Hey, y’all! As I’ve gotten older, I’ve been investing a lot more into plants. Being able to take care of a living thing is something that I’ve come to enjoy. Especially since I talk to them, so I can stop talking to myself. Just me?? While I’ve lost some plants from the move and figuring out the best listing situation in my apartment, I have almost 20 plants. Though it’s highly likely that I’ll surpass 20 after this summer.
WHERE DO I PURCHASE MY PLANTS?
The first plant I ever purchased was in Yucca plant and I got it from Home Depot. I was unable to take that plant with me on the move but I loved how easy it was to take care of. Here in Cincinnati, I usually buy all the plants from Fern. There are two locations but I frequent the one in Walnut Hills – it’s in my neighborhood and a quick walk from y house. I love that store because they know me and always give great advice about what pants to purchase and how to take care of them.
HOW I MANAGE ALL OF MY PLANTS
With 17 plants, it can be tough to remember what each plant needs and how often it should be watered. Last year, I purchased the Planta app that helps me keep track of everything including when to repot, what area is the best for the sunlight needed, and how often to mist. This has been a lifesaver for me because I not only keep a schedule, it sends a reminder every day of what I need to do with my plants. I’ve also named every single plant that I own so it makes it easier when I have multiple of the same type.
ALL THE PLANTS I OWN
ZZ PLANT
ZZ plants are one of the easiest plants to take care of. You only need to water them once a month. While they say it takes little to no sunlight, it’s still a plant (photosynthesis anyone?). All plants need some form of sunlight. My plant growth was significantly slower when it was in the dark corner of my place. Since moving it, it’s been growing like crazy. Both of these are the same species, I just bought the smaller version.
- Miranda is the 5″ I bought to grow and eventually propagate.
- Storm is the 4″ and I only bought it because I haven’t seen one this small. Basically, it was an impulse buy.
POTHOS
These are the easier ones to take care of. They can grow in moderate to bright sunlight and in many varieties. Right now, I have three pothos:
- Donna a Golden Pothos
- Beatrice a Neon Pothos
- Cici a Satin Pothos – This was a gift from my boss when I moved back to Cincinnati. It was so thoughtful and helped me grow my garden to where it is now.
CALATHEAS
I don’t like to name favorites but this is my favorite type of plant. Calatheas, also known as the prayer plant, has a cool function of the leaves folding together at night, like a pair of praying hands hence the nickname. I also love them because they come in many different varieties and are fairly easy for me to care for. They do need high humidity so make sure you’re misting them regularly.
- Issa a Peacock Plant
- Iyana an Orbifolia
RUBBER TREE
This was one of the first plants that I wanted to purchase when I started building my collection. Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t able to get my hands on both of these plants until last summer. These have been a great addition to my collection because they are my taller plants and they are easy to care for.
- Sophia a Burgundy Rubber Tree
- Gigi a Tineke Rubber Tree
SNAKE PLANTS
Snake plants, like the ZZ plant, are very easy to take care of. They don’t need to be watered often, I usually try to keep a one month watering schedule, and they can survive in low sunlight. This is the first plant I usually recommend to people when they say, they don’t know how to take care of plants.
- Haley James a Mother in law tongue
- Amara a Hahnii
PHILODENDRON
Peyton was my first Philodendron and I bought her because I thought she was a pothos. While these plants are quite similar their care, the main difference is the shape and texture of the leaves. Philodendrons are more matte in texture and more pointed – or heart-shaped – than pothos.
- Qi a Prince of Orange – a relatively rare find that I quickly scooped up because of the orange leaves
- Peyton a Heart Leaf
- Olivia Pope a Rojo Congo
CREAM ALLUSION
Syngonium are arrowhead plants – because the leaves look like arrowheads. I was immediately drawn to this type of plant when I was the Pink Splash on Pinterest. While I was hoping that Fern would get some, they only had Cream Allusions, aka Blanche, so I decided to grab it up in case I missed my chance. I call Blanche my dramatic plant because if you go one day over of not watering her, all her leaves start to droop. Don’t be alarmed, all you need to do is add water and the leaves will be back to their regular state within the day.
PEPEROMIA FROST
I purchased a watermelon peperomia last year and killed her because I overwatered her. Since then, I was very hesitant about purchasing another one. When I saw this frost, aka Dorothy, I decided to make the plunge again and try my hand. So far, Dorothy has been thriving and is relatively easy to care for because she doesn’t need to be watered as often.
AGLAONEMA SILVER BAY
Admittedly, I wanted the Aglaonema Wishes but I missed my opportunity to buy one. The only ones Fern had when I was ready to pull the trigger was the Silver Bay, aka Fahmeta. Fahmeta has been touch and go for the last year but she just sprouted her first two new leaves so I’m really happy I didn’t give up. The Silver Bay is lauded as an easy plant to care for – can thrive and low light conditions and doesn’t need to be watered often – but that hasn’t been the case for me. Maybe I’m making it more difficult than it needs to be.
DO YOU OWN ANY PLANTS?
