Moving the Housplants Inside (or World War III)

A war breaks out in this household every year around this time when it is time to bring plants inside the house. If you know Michael, you know that he is a neatness freak and keeps the house in a spotless condition.

If you don't know him, you can get an idea by watching this clip from one of my favorite guilty pleasure movies - "Mommie Dearest" -

 

That's him! Michael feels that houseplants make a mess by shedding and to appease him, I try to keep the inventory to a minimum. 

To be fair, I'm not exactly that great when it comes to houseplants. I am much better with outdoor plants. Our last house was drafty and plants didn't do well at all. Here, they do better but most of the good light comes through the south windows and we don't have many places to store them. Really the only space we have is this little greenhouse box that is attached to the kitchen window -

Most of the larger plants end up in my study/library, on the north side of the house, and sadly, despite a large window, it is one of the darkest rooms in the house. They will endure politely until I can move them back out on the deck next spring.

This year, I was cringing when I realized we had more plants than usual. Here is some of our inventory:

The largest plant is the Spider Plant or Airplane Plant (Chlorophytum comosum), an easy-to-grow plant that looks decent most of the time -

Airplane Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)

The Cyclamen either looks good or pathetic and it is usually the latter. I think the only time it bloomed was when I first brought it home. My trusty houseplant book says that it needs at least 2 hours of direct sunlight during the winter months. That's not good and I think it is too large to go in the greenhouse window - 

 

Cyclamen

I love the Anthurium and even more so when it started blooming on the deck about a month ago. This was a gift from a vendor at the Master Gardener Plant Sale. I think he could tell I wasn't too enthusiastic about houseplants and he insisted I try this. I think he would be happy for me.

Anhurium

Oh dear, the one below one has grown wildly this year while being outdoors. I have no idea what it is - some type of cactus? If you know, do let me know. I cannot find it in my houseplant book. Believe it or not, this one was small enough last winter to reside in the greenhouse window but this year it is way to large. It also started shedding as soon as I brought it in. Fortunately, I was able to clean it up before you-know-you noticed.

 

Mystery plant

The Goldfish Plant (Columnea gloriosa) was picked up at work when I succumbed to its charms. I love the glossy leaves and the flowers (yes, it bloomed!) are lovely. Will it survive the winter inside? We will see.

I also love the ZZ Plant ((Zamioculcas zamiifolia). This was recommended by Linda at work when I asked her what would be a good houseplant that was easy to grow and not messy and one that would not provoke the house cleaner. She suggested this one and I have to say that it has lived up to all of those claims. This is only plant that gets to reside in the living room.

ZZ Plant ((Zamioculcas zamiifolia)

Believe it or not, this last plant - String of Hearts (Ceropegia woodii), was given to Michael by one of his doll acquaintances.  It is our oldest plant. I brought it here on the plane from Alabama when we moved here. So, it is over 5 years old and doing very well. It went through a phase where we thought it was going to die but it rebounded.

String of Hearts (Ceropegia woodii)

I have not included a photo of the Australian Tree Fern (Alsophila australis) which has survived two winters in our house. I think ferns are the hardest plants to grow indoors. It is so hard to give them the humidity they enjoy.. However, taking it outside for the summer months revives it and it has grown. Here's hoping it makes it another year.

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy