Didn't read til after I posted my first question regarding a houseplant, that it was recommended to do am introduction post first... So here it is anyways. Better late than never! My name is Erika, I'm a fairly new indoor gardener in middle Tennessee, with 4 kids, a darling husband of 11 years, and several much loved little animal critters, of various different sorts... Over the past 5-10 years, I've had the same old 4 plants, that somehow managed to survive with very little attention, although I wouldn't say "thrive"... Upon my realization of that (sometime in early spring), I made up my mind that I wanted to see those few particular plants actually flourish... and GROW.. I picked up some fertilizer (yep! They'd never been fertilized!)and some soil, and I repotted them nicely... At that same time, I developed this sudden love and urge to do MORE with plants... I was excited by the idea of actually GROWING plants, rather than just owning a few plants that merely "existed" in our home... I NEEDED more plants... NEW plants.... DIFFERENT plants.... PRETTY plants.... I got online, did a bunch of research, and headed out hunting, for the types of plants I felt I'd be able to manage, in our house, with our lighting, and our schedule and such........... MY HOUSE HAS BECOME A FRIKKIN JUNGLE!!!! And I love it.... And I don't expect anything to change in the near future, other than more plants, some nice shelving built in the kitchen near my best windows, aaaaaand possibly the makings for some outdoor gardens too..... Soooooo.... yeeeeaahh... there's that....... And anywho.... I'm glad to be part of this forum! I've had many questions along the way... most of them can be googled pretty easily, but I tend to prefer actual first hand recommendations, over mixed opinions and randomized ideas, from people I've never even talked to.... it IS nice, don't get me wrong... its just REALLY nice to speak directly with those who have knowledge and experience once in a while too! Take care all! ~~~ Erika ~~~
Hello and welcome from Idaho. I'm still learning about house plants myself. The ones I have do great.
Thanks y'all!!! Good to hear you're having good luck so far with your plants Ms. Kitty Over the course of this past 2-3 months, I've gone from 4 plants, to a full on jungle, and have only lost ONE... a "purple waffle" plant? I'm not sure what happened to it.... I read that it preferred moisture, but not to be soaked, and indirect sun/light so not to burn up and crisp the leaves... Welllllll.... the leaves burned up and crisped no matter WHERE I put the plant, and little by little, it all eventually wilted.... I kept it consistently moist, even tried misting when the foliage wouldnt cease in crisping up, and gave it a nice bright spot, out of the sun in my kitchen..... but... its dead... soooooo.... lol! Needy plants just aren't for me apparently.... easy and obvious... that's what I'm goin for!
Hi there Erika. It's so good to know that you're enjoying our forums as much as we do. Over the years I've managed to murder quite a few plants along the way. I think of it as a learning curve whilst throwing the failures into the compost bin. I doubt there's a gardener who hasn't had plants curl up and die on them every now and then. WELCOME!! I look forward to getting to know you.
Hi Erika, welcome to Gardenstew from Chelmsford, MA. You will find that several of us have a large collections of houseplants. They multiply like rabbits if you don't watch them. There are so many different types that they provide an endless source of wonder and amusement. It's getting warmer in New England and the plants, like people, are anxious to get outside and enjoy the good weather. If you have questions or just plain want to talk about plants, you have come to the right place. Glad to have you with us. Welcome aboard. Jerry
A very warm welcome to you Ericka from Colima, Mexico. It sounds like you have lots of enthusiasm...a key ingredient for green thumbery. Enjoy!
Hi Erika and a hearty welcome to GardenStew Yes, I agree, it's quite special. Not to mention interactive. Hope you have an informative time here Erika and meet all of our great members.
Welcome to the forum. This is a great place to get any questions answered about gardening. Also check out the past posts to gain knowledge on other topics!
Welcome from Va. Gardenstew is a wonderful place to get tried and true help with just about anything.