Plants for Cubicles? 150
Frank of Earth asks: "Our company recently moved to a new location and I was lucky enough to get a cube with a window. Now that I actually can benefit from sunshine, I thought it would be cool to grow something in a potted container. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a lot of information on growing plants in your cube. Most of the indoor plant growing topics I found are related to illegal types of plant growing you do in your closet. What types of plants make good cube plants with a geek flare? Rather than just growing a boring spider plant, I would like to grow something cool like a fruit or vegetable. If you've had experience growing something unique, please post your thoughts!" What kind of plant would you grow in your cubicle?
Get an Amarilys (Score:3, Informative)
Plus the time it takes to grow will make everyone wonder what's going on, and before long, everyone will pay you a visit everyday to see how it's doing.
And when it finally blooms, everyone will congratulate you for a job well done!
Re:Get an Amarilys (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Get an Amarilys (Score:1)
Bonsai Tree (Score:2)
Re:Bonsai Tree (Score:2, Informative)
Another thing to consider is that there are actually many types of bonsai trees, each with their own distinct style. Check out http://www.bonsaisite.com/ [bonsaisite.com] for lots of good info styles, growing and care of bonsai trees.
Re:Bonsai Tree (Score:3, Interesting)
OK, ok, you wanted fruits and vegetables---I would suggest peppers. They grow pretty quickly, aren't hard to grow, and you can use them in your lunches.
Also, you can cultivate morning glories. They're not actually illegal (it's just illegal to consume the seeds), and I'm sure once you have a batch of seeds, a few people will covertly approach you and ask to buy some seeds off of you. It's not illegal to sell seeds (as long as you don't know they're being used illicitly), so you'd
Re:Bonsai Tree (Score:2)
woot! (Score:4, Funny)
Thankfully I didn't use any links to my homepage-- that would have been really stupid and costly [ignore the links in my signature!]
Plants? (Score:3, Funny)
You mean those crispy, brown things...
Re:woot! (Score:1, Funny)
Re:woot! (Score:2)
You're right, I should have used flair. At least I used the correct "you're" in this post.
Re:woot! (Score:2)
Lighting a grill [archive.org] with liquid oxygen would probably count.
you know you want it (Score:3, Funny)
Re:you know you want it (Score:1)
I would recommend a cactus, small, simple, easy to take care of. Doesn't need a lot of water all the time, so if you take a week or two off, you don't have to worry about it dying if someone forgets to water it one day.
Re:you know you want it (Score:3, Funny)
Re:you know you want it (Score:3, Informative)
Take a look at this excellent video guide [pot-tv.net] for step by step instructions..
A large tray of wheatgrass? (Score:3, Informative)
I think it would really impress them.
You could start wearing animal hides as well, that's also impressive.
(seriously though, wheatgrass is easy to grow, and you can nibble on it or juice it)
Re:A large tray of wheatgrass? (Score:2)
Exactly! I've found that communal grazing with the client is best followed with some grooming.
You can feel through his pelt for little goodies -- him being the more dominant (customer) you'll probably find he doesn't usually groom you. But occasionally you might get a
bonsai!! (Score:3, Informative)
Occasionally the fern will droop down low enough to get in the way of my screen. This is a really good indicator that the plants need watering.
Re:bonsai!! (Score:2)
The BPFH: Dionaea Muscipula (Score:3, Funny)
Re:The BPFH: Dionaea Muscipula (Score:2)
Everybody loves lemonade... (Score:2, Informative)
Anyway, the plant smells nice and it's quite resilient - my sister had a larger one in her room for almost 15 years.
Re:Everybody loves lemonade... (Score:1)
Re:Everybody loves lemonade... (Score:2, Informative)
Not exactly a cubicle, but... (Score:1)
Being a biologist (but not a botanist) I've experimented with various plants. Currently I have 3 pothos (philodendron) vines, and a small palm tree. The vines are great, you can drape them over anything and they bring a nice natural look to an artificial environment. They don't require a lot of light, and only need watered once a week. On the first of the month, I usually spike their drink with a bit of fertilizer (Miracle grow) to replace ni
Re:One thing I forgot... (Score:1)
Ask the experts (Score:1)
You could also consult your local home improvement store or nursery, which ever one you know where is.
Cactii (Score:4, Informative)
They require little care (water once a week during the warm months, none at all during the cold months, fertilize once a year), so they can survive vacations and weekends unattended.
Cactii come in all kinds of strange, unique geeky forms, and several produce weird looking edible fruit.
Look up epiphyllum catus, beautifull flowers, and fruit that tastes like passionfruit (smell before eating, goes bad very fast).
Most mammillarias produce small red edible fruits, and some have very interesting shapes. Look up mamillaria elongata cristate, or Mammillaria bocasana 'Fred', one of my favourites.
If you like really weird shapes, look up Euphorbias, I specially like my Euphorbia obesa cristate.
Note: Cristate means a Crested fromd of the plant. They usually look like brains.
Re:Cactii (Score:2)
Plus it's hilarious when cow-orkers walk up and say "Hey, is that sharp? OW!!"
Shade loving species (Score:2)
Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia! (Score:3, Interesting)
I grow mold all the time, but nobody seems to be interested or impressed.
Bamboo or Sprouts (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Bamboo or Sprouts (Score:2)
Could agree more with Bamboo. I have three big sticks in a nice ceramic vase on my vase and it'd terrific. It's maintainence free as well; I've had it on my desk for about and year and a half and had to water it 2-3 times. It's the best kind of plant for a guy like myself that often kills them.
Something hardy (Score:3, Interesting)
I like jade plants [tamu.edu]. They're very long-lived, and don't require much care beyond watering every couple of weeks. When they get older, they start to look like miniature trees.
Re:Something hardy (Score:2)
You could try growing Kudzu [ua.edu], that seems like it fends for itself [jjanthony.com] pretty well. Also, you are not going to be hassled by your fellow cubicle mates asking for cuttings; they'll get them whether they want them or not. If they've got their own plants already, well that's just too bad... Best of all, if you are running Red Hat it will even configure your hardware [redhat.com] for you, so there's a definite geek connection too... ;)
Kudzu... (Score:2)
Believe it or not, I've been wondering what it would take to get some of that. I get the impression that since it went nuts in the southern states it's hard to get elsewhere (people afraid of it taking over...)
If somebody would engineer some oil-producing genes into the stuff we could solve our fuel problems virtually overnight (biodiesel is our friend). I imagine the remains from processing the oil could be pressed into cheap building material, too...
Re:Kudzu... (Score:2)
Just don't get caught bringing it home. I believe it's a felony to transport it.
Re:Something hardy (Score:2)
My ex girlfriend gave me one of these... 8 years ago. It's now four plants, I have to give some away.
These things make great gifts. We broke up on very amicable terms and had a great relationship, so it's a happy little plant to have around.
I'm having some luck with bamboo too. Seems to be quite resiliant, maybe up there with spider plants and devil's ivy.
An obvious choice... (Score:2)
Tasty! [google.com]
I mean, the parallelism alone would be great!
And when you're done, you could probably use the husk to create a diorama of you growing it in your cube for an extra bit of surrealism in your day.
Euphorbia tirucalli (Score:2)
A monstera [desert-tropicals.com](aka split-leaf philodendron). They ar
If you're looking for something different (Score:2)
No idea what the lighting/watering requirements are, though it should be easy enough to find out.
Re:If you're looking for something different (Score:2, Informative)
as for light they don't like direct light
think swamp floor
I grow many house plants and Fly Traps are the only ones I cant keep alive
Coolest Looking Plant (Score:1)
http://http//www.firelily.com/firelily.html/ [http]
Dont know how Cubicle friendly..., but annoying for co-workers is part of your job....
Re:Coolest Looking Plant (Score:1)
The actual address really is a pic of a fire lily though.
Correct URL for Fire Lily (Score:2)
BTW, it appears to be a doctored photo of a lily. I'm not sure what the original poster was trying to suggest.
Small bamboo plant... (Score:3, Informative)
They do grow very slowly though. However, there are many very nicely arranged ones.
Start with some Basil.... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Start with some Basil.... (Score:2, Interesting)
"lucky enough to get a cube with a window" (Score:2)
Odd definition of lucky. How about working in a place where they actually treat you as a human being? (No cubicles at all?)
Re:"lucky enough to get a cube with a window" (Score:2)
Now if you will excuse me, it's 1:30 p.m. and time for my afternoon urination.
I like the edibles (Score:2)
Tomatoes were useful.
Corn was unwieldly after a bit,
Peanuts are next on the list.
Plants like these are a great way to break up the day and increase pleasure in the office.
Mushrooms? (Score:2)
If you're picky on the sort of mushrooms you want then it's hard...
Hint: don't eat them.
Orchids (Score:1)
Peppers. (Score:2)
Put some on your lunch, or give them away to your coworkers.
Re:Peppers. (Score:2)
Small is the key for an indoor setting. Just about any chile pepper will work inside as long as the sunlight is sufficient. Most common chiles grown in the US will stick to approximately 3ft tall by 2ft wide max (there are excep
Couple of suggestions (Score:1)
I like African Violets [google.com] - the foliage is nice, (and it's fuzzy!), and it has little blossoms year around. Lots of variety here.
Jade plants [google.com] are cool too. They're succulents - have sort of plump leaves.
Both of these are easy to care for and should do fine in medium light.
Re:Couple of suggestions (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Zinnias! (Score:2, Interesting)
How about an ecosystem (Score:2, Interesting)
http://www.gadgets.co.uk/eco-sphere-ecosphere-s
I thought of buying one myself, just for the geekfactor.
Re:How about an ecosystem (Score:1)
http://www.gadgets.co.uk/eco-sphere-ecosphere-shr
Re:How about an ecosystem (Score:2)
To recharge it is almost as expensive as buying a new one so I'm going to try to "recharge" it myself.
Here are a few links:
http://www.amazingtoystore.com/clearplasgeo.htm
http://http://livebrineshrimp.com/
Venus Fly Trap (Score:1)
Re:Venus Fly Trap (Score:2)
pineapple (Score:2, Interesting)
Get a Corn Plant (Dracaena Fragrans) (Score:2)
With some fertilizer, it decided to bloom and put out spectactularly-scented flowers.
http://www.evergrowing.com/tips/cornplant.htm [evergrowing.com]
Ask the experts (Score:3, Insightful)
1. for indoors (duh);
2. that will get light from [whatever direction your window faces];
3. that generally requires a drenching of water once a week, but can handle twice a week and won't die if it doesn't have water for two weeks.
They'll have a whole selection for you. Unless, of course, you'd rather stick with doing the equivalent of asking people in the gardening forum what kind of computer to buy for ordering seeds online.
I recommend (Score:2)
Dwarf tomato plants (Score:2, Informative)
A fern (Score:2, Interesting)
Of course, if you have some room and really want a conversation starter, grab yourself a "Laurier" [google.ca] (not sure of the english name). Its quite an impressive plant. Mine is 6 feet tall and lives with about 3 hours of direct sunlight+rest of the day in shade.
As a rule of thumb, avoid any plant which requires constant or high humidity, since the windows w
Habanero (Score:2)
Upside-down tomato garden (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Upside-down tomato garden (Score:2)
bonsai (Score:3, Interesting)
true geeks won't worry about the kind of plant... (Score:2)
-Derek
Fruit huh? (Score:2)
zerg (Score:2)
Potato! (Score:2, Funny)
herbs (Score:2)
Mints do well, but need a larger pot, lots of water, and will take over a good part of your window. The upside is that they smell great if you do so much as rub against the leaves, and the leaves are great as an herbal infusion.
If you
Ask HR first (Score:3, Insightful)
One large company I was with had very specific rules about what could and could not be kept in the office. While it seemed really petty and controlling on the surface, I was told that problems with insect infestation (especially ants) and allergy-causing plants were the reason.
Or you could always get a silk flower, and impress the ladies with your gardening skill. Just remember to dust it every week or so.
Corpseflower (Score:2)
Philodendron (Score:2)
Avacado (Score:3, Informative)
After a week to a month, the darned thing will sprout. You'll want to keep water in the bowl, and let it grow until you have 3 or 4 strong leaves. Then transplant to a small pot, keep it watered, and there you have it.
You won't get a full-sized tree (they grow 60' 70' tall in the wild) and you probably won't get fruit, but the leaves are pretty, and its cool to tell people that you're growing an avacodo tree.
This is a decent refs: at AllSands.com [allsands.com]. Of course a google for "growing avacado" will get 100s of results as well.
I've also grown small herbs (ha ha, not THAT herb) in office settings. Basil, oregano, thyme, some mints
Re:Avacado (Score:2)
Any idea what I did wrong?
Re:Avacado (Score:2)
Re:Avacado (Score:2)
Word of Warning (Score:4, Informative)
A coworker once had a plant in his cube, it became infested with some kind of mite. These mites then migrated through the halls to some other plants, can't recall if they killed the plants or what the deal was. Caused quite the stir, plants at desks were banned from then on.
A Pothos (Score:2)
Absolutely, Pothos can grow in just fluorescents (Score:2)
Re:Absolutely, Pothos can grow in just fluorescent (Score:2)
maybe you're the cubicle vegetable... (Score:2)
actually, you might consider any plant that's hydro/aeroponic friendly. take a look at the hyodponic gel, that supplies water and nutrients to your plants root system. spider plants are nice because of their broad light/heat/moisture requirements. so are the lucky bamboo plants, which are actually related to the corn plant and have no relation to bamboo at all. i actually have a spider plant in our kitchen(not too bright, 'cause it's next
Lots of Choices (Score:2)
I've got an interior office and my Spathiphyllum is doing just fine. I put it by the window over the weekend and when I'll be gone on a trip for a while. Most plants will go (even in a dry office) for a week without water if you make sure they're nice and moist before you leave.
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/b959-w.htm l [uga.edu]
Remember that overwatering can be just as bad as underwatering. And if you get someone to water your plant for you, make sure you casually run down how often they should wat
How about . . . (Score:2)
- A caudiform succulent. There are a lot of different kinds of these. They are very odd looking when dormant (which is a lot of the time). If you can get one, a Boojum Tree would be a good choice just for the name alone.
hoyas ! (Score:2)
Plumeria, Yummm! (Score:2)
The flowers are fragrant without being sickly so. Provided the office stays at least 70, you'll have leaves for all year except - say - Febrary, during which time you can blow off the watering. As long as the inside temp stays above 40, it'll come back big time in the spring. The branches are pretty thick and stay green, so it won't come off as spindly. When it gets too big fo
Habenero peppers! (Score:2)
dont get a bonzai (Score:2)
easy ones (Score:2)
For the ambitious, Andropogon gerardii or Acer abes.
Easy, Pretty & Impressive (Score:2)
You can buy a small one at Home Depot for under $3. They come in a huge range of colors, so pick one you like.
The KEY to cube-grown African Violets is the pot. A pair of nested "self watering" pots will give your African Violet the right amount of water all the time, while you just have to remember to check it ~once/week.
Again, Home Depot is your friend. They have a few pretty options in the under $10 range for smaller pots. Google [google.com]also provides a lot of