My best friend moved into her new apartment and asked me for a houseplant as a gift. However...this is the girl who killed 3 stalks of Lucky Bamboo in about 2 months.

I feel bad sending anything to its doom...but she wants one

Are there any plants that require little care or at least can survive some neglect time to time?

3/5/2007 12:18:09 PM

Jade.

3/5/2007 12:18:38 PM

Cactus

3/5/2007 12:19:40 PM

Those semi-arid tropical plants you can get for $5 at lowes/the home depot. My rubber plant and my ivy plants have also stood up pretty well, though I had to repot the ivy plants.

You can get all these plants for $5-7.

Just tell her to give it some water once a week and to stop watering once it overflows into the dish underneath.

3/5/2007 12:21:27 PM

plastics

3/5/2007 12:22:10 PM

My mom used to have an African violet that she was practically trying to kill, but it stood up really well.

3/5/2007 12:28:27 PM

spider plants are pretty hardy

3/5/2007 12:30:45 PM

snake plant
dragon tree

I have both and couldn't kill them if I tried. Honestly, all you have to do is keep them near a window and water them once or twice a month. Just be sure they aren't near an air vent.

3/5/2007 12:35:57 PM

people always think they're bad with plants because they killed lucky bamboo or a chia pet or a cactus

but those are novelty plants, they're not really supposed to live. I second snake plant, they don't need much water. Philondendrons don't need light, but you have to water about once a week

3/5/2007 12:42:51 PM

Jade trees are easy to care for, but if you put them outside the squirrels will eat them.

3/5/2007 12:49:53 PM

Anything with flowers? I have a feeling she'll remember if it has pretty flowers to maintain.

3/5/2007 1:00:15 PM

Quote :

"Cactus"

3/5/2007 1:01:49 PM

Venus flytrap

3/5/2007 1:02:43 PM

What do you feed a venus fly trap? Can you just toss it some crickets or soemthing?

3/5/2007 1:20:02 PM

^^ True, as long as you keep it in a covered container. I had one for like 5 years, and I've killed every other plant I've had.

^I fed mine hamburger.

3/5/2007 1:21:11 PM

^that is so cool.


*metal image of a venus fly trap eating a hamburger. hehe*

3/5/2007 1:22:50 PM

^^ and ^ Yeah, and then one day it asks for a bit of cheese and a tiny little bun.

3/5/2007 1:30:12 PM

Quote :

"as long as you keep it in a covered container"

humidity has to be high for a fly trap.....I bought my first one a few months ago and it didn't go too well.....I'm not sure what i did to it. I also have an aloe plant that seems to be very hard to kill; i just water it once a week, and let it sit in a window that gets 40%-50% of the days light.

3/5/2007 1:31:50 PM

I thought Venus Flytraps were illegal? Or is that just going out an picking your own?

3/5/2007 1:33:25 PM

^^ Oooo, yeah. They're sturdy--and functional, too.

^ I never heard that.

3/5/2007 1:37:49 PM

Me neither. I had one when I was younger.

3/5/2007 3:13:37 PM

Quote :

"I thought Venus Flytraps were illegal? Or is that just going out an picking your own?"

Yes, they are endangered. The ones you buy are legal because they are raised by certified growers. It is illegal to pick them from the wild.

3/5/2007 3:47:57 PM

^ I haven't noticed any wild ones. The only ones I've seen are at the store.

3/5/2007 3:51:10 PM

they only grow in one part of the world......and I think its in this area somewhere.

3/5/2007 3:57:49 PM

Venus Flytraps are native to Southeast NC. I grew up in their native range and never once saw one in the wild.

3/5/2007 4:34:47 PM

money tree or whatever its called .. and spider plants are great

3/5/2007 4:46:18 PM

get some monkey grass.....can't kill that stuff

3/5/2007 4:49:52 PM

haha parlor palm.

3/5/2007 5:25:26 PM

haha, money tree.

Maybe I should get her a veggie plant. I'd find it a big reason to not kill my plant if it earned its keep and gave me something back in return for watering it.

3/5/2007 5:31:58 PM

I HAVE THE BEST ANSWER FOR THIS THREAD!!!!

http://iwantoneofthose.com/dinosaur-plant/index.html

Quote :

"Older than the dinosaurs and considerably more resilient, this astonishing Lycopodium lepidophyllum plant has been around for 290 million years, which puts us evolutionary infants pretty firmly in our place. Also known as the Resurrection Plant (as well as several other names, such as the Rose of Jericho - we guess you pick up a few nicknames over 290 million years), it's the perfect plant for people who are utterly hopeless at keeping anything green alive. Even a horticulturally challenged herring (and aren't they all) could make this plant thrive. It's ideal in the office as your desktop plant, as you can forget to water it for 50 years and it will still come back to life when you finally remember! Though if you've been in the job for 50 years please, please, take all your clothes off, run into the street singing 'I Want to Break Free' by Queen, sell all your possessions and move to Ulan Bator to breed camels. You need a break, and we're told that it's challenging and rewarding work. All the Dinosaur Plant (another of its many names) needs is a slosh of water and a ray of sunshine, and within hours it will transform itself from a shrivelled dried-up ball into a thriving living being (much like some people we know). However un-green your fingers, this miracle plant will still flourish - even if you forget to water it and it shrivels up, you can still resurrect it again and again. It's the ultimate low maintenance plant. Name: Selaginella lepidophylla Family: Selaginellaceae Habitat: Middle East and the Central Americas Soil: Well drained. Water: Medium Sun: Maximum Thickness: 20 centimetres Height: 5 centimetres Flower: No Reproduction: Spores Popular names: Resurrection Plant, Rose of Jericho, Siempre Viva, Flor de Piedra, Doradilla, Flower of rock, stone Flower, Magóra (tarahumara), Much-kok (that could be Klingon), Siempreviva Features Dinosaur Plant - can be brought to life in one day Will hibernate for up to 50 years until put in water No plant experience needed! Can be revived and dried out repeatedly Contents: Dinosaur Plant Display/water bowl Mexican lava rock Size: Plant open approx. 13(diameter) x 3cm Plant closed approx. 6(diameter) x 6cm Bowl 14 x 5cm Rocks - assorted sizes "

3/5/2007 5:36:49 PM

That's not very pretty! Girls want pretty plants!!!

That looks like it'd kill you in your sleep.

3/5/2007 6:01:29 PM

haha, yeah.

but hey, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

AND, not all girls are girly-girly.

3/5/2007 6:05:21 PM

My friend went camping with me and brought her curling iorn and looked confused when I told her there was no electricity.

I think she needs a flowering plant.

I think the cactus is a good idea so far.

3/5/2007 6:12:22 PM

wandering jew

3/5/2007 7:16:55 PM

Devil's Ivy. I just put a couple cupfuls of ice in the pot ever 2-3 weeks and it grows great. It'll just grow forever.

3/5/2007 8:31:35 PM

6^ that selaginella requires full sun as it says in the article

the biggest problem of indoor environment...i mean if u think about it, for those restorative properties it would require alot of energy accumulation somehow, hence the full sun requirement


i mean perhaps i am wrong



i actually want one

[Edited on March 5, 2007 at 8:41 PM. Reason : f]

3/5/2007 8:38:15 PM

don't get a cactus!! they always die and then she'll feel bad for being less nurturing than a desert

3/5/2007 10:31:59 PM

Venus Fly Traps are endangered, so don't go picking them!! But, I had a couple as a kid that we bought from the museum in Raleigh...they were cool, but they died easy. Especially if you made them snap shut without any bugs in them, lol.

They only grow in a 100m radius around Wilmington, NC. I've seen them live in Brunswick county, but I know they are in Pender as well. Pitcher plants and sundews are both carnivorous NC natives, and are endangered as well. But I don't think you can buy either of those in a store.

The Thanksgiving/Christmas cactuses could be a good bet. We have them at my house back home, and they don't require much H2O, but sunlight is good. They bloom with pretty pink/white flowers around Thanksgiving or Christmas depending on the type...

3/5/2007 11:21:02 PM

why is she asking for gifts?

i say buy her something she can enjoy

3/5/2007 11:25:00 PM

isn't overwatering what kills most houseplants?

3/5/2007 11:52:15 PM

no

but it sure does kill alot of them!


the thing about venus flytraps is that they need fire to regenerate and compete cuz they live in pine savannah type wetlands, so in their native range of wilmington-area they are so rare because there arent anymore fires so u can only find em on federal lands really, it is also frowned upon to disclose locations of wild populations


im not sure about sundews and pitcher plants, but those guys are everywhere, they arent nearly as rare as venus FT

one time i saw a dude actually have to show credentials to go take pictures of a population near Croatan forest



[Edited on March 6, 2007 at 12:00 AM. Reason : 1]

3/5/2007 11:56:33 PM

Get a basic Ivy plant. We had a really pretty one in our apartment, left by our landlady when we moved in. Watering it regularly kept it green, but it still managed to hold on when forgotten about for 1-2 months. We kept it alive the whole year. This should be a perfect time of year to find it, too.

I also second an Aloe plant. I kept mine going for about a year and a half. My little sister gave a baby one to my mom about 4 years ago, and now they have multiplied. She has repotted them and they're all over the kitchen. They're very hearty plants, and they're useful, too! The worst that can happen is they will get brown tips from being without water. Also, it seems that if you saturate them too much they will get soft and droopy.

[Edited on March 6, 2007 at 12:39 AM. Reason : ]

3/6/2007 12:35:12 AM

Quote :

"My friend went camping with me and brought her curling iorn and looked confused when I told her there was no electricity."

OMG WHAT A BIMBO

3/6/2007 1:00:11 AM

Quote :

"this is the girl who killed 3 stalks of Lucky Bamboo in about 2 months."

I have had a lucky bamboo plant for three years and it sees sun maybe once a year and water maybe once a month. How do you kill three so fast?

3/6/2007 1:32:42 AM

over watering and too much sun?

3/6/2007 1:41:24 AM

lol, I have no idea.

Maybe I'll get her a plastic plant.

The only way to kill that is if she catches it on fire....which is a possibility

[Edited on March 6, 2007 at 11:37 AM. Reason : ..]

3/6/2007 11:36:46 AM

^

Quote :

"plastics"

AHEM!

3/6/2007 12:46:11 PM

you can't overwater a lucky bamboo, they grow in water. she must have had it in a room with no natural light at all since they will survive on very minimal amounds of light. clearly, your friend is helpless and the only kind of plant you should get her is a silk one.... they do make some quite realistic looking ones now.



and whoever fed hamburger to their flytrap is misguided, they need insects, the grease from meat will kill the leaf. flytraps need bright light , moist but not too saturated soil, and to go dormant in the winter but not freeze. they are pretty challenging to get to survive for multiple years. only buy tissue cultured ones please!

3/6/2007 2:56:16 PM

I didn't say you should feel them hamburger. I just said that's what I fed mine. I was only 7 or 8 at the time, and someone told me that's what I should feed it, so I did. I have since heard it's not the best, but it seemed to work just fine for mine, as it lived for several years and got pretty big.

3/6/2007 3:08:57 PM

Weed, FTW?

3/6/2007 3:44:50 PM