Thursday, March 15, 2018

Plant Lady

I always get lots of questions about my house plants and so today I'm reposting one of my most popular posts from last year all about plants!  I am far from an expert but never mind sharing what I've learned and as Spring approaches and we all want to plant #allthethings I thought this might be helpful in your endeavors.  Happy Planting, friends!!!

Recently I've been getting a TON of questions about the plants around my house.  A TON!  I am by no means a plant expert in the least, but today I thought I'd share a little bit about the indoor plants I've had success with and how I take care of them.  I ADORE having plants around the house and think they add so much to a room.







My love of indoor plants started last year with this sweet fern that struck my fancy at a boutique downtown McKinney.  It was quirky and feathery and I bought it on a total whim.  



And here it is today! 


The boutique I bought it from had a booth where the lady sold plants that she grew and it was labeled as a "hybrid fern".   You can tell that it has two different kinds of leaves....



And I've never seen another one like it.  It's still in it's original pot stuck inside a terra cotta pot and repotting it is on my summer to-do-list :)



It's kind of out of control and I love it.




And the kids love watching new leaves sprout up!


I've been on the lookout for a similar fern for EVER and just recently found these "Mother Ferns" at Calloway's Nursery.  It's not exactly the same, but has similar foliage (I think the original fern I have is a hybrid of a mother fern and something else).


I picked this one up last month and it fit on the shelf.... now it needs to be moved because it's already too big!






And I got sucked into another one last weekend and it's currently in GG's room...



This little guy I bought back in February (no clue what kind it is!)


... and this is it now!



I was kind of hoping it would grow more "out" and less "up", but it's cute.... and it obviously loves this spot!


And the last type of fern I have is a maidenhair...



Okay... so here's what I've learned about ferns. 

- They LOVE humidity... my house isn't very humid at all so I water them a little bit every day.  You want the soil to be damp, but not soggy.  I will typically water until the water comes out of the bottom and then dump the excess.

- If I know it's going to rain I'll leave them outside to get a good soaking.  If I haven't had a chance to put them out in the rain then every once in a while I'll bring them out onto the patio and gently hose them (the leaves and everything) for a few minutes.

- The maidenhair ferns dry out QUICK and sometimes I'll put water on those more than once a day.

- I buy the CHEAP terra cotta pots.  They're under $5/each (and then the saucers are about $2) and let them "age" naturally.  You can buy the aged ones... but they're REALLY expensive.  If you're using terra cotta make sure that you don't have them sitting directly on wood because they get damp.  I love putting them on white cake stands.

And just in case you think I have it all together with my plants I present Exhibit A :)


I totally killed this one by not watering it often enough.  There were 3 sad little sprigs left so I cut off the dead ones and look...


... new growth!  Slow and steady :)

Next up - my Fiddle Leaf Fig!  I found two of them at Home Depot last Spring for $13 each.  THIRTEEN DOLLARS!!!  One was pretty sad looking and I pretty much killed it immediately, but my other one has done really well!  This was it last Summer...


... and now. 


And this was it last week... it has gotten two new leaves (look at the top of it in the picture above)...


When it first started getting new growth I thought it was actually dying because they're black and kind of dry looking before the leaves pop out.


I love the fiddle leaf so much and felt confident NOT killing it that I ordered two more online.  I was skeptical ordering plants to be delivered to my house - but they were GORGEOUS when they showed up!

This is what was delivered to my porch (sorry the light stinks because it was like 9 pm)...


And this was one of them the next morning (before I "fluffed it" a bit).  They came wrapped in paper and didn't have a single leaf missing.  Perfect!



I picked up the basket at HomeGoods, put a couple of old books in the bottom, grabbed a plastic plant saucer to go under it (so that the water doesn't drain onto the floor), and "fluffed" the plant a bit.  DONE!  This summer I'm going to get bigger pots, but for now this works.


It even came with new growth and each pot had two trees.



And here's the other one (excuse the mess!)...

 
You can order your own Fiddle Leaf Fig from Amazon HERE or Home Depot HERE (they come from the same supplier) and I can't say enough great things.  I've heard that you can find them at IKEA, but I've never seen them there.  At our local nursery they range from $100 - $350 depending on the size - so $30 each seemed like a great deal

And here's what I've learned about Fiddle Leaf Figs...

- They like lots of filtered light... my front hall gets GREAT morning and afternoon light and it has done really well there. 

- They need to dry out before you water them.  I pour 1-2 cups of water on mine every Saturday morning when I strip everyone's beds to wash sheets... but I don't water them during the week.

Last, but not least is this random $12 "houseplant" I grabbed at Home Depot.  It came with no instructions or details - so I water it every couple of days and so far so good!  I literally know nothing about it... so if it's 6 feet tall by Fall we can all be surprised together :)


If you don't want the maintenance of having live plants, try preserved boxwoods (I have several and love them!)  You mist them down every couple of months with a spray bottle and they are gorgeous!



So... I hope that this post gives you a little push to head to your garden center, grab a fern and try out your green thumb.  You might even find yourself turning into a #plantlady :)  If you have a great houseplant or houseplant tip I'd love for you to leave it in the comments! 

Happy Thursday, friends!

PS - This post contained affiliate links... thank you for supporting my blog!

12 comments :

  1. I love ferns!! I really need a couple of plants for the house. My plants tend to die outside in the Texan heat ick!

    http://slayitagainshan.com

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  2. I've heard great things about how plants add to your air quality too! $30 for that big plant seems like a great deal!

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  3. Love how you put your ferns on cake stands! Such a great idea. Also love the baskets you used for the bigger plants.

    Polkadotsandpopcorn.com

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  4. I ordered the fig from amazon and a basket! I am excited! You make it look easy, so I am going to JUMP in to houseplants!

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  5. I'm convinced I need indoor plants now. I have a black thumb though...I can't keep anything alive outside! Maybe it'll go better inside? That Inspired Chick

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  6. I love house plants. That was 1 of my goals at the beginning of 2017 to buy more plants. I don't have any ferns. But I have quite a few now. 1 of them I got back in 2000. So it's 18 years old. I've been wanting to do a post about my plants too, but I can't seem to get a good picture with the light. If it's during the day it's too bright & at night it's too dark.
    http://therantingsofadramaqueensmum.blogspot.com

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  7. Well, love these plants and just may have to have one of the ferns. Thanks for sharing!

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  8. Thanks for sharing! Is your plant baskets from Home Goods made for plants or is it just a regular basket with a bottom?

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  9. This is ( was when you first posted too!) one of my favorite posts!
    I’m new to the houseplant game... my kids are ( finally) old enough that I can have them with out worrying...
    I love ferns! & am on the lookout for a maiden hair one...
    I also am requesting a fig leaf for my mother’s d/Birthday gift!!

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  10. I'm so glad I saw this post! I love Fiddle Leaf Figs, but everyone I've seen locally is over $100, and well, I just don't have a green thumb. I just ordered the one you suggested from Amazon and can't wait for it to get here!

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  11. I’m local and would love to know which boutique in McKinney you found your cute fern! I want to go look for one too!! Thanks so much!

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  12. OHHH I'm so impressed, I need more plants BUT, I killed a cactus this year so I don't have a ton of faith in my keeping them alive, lol:)

    Laura
    Black Coffee Beautiful

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