Over the years I have met many houseplant owners and everyone has a favorite houseplant. Below you will find some of them along with comments on why these plants are their favorite.
Swiss Cheese Plant
For dramatic effect and simplicity of care, or as a source of continuous pleasure, few house plants can compare with the split-leaf philodendron or, more properly, the Monstera deliciosa.
It is hard for me to believe, now, that it is only three years ago that I was completely disinterested in plants, and occasionally even needled my wife about wasting her time and money on them. Then the “bug” infected me, and during these past three years, I have been investing much of my spare time and money in an avocation that I once considered valueless.
Monstera the Favorite
During this period as a confirmed houseplant addict, I have experimented with perhaps 200 species and varieties of houseplants, most of which have been varieties of the old stand-bys obtained, I must confess, by begging slips from, or exchanging slips with, understanding fellow enthusiasts.
At present, we have about 100 house plants in our relatively small five-room “jungle.” In the place of honor, domineering our living room is the Monstera deliciosa.
A Tree-Climbing Plant
This delightful plant, sometimes called the Mexican breadfruit plant, or the Swiss cheese plant, because of the holes or slashes which naturally form in its large leaves, is one of a group of aroids (such as Scindapsus or nephthytis) that in their natural habitat climb on trees using aerial roots.
When first purchased two years ago, our monstera was less than two feet high and had five eight-inch leaves, the bottom two of which were yellowing and dropped off shortly. At present, after having been successfully propagated three times, it is over five feet tall and has 10 leaves (none has been lost since the first two died).
Some of the leaves are over a foot long. Planted in the same 10-inch pot are three philodendron vines, Philodendron cordatum, which veil the full length of the otherwise somewhat ungainly stock of the monstera.
(The aerial roots have all been cut off at the stock with apparently no ill effects.) The combination thus achieved is most striking, and seldom fails to evoke the wonderment and praise of guests.
Propagation by Air Layering
The three slips that have been taken from this plant are all growing vigorously, and all but the most recent ones are larger and healthier than the original monstera was when purchased. The method which we have found most successful for propagating this plant has been air-layering.
The mechanics of this method are completely described in most garden or house plant books and are probably familiar enough to the readers of this article that they need not be discussed here.
Little Light Needed
The cultural requirements of both the monstera and the philodendron are substantially the same, and consequently, though I generally advise separating most plants that are potted together, the combination of the two has been very successful.
Generally speaking, these requirements are modest: relatively rich soil, moderate watering, and good drainage; occasional spraying or wiping the leaves with a damp cloth; and little or no sunlight, though they do better with perhaps a few hours of either morning or afternoon sun daily.
J Johnson Watertown, Mass.
Umbrella Plant
We have a large, old-fashioned bay window that faces south, and it presents a somewhat tropical appearance during the Autumn, Winter, and early Spring months.
Large pots containing plants of Curculigo capitulata, giant maranta, Hoya carnosa, Aspidistra elatior variegata and Cyperus alternifolius furnish a foliage setting. Begonias, geraniums, Impatiens Sultani, primulas, coleus, and other plants as they come into bloom are added to supply color.
From February to May bulbs of hyacinth, narcissus, tulip, scilla, Ornithogalum, and other kinds that have been potted during the Fall months, and left out under the back steps to grow strong roots, supply not only color but delightful perfume.
An Aquatic Sedge
However, the plants that cause the most comments from many of the callers and visitors are the two clumps of Cyperus alternifolius, sometimes called umbrella plant or umbrella palm.
This aquatic sedge, or bog plant, makes a most satisfactory and interesting house plant where its simple requirements are met, the most important of which is plenty of moisture. It prefers sunshine but will thrive well in semi-shade.
This is one plant that you cannot overwater.
Large Container Needed
We grow them in a large jardiniere and a three-gallon stone crock. In the bottoms of the containers, we place several pieces of charcoal and about two inches of broken clay pots. The soil used is a rich mixture of well-rotted cow manure, loam, sand, and humus, equal parts.
We cover the roots well, but leave a space of at least two inches from the top of the containers, and keep the soil covered with an inch of water. The jardiniere and crock are generally placed on low dollies in the corners of the bay window on both sides of the center window.
A Bountiful Grower
By Christmas, each year, many of the canes attain a height of six or more feet, and the ends begin to blossom. Some of the verticils of leaves, 18” inches in diameter and spread out like an umbrella, seem to dominate the window picture.
We leave the plants in semi-shade out-of-doors from early May to late September. Then they are thinned out and repotted in new soil before being brought into the house. When we are away from home during July and August, the plants are removed from their containers and planted near a water spout where the ground is moist from the extra rainwater from the leaders.
The plants in the ground during dry Summers sometimes suffer, but generally, they do well, and after repotting hasten to send up new leaves.
Cyperus alternifolius can be grown from seeds sown in soil kept constantly moist, and propagated by clump division, or by cutting off a leafy top with an inch of stem and placing it in a shallow dish of water. When roots form, pot in very moist soil.
A dwarf variety, Cyperus a. gracilis grows about 12″ inches high, with verticils three to four inches in diameter. This dwarf kind is especially useful for indoor aquariums and the larger species for the shallow water of outdoor lily pools and fish ponds.
C Valentine Flushing, New York
Crown of Thorns
Many, I know, will acidly quote, “each to his taste,” at my choice of favorite house plant, but let them show me another plant that can stand such abuse and return such beauty and character of form, color, and interest as this vegetable “barbed wire” – the crown of thorns, Euphorbia splendens.
Brought in 1830 from Madagascar to Mauritius, and then distributed to Britain and the United States, it is found mentioned in American floral magazines soon after the Civil War. Today in dish gardens and on dime store counters among succulent and euphorbia fanciers, it is widely distributed ó generally not well grown.
Rugged Beauty in Its Form
This plant, like so many succulents, needs rich, moist soil, plus sizzling sunshine to thrive. In the form we find it in any number of fancied arrangements of thorny branches including a wreath, candlestick, and hollow sphere, with or without leafy tips, producing at any time its clusters of vigorous red “flowers” at the tips, with or without leaves.
Like the euphorbias of the E. neriifolia type, leaves mean little to this plant and are shed to adjust evaporation or in some periodic scheme known only to itself.
Methods of Propagation
Propagation is by well-sunned cutting, or by seed, the latter seeming to produce club-shaped growth, with a tendency to make vigorous horizontal branches.
A writer of apparent experience advises topping to induce branching, but rich, alkaline soil, with some brick dust (one writer says to use a soft burned pot) and ample water, heat, sunshine, and occasional liquid feeding, should give heavy growth, branching and increasing numbers of flowers in the curious compound umbels – a mathematician’s demonstration of two to the nth power.
I know of only one venerable specimen that can demonstrate up to the fourth power, with 16 flowers per cluster – a magnificent patch of color.
With a porous rock footing, this plant can survive on water and a little soluble fertilizer, with a tendency to lose its leaves and then start growth again by flowering.
I am a little disappointed that this sun-loving toughie is not an American aborigine, but I think that since we love our sunshine and steam heat, we can very profitably adopt it as our own.
V Greiff, NY
Amaryllis
Amaryllis is my favorite house plant, although it often taxes my devotion.
While the bulbs seem to go on forever and never die, their blooming performance is decidedly temperamental to me. I class them as feminine, “uncertain, coy and hard to please” to quote the poet, but when they give their glorious blooms I am duly grateful.
I have some 50 pots, with one bulb in each. In Summer I plunge them in the garden in the sun, keep them watered and fertilized every few weeks with liquid manure, or any one of the commercial plant foods. I have tried knocking them out of the pots in May and planting them in the garden.
This would seem to give them a chance for more Summer growth, but with me, it results in more offsets, or bulb-lets, which do not help the mother bulb.
The Problem of Bloom
Perhaps the difficulty of blooming every year leads to many theories and some old wives’ tales. I have read that five leaves should give one flower stalk and seven leaves two stalks, but I often have five leaves and no flowers and sometimes fewer leaves with flowers.
I can’t see why they should be planted with the bulb half out of the soil, or why they should be confined in small pots, having observed them growing very well in large pots with the bulbs buried. A dormant period is called a requisite, but I have had a better proportion of bloom from the bulbs which did not die down – perhaps 25% of the total óthan from the dormant and rested ones.
It is often stated that the old roots should be carefully preserved, but I have tried growing them in water, similar to hyacinth glasses, and the old dried roots disintegrated, with new roots replacing them.
A Successful Method
It is sometimes recommended to keep the bulbs bone dry till the flower stalks decide to appear, but with me, they often sulk for six months or more. My greatest success has come from resting the bulbs, where the foliage has fully died down naturally, for at least three months, with the pots on their sides in the cellar.
Then dunk them, pots and all, for several hours in warm water and transfer them to the furnace room where it is about 00∞. This will start most of them, although it will not always bring up flower stalks.
I believe the difficulty to obtain annual blooming is due to our comparatively short outdoor growing season for tender bulbs. The flower stalk of the amaryllis, often two of them, is a tremendous growth coming out of the bulb, usually before any roots have started.
Rebuilding the Bulb
The business of rebuilding the bulb in one year, to reproduce such new huge stalks and flowers requires the maximum of sun, water, and fertilizer as well as a long and favorable growing season. I doubt if the usual pot gets enough water in Summer. The big heavy roots, after they have developed, are very thirsty.
As with all potted plants, it is best to knock out a few pots every week to see if the roots are dry or to water enough to have it run out of the pot periodically or to dunk.
M Cornell Long Island, New York
The Rex Begonia
Not only for their handsome foliage, but because they present a challenge to the ability of the grower, the varieties of rex begonia (the King’s begonia) are my favorite house plants. If conditions do not suit them, they go dormant all Winter, but my gas-free, steam-heated sun porch facing the south provides a warm humid atmosphere in which they flourish all through the year.
Soil Requirements
I use soil composed of sharp sand, loam, old cow manure, plenty of oak leaf mold, bone meal, and superphosphate. I pack this light, friable soil gently around their fine delicate roots which bruise easily and provide ample drainage.
While they like plenty of water, I do not keep them in a wet condition and withhold water entirely on dull days in Winter. Water on the leaves will cause brown spots to appear.
Propagate by Leaf Wedges
In February I started repotting and propagating. Propagation is from leaves, wedges cut from leaves, and plant divisions. The latter method needs no explanation. The wedges or the leaves, with about a half inch of stem, I insert perpendicularly in damp sharp sand, firmly packed in an eight-inch bulb pan, which I then place in an old aquarium, cover with glass, and put on a plank on a radiator.
I ventilate and water as needed. In two or three weeks, sometimes longer, they will root, and tiny leaves appear. When the plant is well rooted and strong enough, I transplant it to a two-and-a-half-inch pot and then repot as necessary. Hybridizing is fascinating, and has endless possibilities.
Mildew, caused by cold dampness,’ is their chief enemy, but is taken care of by dusting the leaves with sulfur.
Large, small, or spiral leaves of smooth, pebbly, ridged, or hairy texture, with infinite patterns of red, maroon, silver, and shades of green – all rex varieties are beautiful and deserve to be more widely grown.
P Merry Needham, Mass.
Grape Ivy
Living as I do in a house with a hot air heating system and its resultant dry atmosphere, any plant that will tolerate these conditions for two or three months is bound to be a favorite. One plant that will take a beating – hot or cold, wet or dry, sun or shade – is grape ivy.
After being given a rooted cutting of grape ivy, friends who had previously said, “I can’t grow a thing in my house” became quite excited a few weeks later and exclaimed, “My plant has two new shoots on it.” Cuttings are easily made from grape ivy – a factor that stimulates my interest and that of my neighbors in growing things.
Importance of Feeding
Feeding houseplants is to me important whether it be grape ivy or any other window garden denizen. I use a gallon wine bottle, fill it with water and dissolve in it one-half the amount of any one of the balanced chemical fertilizers (sold in florist shops, seed stores, or dime stores) recommended per gallon, and give the plant a thorough watering with this nutrient solution once each week.
Applications of chemical fertilizer once a week is, I realize, at variance with the usual recommendation. However, a weekly schedule of feeding simplifies the routine and avoids the nuisance of making a calendar chart where there is more than one plant to care for.
At least I find it so. In the past, when Saturday or Sunday came around I couldn’t remember whether it was last week or the week before that I gave the last feeding with the result that the plant usually got too much plant food. At any rate, I have observed nothing but beneficial results from weekly feeding with diluted chemical fertilizers.
W Nitschke New York City, NY
44659 by Na