House Plants

ChroniC · 31 Oct 2012 at 13:30

I have just moved and I would like to fill my rooms with some nice house plants. However I have tried having them in the house before and pretty much killed them every time.
Since I know nothing of plant care, can anyone recommend some low maintenance, decent looking shrubs that they might have that can go in the corners of rooms or on desk. window sills etc. Plus any tips on keeping them alive would be handy, I think I have a habit of killing mine through kindness and over watering them.

Pictures would be a bonus. Ohhh and if they could be cheap that would also be good, I don't really want to spend more than 5-10 quid per plant.

Thank you.

neilw · 31 Oct 2012 at 13:35

Spider Plants and Aloe Vera are easy and cheap.

ChroniC · 31 Oct 2012 at 13:35

Thery're a bit ugly though.

neilw · 31 Oct 2012 at 13:52

ChroniC said:
Thery're a bit ugly though.

I won't argue with that. If you have an Ikea near by they have lots of house plants, if not B&Q, read the label and choose a plant for the location. then water and give it some Baby Bio every so often.

If you have a Aquarium give the plants the water you take out of the aquarium as it'll have lots of nitrate in with plants like.

Yaayuh! · 31 Oct 2012 at 14:08

Cacti!

I have 4 and they're so easy to take care of. Water them now and then, once a fortnight at the most.

Woden · 31 Oct 2012 at 14:09

I have a cactus in the bathroom. Never had to water it and its going strong.

413x · 31 Oct 2012 at 14:09

Cactus can't be destroyed.. Except by over watering

Mat · 31 Oct 2012 at 14:38

Succulents can look good and they're fairly easy to look after. You can often get 3 little ones for £10 or something at your local garden centre.

Whatever you decide to get, make sure you've got some idea of how big it will potentially get and what shape: is it a hanging plant, a bushy one or a tall thin one?

realBabelfish · 31 Oct 2012 at 14:44

ChroniC said:
Thery're a bit ugly though.

spider plants can look cool when they start spidering. we have a few in the conservatory. plus, you can just snip the babies off and plant them and get free plants... they are really hard to kill too!

we actually have quite a few orchids. just water once a week and they last for years. snip of the stalk after the flowers die and they regrow 6 months later. they also look very alien IMO.

apeksdiver · 31 Oct 2012 at 14:48

get a christmas cactus they flower when winter is coming

Yaayuh! · 31 Oct 2012 at 14:52

apeksdiver said:
get a christmas cactus they flower when winter is coming

That's a lie, mine has flowered 3 times this year.... lol

Belly · 31 Oct 2012 at 16:09

Aspidistras are known as the Cast Iron plant because, I believe, they require very little maintenance.

(Keep the Aspidistra Flying – George Orwell)

NotAGolf · 31 Oct 2012 at 16:25

I got this from Ikea over a year ago and it’s still in one piece. I flood it maybe once a month and it’s still going. No idea how often you’re supposed to water it though which is even more impressive

Only thing I would say is that I had to tie it together around the base as the stalks kind of flopped out to the sides somewhat.

realBabelfish · 31 Oct 2012 at 16:44

op: most house plants are easy to look after anyway. water once a week but not too much (dont let the roots sit in water for too long as you get root rot). occasional plant food. bingo!