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With plants, you would be doing yourself a disservice.
The average potted plant takes up moisture (water, salts and other substances from the soil) from the soil with their roots and a significant part of this water is expelled by the leaves and evaporates. In short, the plant acts like a humidifier. This is why we water our plants.
How much water a plant ...
25
Many houseplants can withstand low light intensity. You can google "houseplant". Some of them can clean the air too, according to a research done by NASA. I have a copy of that research in google doc here.
Here is a shortlist of houseplants:
Hedera helix English ivy
Chlorophytum comosum spider plant
Epipiremnum aureum golden pothos
Spathiphyllum `...
20
Benjamin, here are my recommendations based on your answers to my questions in the above comments:
Get yourself some suitably sized clay pots, they should be big enough so the plants have room to grow in, have good drainage holes in the bottom (remember you can always easily drill your own or add more, if need be) & transfer the plants into them. Pots ...
18
Peppers are self-pollinating, so in general if you see flowers, they should produce peppers. That said, if there is insufficient air flow around the plant or if it is in an enclosure, etc., it might not be releasing enough pollen into the surrounding air to fall on the stigma.
You can try gently tapping the stalk of the flower or the branch that has the ...
18
It would definitely depend on the plant species you are talking about. Some plants specifically thrive in continuous light. For example, in northern Alaska the day-night cycle can during the summer can become 19 hours of light (or more) and 5 hours of night. This allows people to grow giant cabbage (the record weighing approx. 127 lbs).
Some plants ...
16
Don't despair, fortunately aloes, like most succulents, root very readily. The best way forward is to (A) take a leaf cutting and (B) plant up the broken stem, as follows:
A.
Remove a healthy leaf from the stem (with a sharp knife) and leave it to dry out for two or three days, until a thin 'skin' forms over the open edge;
Insert it firmly in some moist ...
14
After the suggestions here regarding pollination hadn't helped I continued to research, and apparently it seems that over fertilisation can cause an excess of foliage growth and delay fruit production.
I originally ignored this as a possibility - I wasn't feeding the plants - but then the plant in question (and the one next to it) continued to grow much, ...
14
The three numbers should represent N-P-K:
N for Nitrogen - helps produce more chlorophyll – makes the leaves/lawn look greener
P for Phosphorus - promotes root development
K for Potassium - helps with winterizing, and drought resistance.
Have fun gardening!
14
For many indoor tropical plants life in the office is slow death. You may feel that way yourself after a bad day!
With minimal light levels and good watering practices most tropicals will live for a while. The ones that require high light will draw on their stored resources in the roots and gradually go downhill.
Tropicals that tolerate low light levels for ...
14
Provided that you are feeding the soil/plants the macro and micro nutrients they need there shouldn't be an issue. Epsom salt (1tbsp/gallon) every now and then helps with some of the micro nutrients.
Minerals for your plants can be supplemented via plant food, rock dust, azomite or greensand if needed or through the soil/potting mix of the plants unless ...
13
The appearance of the soil surface in your photos leads me to think that over-watering may be the cause of the mold/fungus; a constantly wet growing medium provides ideal conditions for mold to develop. The soil needs to dry out a little between waterings, so that it is only slightly damp to the touch, and never wet. The slight browning of the stems where ...
13
This is the jade plant or Crassula ovata. The one in the picture you have has been grown in low light and has stretched out and dropped the older leaves which is why it looks so thin.
The leaves are plump and there are some yellow leaves so it does look to have been slightly over watered.
The wikipedia entry noted above agrees with my experience with them
...
12
Given that your avocado was doing well before you moved it into a warm, centrally-heated environment, the problem is likely to be caused by:
a constantly dry atmosphere
The best way to give it more humidity, is to stand it on a 'pebble tray' - fill a shallow plastic tray (one which is two or three times as wide as the base of your pot) with pebbles or ...
12
This is the Prayer plant (Maranta leuconeura), named because the way the leaves fold up at night is reminiscent of hands held together in prayer. This particular plant is M. leuconeura var. erythroneura, which has the prominent red veins and white spine on the leaves shown in your photographs.
Care tips:
They're native to the tropics so they don't like ...
12
The aloe is not growing in that medium. Sugar dissolves, rice and coffee decompose, when exposed to the conditions required for a healthy root zone. They would sour and kill the plant roots. Not suitable at all for growing plants in. It's either temporary, or someone doesn't know what they're doing, or the plant is in an inside pot.
What you could do, if ...
11
I'm revising my answer again, but this time with an opinion based on my observations of peppers (not bell types specifically):
My opinion is that they'll continue to live as long as they're healthy and pruned. If they're in a small container and not pruned, they might die after they produce ripe fruit the first or second time, but if you prune them ...
10
We've had a Christmas Cactus (A.K.A. Holiday Cactus) in our bathroom window for over ten years now, with very little watering. I have a picture of the same young plant (in bloom) from the 90's.
The name of the plant comes from the bright flowers that bloom during Christmas. It's remarkably unlike traditional cacti and from a distance it doesn't look like ...
10
These translucent worms are almost certainly the larvae of Fungus Gnats and, if you look closely, you may see the adults running across the soil. They are attracted by damp conditions and their presence suggests that you have been keeping your moss too moist. They also thrive on potting soil that is high in organic matter - and on peat moss!
I have done a ...
10
It sounds like these are outdoors with reasonable sunlight? If so, I would try it - the effort of re-potting one pepper plant is pretty small and there's a good chance it will work. Actually I would try all three as an experiment and use your findings for future years.
This is based on my experiences: Here in Texas, low temperatures will make the plants ...
10
This plant is a Spathiphyllum or Peace Lily, a member of the aroid family. See this answer for what happens if they get dry and here for more tips on watering.
They are a reliable indoor plant that likes good access to water. As they do not have woody stems if they get dry they collapse and look dead. Watering will return them to their normal appearance.
...
10
Moss on an indoor pot is a sign that the mix surface is constantly damp, and that isn't good. Use a fork or toothpick or something, and stir up the top layer to get rid of it. Always allow the top 1/2" or so to dry between waterings.
Competition shouldn't be a problem except for very small seedlings, and the flavor should be fine.
10
This is the rubber plant, Ficus elastica. It has white sticky sap and can grow into a tree (100 - 200 feet 30 - 60 M) tall when grown outdoors in the tropics.
This plant will tolerate shade, neglect and more. A nice appearance and good health is maintained with
diffuse high light
regular watering
fertilize lightly once a year
repot yearly if you want a ...
9
Regarding low maintenance, one of the things to bear in mind is choice of compost: in my experience, a peat-based compost dries out much more quickly than a soil-based one (however much moisture-retaining additive the first contains); this involves more frequent watering which, if you have a number of indoor plants, can be fairly time-consuming. Sooner or ...
9
You can grow non-fruiting vegetables, like lettuce and spinach, indoors under florescent bulb. Use 6500K bulbs. You need 30 watts per square foot. Place the bulbs so close to the plants that they nearly touch. Raise the light as the plant grows.
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"Barley grass" is just barley harvested for the tender young growth instead of letting it mature to grains. I haven't grown barley grass for juicing, but I have grown and started a lot of plants in pots using the technique below with excellent results.
Since you want to grow indoors, start with a sturdy tray at least 3" deep. Make sure the tray has drainage ...
9
First, you must be doing pretty much everything right if you have been growing this plant for "several years" :)
Second, I'm guessing that what you have is "Lucky Bamboo", if I have that correct, try the following:
Before transplanting into a larger pot, I would take a cutting or two from the plant (if it's viable, I can't tell from the photo as it doesn't ...
9
Summary (or, "But I didn't sign up for the organic chemistry lecture!"):
The numbers are the amounts of major plant nutrients.
Get a "balanced" (numbers that are close to each other) fertilizer, preferably "with micronutrients".
Read the label.
Mix and apply as directed.
Liquid Growth Indoor Plant 4-12-9 Food;
All Purpose Liquid Concentrate Plant ...
9
I have grown avocado from seed a number of times and found that it will respond to being cut back. Even the severe pruning you will have to give it will cause a new tip to start.
The avocado is a tree and exhibits apical dominance. Cutting it back will not necessarily cause it to branch out.
Other environmental factors such as the amount of sunlight, size ...
9
One cannot give an exact time frame for a plant's survival. If you live in a cold place, the plant will die when temperatures start dropping, otherwise, it can live year round. The most important thing is to not let it bolt. A bolted plant looks like in this question. You can read through the advice given in Best conditions for basil and try to follow that ...
9
There are a few common issues with citrus grown indoors.
I have seen them get 5 or 6 feet tall indoors, we are talking a plant that wants to be a tree!
If it gets enough light indoors normally the environment is dry enough to encourage spider mites. Seeing your citrus webbed by mites is not a pleasant sight. Higher humidity discourages mites. Soap and ...
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