underwatering, know about that from personal experience......

This message was edited Jan 24, 2007 1:57 PM

This one link from Lowes is great Houseplants for the beginners.
But what they are plants would be good for an office too ! They give their names and most pictures and about the plant as you page down on this page. I fount it interesting !
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=howTo&p=LawnGarden/BeginnerHouseplants.html

Also I fount this link interesting
Think green in your home office
Add some plant power to liven up your workspace
http://www.microsoft.com/canada/home/healthandwellness/2.2.3_thinkgreeninyourhomeoffice.aspx

That Lowe's lsit is great, but I would say one thing- Ficus have a rep for dropping leaves and that could be messy. Shefflera has been good for me but I have also had some leaf drop wit hthem. If cleaning up leaves would bother you, take note.

Thanks for the great links. I think I should be able to make some choices now. :o)

I had a nice Ficus braided that did real well with no care I did mist it .
Philodendron
Philodendron always a great choise !!
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=pg&p=/PlantGuide/_PLA626
I Love the Chinese Evergreen
Aglaonema http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=pg&p=/PlantGuide/_PLA552
species :))
Also like this plant low light and cold tolarant !
Cast Iron Plant (Aspidistra elatior)
Aspidistra elahttp://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=howTo&p=PlantGuide/_PLA602.html
tior
Dracaena
Dracaena is awesome !
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=pg&p=/PlantGuide/_PLA610
These above are from the Lowes link and are all " LOW" easy to grow plants !!
Bromelaids are fun easy plants too and many only need low light !

Ficus Benjamina .... I had some that got so huge in my screen room a few years ago .... they were root bound and I didn't want to spend the $ for LARGER pots, so I put them out for the trash and my elderly neighbors took them to plant in their yard. They didn't survive. They were gone a lot, and never watered anything .... have since sold the house and moved back to Ohio near their kids. But, they loved those trees and just thought it was so great that I didn't want them anymore!

I still have one small variegated Benjamina that is nothing special. It is in DIRE need of re-potting. I like these trees, but they are temperamental about being moved. If you move them 2 feet, they go into shock and begin losing leaves. No big deal, just a mess to clean up! :) And, they seem to grow so fast, always needing to be moved up to larger pots, or needing to be root pruned and re-potted. I just didn't have patience with them anymore. They grow in South Florida in the ground outside and some are really pretty. I've seen hedges of them in Fort Lauderdale where my sister lives.

I think there are so many other, much nicer house plants you can find ..... Dracaena being one really nice one for inside!

Lin

I suggest Oak Leaf Ivy (Cissus rhombifolia). I have a plant that is in a self-watering pot, kept on the top of a tall bookcase, about 2 ft. from the fluorescent lights overhead. It is a fabulous plant that has grown to be 3ft x 3ft x 3ft and I get lots of positive comments about it. It can be somewhat hard to find, though.

http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/54583/index.html

Susan in Minneapolis

Dracaena are nice Lin :))
Durable and exotic. This popular houseplant comes in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors ! Grow well in low light , easy indoor plant !

I have had such good luck with the common philodendron in my office settings. They do well with fluorescent lighting and the normal office temperatures, both on shelves/filing cabinets and on my desk. Pretty pot with a nice saucer, water just a little bit at a time frequently and you won't have to worry about run-off running over. I've had to cut mine back A LOT because they were so happy, but then could share with others. I've retired now and the poor plants just can't get used to living at home. They aren't dying, but they aren't spreading their wings a whole lot either. We'll all adjust!!