Houseplants

Brett and I have some beautiful houseplants in our living room, and I have some free time on my hands, so I wanted to share their beauty with the world.  Please feel free to comment, ask questions, leave suggestions, etc.  I'll update with new pictures periodically.


This is our Dracaena Fragrans, aka corn plant, that I got about 3 years ago from a mom-n-pop plant store in the Vietnamese neighborhood in Uptown here in Chicago.

I've always had a little trouble with yellowing and warping of the leaves, and drying tips, and I try my hardest to keep it on a regular watering schedule, but it can be hard to tell.  I give it 1 1/2- 2 quarts of water every two weeks.  Also note its pot is non-draining.  It seems to be doing pretty well, I think.  I bought it in the brown clay pot the tiny money tree is in now at the very bottom of the post, so that shows you how much it's grown.  It's been very resilient. 

This is our larger Croton, Codiaeum variegatum.  I got both of our Crotons from Home Depot, where they seem to be a popular selection.  I enjoy buying small, crowded, generally unhappy plants and letting them grow.  This guy came in one small pot crowded next to what is now our lesser croton plant, further below.   These are more picky so I spray them a few times a week and give them about a quart of water once a week, again they're in non-draining pots. 

It does have three tiny, infant leaves right at the top of the main stalk.  They can't be more than a week old, but they move fast.  They're still too small to see here.

This is a Spotted Dumb Cane (thanks Nancy!), or Dieffenbachia Amoena.  The leaves have gotten much bigger and much whiter since I bought it about a year ago from Home Depot.  It's getting much more sunlight than it did before, I imagine.  This pot does drain, so it needs more water.  I give this one about 1/2 quart every two days.

Here is our lesser Croton, much happier since it left the little crowded pot, and still not quite grown in to its big pot yet.  It has a beautiful new generation- 3 toddler-aged leaves right in the middle.

And this is a tiny, brand new little money tree, Pachira aquatica, I just procured.  It has a beautiful braided trunk, and it was by far the smallest specimen at the store.  From the looks of its siblings, these leaves may get quite large and tall.  It has some growing-in to do of its own.