Thursday, May 11, 2017

#plantlady

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!

20 comments :

  1. Love all your plants! I picked up something called "Mother In Law's Tongue"....it's sharp and kind of spiky! ha!....in downtown McKinney over a year ago and it still looks great! Love live plants in a room!

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  2. I've turned into a bit of a plant lady lately too. I mostly like things that never (ever) die. I have several mother-in-laws tongues or snake plants and LOVE them. Schefflera are a good never-dead option too!

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  3. Snake plants/mother in law's tongue are supposed to me great for air quality and oxygen! I also love Zami Zami plants (they are gorgeous and thrive in neglect). Lastly, I have a lemon button fern and it's Beautiful!

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  4. Why do I not have one single plant inside my house?! This post has inspired me!!

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    1. I don't know why but this comment made me LOL! I have like 1.

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  5. I am seriously impressed that you can keep that many plants alive at the same time! I need to be better about not killing every plant I own within the first few weeks. Haha!

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  6. Plants through Amazon? Who knew?!!
    I love the fern in the top photo. I will be on the lookout around here for one:)

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  7. I am so excited because we have a Calloway's here and I can't wait to go next week...I'm looking to create window box outside my kitchen window and this post makes me want to grab a fern or two as well. Baby steps ; )

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  8. I (like you) know nothing about plants but your random Home Depot plant looks like a schefflera to me...

    http://m.homedepot.com/p/Delray-Plants-Schefflera-Amate-in-8-3-4-in-Pot-10SCHEFF/203380962

    It looks just like one I bought a few months ago too! I read they make great houseplants and "tolerate neglect well" 😂 My kind of plant!

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  9. Love your plants! I have a beautiful Peace Lily that was given to me from a dear friend's funeral. I call it my "Carolyn" plant. I just repotted it last weekend. I also love Philodendrons. Very easy to care for. It's a trailing plant that I set up high on the entertainment center and just watch it continue to grow.

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  10. Girl, I've caught the bug recently too. CAN'T.STOP.BUYING.PLANTS. They've taken over my house, but they make me so happy and I love the way they transform a space. Plant lady is the new cat lady.

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  11. Amazing!! The only kind of ferns we have any luck with are "air ferns". But man oh man maybe someday I'll grow that green thumb.

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  12. Your plants are gorgeous but I have to admit ... I do not have a green thumb! 😫 I mean, my kiddos planted seeds in a tiny cup during spring break & they ended up blowing off our front porch one day while getting sunshine & went into the bushes ... I didn't find them until 3 days later!! 😂

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  13. Your little ferns remind me of the Love Fern from "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days!" Your house plants inspired me a couple months ago so I bought some succulents for my office. It was the biggest fail! I returned them to Home Depot and found myself a fern. Here's hoping it's a success!

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  14. I've always admired your fig tree and finally found one in February at Home Depot for $16! I think it's gotten 6 or more leaves on it since then. It gets morning and afternoon light and I only water it once a week or less per your instructions:).

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  15. I blame you for my current (and very random) love of plants!

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  16. You are such a good sales person! I read your post yesterday and went straight to Pikes Nursery and bought myself a Mother fern, lol! Now I am contemplating ordering a Fiddle Leaf Fig tree!

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  17. Love your indoor plants - ferns are fab for the bathrooms too with their love of humidity.
    I have an orchid which I need to buy this weekend a clear pot for - the roots need light apparently, and two peace Lily's which are all indoor plants but I have them outside fir s bit - they perk up so well with some rain, and then have the smaller one inside, I think the bigger one needs to come inside now. And then I have others in pots - can't remember their names but I rotate them on my verandah, which keeps both the plants and my verandah looking pretty. I want to get some ferns fir my bathrooms too. I love plants, not a green thumb- but I try, they instantly relax me, grow look pretty and don't talk back lol

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  18. I'm so impressed that you water your plants so responsibly! I now have a desire to have more indoor plants. The only ones I have are Devil's Ivy (Epipremnum aureum), which really are unkillable - I highly recommend!

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  19. Wow!!! I'm impressed with your care for your indoor plants. Currently, I'm also growing some indoor plants using indoor LED grow lights. However, I'm not growing ornamental plants but I'm growing herbs and veggies using growing tools.

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