Caring for Your Plants in Unnatural Environments? 60
spoier asks: "Like many other hi-tech workers, I spend most of my days in a mostly dark cube, with only the tiniest sliver of daylight visible off in the distance over the rat maze.
I would really like to have some plants around me to make this environment a little more habitable, does anyone know of plants that will thrive under these very low-light conditions?"
'lucky' bamboo (Score:4, Interesting)
See this faq [natureperfect.com] for more details (and you can order online, too). I just googled for this at random.
Just don't make the mistake of planting it at home (Score:1)
For the love of god (and your own sanity) avoid bamboo!
Re:'lucky' bamboo (Score:1)
Re:'lucky' bamboo (Score:2)
-Peter
Re:'lucky' bamboo (Score:1)
Grow Lights (Score:1)
I also prefer them to "regular" light bulbs for people lighting. The light is a bit closer to actual sunlight [insert slashdot reader skin tone comment] and is much easier on the eyes.
Philips has their own offering, but personally I find them inferior, more like standard light bulbs with a cheap blue tint.
One of these and a fast-growing vining plant, like Moonflowers (also available at Wally World, any idiot can make them thrive with enough light and water), and you'll be bathed in hand made oxygen within a matter of weeks.
Philodendrons -- the Geek's Green Friend (Score:3, Informative)
-Simon
Re:Philodendrons -- the Geek's Green Friend (Score:2)
Mushrooms. (Score:3, Funny)
Now remember mods, theres trolling, then theres HUMOR. THe above is an example of HUMOR. Understand?
Mushrooms .... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Mushrooms .... (Score:2)
Re:Mushrooms .... (Score:1)
One Word (Score:1)
A home for the elderly on Mars?! (Score:1)
Pothos! (Score:3, Informative)
As always, Google gives us some good article [abc.net.au]s.
You can grow just about everything if you buy a small florescent bulb- you can get them pretty cheap. Mount it under a cabinet/shelf on your desk, and leave it on when you're at work. No need to buy a more expensive "grow lamp" either, unless you really want to encourage flowering. The only diff between grow lamps and regular florescent lamps is that grow lamps output more than regulars on the red band, which encourages flowering. (think end-of-summertime sun)
Re:Pothos! (Score:2)
Cacti (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Cacti (Score:1)
In reality, what they do is go dormant and prepare to die, like any other plants. It's just that cacti take longer to die, and they look good meanwhile.
Re:Have you considered fungus? (Score:3, Informative)
I've only managed to grow one mushroom indoors and that is one that grows in a pot with a type of shamrock. I didn't even try to plant it. It just appeared! It is the only mushroom I know of to commonly appear in houseplants (the lemon-yellow lepiota or Lepiota Lutea) and is poionous if ingested. So while "mushrooms" is an amusing answer to your query, it is in no way practical at all.
And yes, it is "technically" a plant, part of a major division of the plant kingdom known as "non-flowering" plants which includes hornwarts, lichens, mosses, some palms and evergreen trees.
Re:Have you considered fungus? (Score:2)
Most people are taught early [biology4kids.com] that there are five kingdoms, and Plantae and Fungi are seperate. Animalia, Protista and Monera round out the group. Mushrooms are not plants. Not even venusian ones available via mail order that try to take over the world.
--
Evan
Re:Have you considered fungus? (Score:2)
Re:Have you considered fungus? (Score:1)
The Monera kingdom is also split into two kingdoms, one for "regular" bacteria, and another one for Archaeobacteria.
Re:Have you considered fungus? (Score:1)
Re:Have you considered fungus? (Score:2)
--
Evan
Re:Have you considered fungus? (Score:2)
Re:Have you considered fungus? (Score:1)
Stephen J. Gould recognized only 3 kingdoms:
Archaeia ( spelling there? ), or primitive/original bacteria
Bacteria ( the normal ones, not the 130C eats-bedrock-and-steam variety ), and
Everything Else
He based this on genetics/cladistics ( dividing species by genetics, rather than by appearance: putting rabbits in with primates rather than rodents, ferinstance )
I say the evidence is correct, no matter what Established Knowledge say about the pattern of reality.
Also, it's been discovered recently that fungi are closer to animals than to plants, genetically ( sorta explains slime-molds, eh? - plants aren't usually that ambulatory, trifids excepted )
Ch-ch-ch... (Score:1)
Re:Ch-ch-ch... (Score:1)
Re:Ch-ch-ch... (Score:2)
For easy care and satisfaction... (Score:5, Informative)
Obvious (Score:3, Funny)
Has anyone mentioned MUSHROOMS?
Oh.. darn.
Re:Obvious (Score:2)
Other than mushrooms... (Score:1)
Ivy! (Score:2)
Ivy spends a lot of time growing in the shade anyway, as it climbs trees and whatnot, so it's fairly natural for it. I've often gone more than a week without watering mine and it's been fine.
Lastly, I call the ivy "George" after the ivy from which it was cut, 10 or so years ago. That ivy came from a plant mom had in Australia in the 60s - the stuff lives forever!
something for the geek... (Score:1)
Snake Plants (Score:2, Insightful)
there's plenty of plants, try looking in books! (Score:2, Informative)
Plants are great, they add some living vibe to a sterile area. There are many plants that will grow and grow in a shady room and some that will even tolerate you not watering them for 2 weeks.
Here's a list from my trusty book
[The Houseplant Expert - Dr D. G. Hessayon]
Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema)
Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria)
Asparagus
Aspidistra [I have 2 at home] (this is a good one, the Victorians called then "Cast Iron Plants" because they are so hardy. You can keep them in dark rooms and forget to water them and they still thrive)
Begonias [1 in my cube] (non flowering types)
Air Plants [1 on my monitor] (don't even need watering)
Spider Plants [and they can breed like crazy - I pop them in a jam jar with a bit of soil and stick them in the spaces aroudn the house] (Chlorophytum)
Dumb Cane (Dieffenbachia)
Madagascar Dragon Tree (Dracaena Marginata)
Corn Palm (Dracaena Fragrans
Amzon Lilly (Eucharis) - has flowers
Ferns - most
Ficus (figs) [i've got 2 trees] - Creeping Fig - the trees grow slowly but in doing so become valuable like $100 for a 4 yo
Net Leafs (Fittonia)
Marantas (all varieties)
& their cousins the Calatheas
Swiss Cheese (Monstera family)
Palms (yes those) [good foliage - hardy to no watering - I have some]
Philodendron
Pilea (such as Aluminium Plant, Creeping Charlie, Artillery Plant, Black Leaf Panamiga)
Plectranthus (Swedish Ivy, Candle Plant)
Polyscias [in my kitchen] (such as Dinner Plate Aralia or Ming Aralia)
Selaginella
Senecio (not a true ivy, the true ivy needs sun but these like semi-shade)
Sonerila
Stenotaphrum (Buffalo Grass) - will lose it's varigation in shade
Vines (well some - Begonia Vine [Cissus Discolor] & Cape Green [Rhoicissus Capensis])
Aluminum pilea (Score:1)
Re:there's plenty of plants, try looking in books! (Score:1)
just how big IS your cubicle????
Speak from experience, not from books... (Score:1)
Plastic Ones! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Plastic Ones! (Score:1)
Or they rust... The metal wires inside plastic plants were not meant for a beach environment. Who'd have thought that plastic plants would be made so cheaply.
My collection (Score:2)
Re:My collection (Score:1)
plants suggestion (Score:2)
Another option is african violets. Just don't put water on the leaves; mist underneath them.
thats al i can think of right now.
Potato (Score:2)
Biggest cubicle plant growth bang for the buck: (Score:1)
Why spend any real money? A few dollars is all you need. Don't buy grow lights if you can do the above -- they're a total waste of money. Only buy grow lights if you cannot leave your lights on. Fluorescent light is MUCH better than incandescent light for plants, unlike humans. Fluorescent grow lights are extra nice, but can be really expensive.
The closer you can get your plants to the bulbs/tubes, the better. The brighter the better. The more direct the better. The "overhead" fluorescents don't count, unless you can put your plant close to the ceiling.
In my case, my cube has fluorescents under the cabinets/shelves, so I get very direct lighting on my desk. By just elevating a plant a few inches (or centimeters for those who like that sort of thing) closer to the lights, where the leaves almost touch the lights, you'll have a profound improvement in growth. Remember that light falls off at an inverse square of the distance to a light source. So, 2x the distance is 1/4x the light; 3x the distance is 1/9x the light, etc.
I've watched several plants on the brink of death (still with some green in them, though) perked up in 2-3 days by doing the above. Somebody at work was asking how to perk up two of her almost DOA plants, or else she was going to pitch them, since they looked badly. By following my advice, they're huge, healthy, and actually bushy. (Yes, for only $9.95 you get all this, but wait, there's more....
I've read that since the mercury vapor and phosphorous combo in fluorescent lights mostly produce green and blue light (with warm lights adding red phosphors which don't help much,) plants thrive in fluorescent light and fare MUCH better there than they would in incandescent light. Sun light is best, of course, but that's in short supply in your/my case.
Some plants require special care, such as acid soil, so read the label about those. If your plant gets too big, you may need to replant in a bigger pot. I wouldn't subject a Bonsai to your cube. Not responsible for damages, fires, electrocution by mixing water and electricity together, rain forests in your cube, etc. YMMV. IANAL. Drive at your own risk.
One nice thing though, for the sake of others. Buy plants that don't pollinate, for the sake of your coworkers that have allergies. And don't over/under water, since too much water breeds mold and too little causes dust. Mold and dust also cause major allergy problems.
Re:Biggest cubicle plant growth bang for the buck: (Score:2)
Actually, that would work well against plant longevity. Chlorophyll-a and chlorophyll-b have their weakest absorption in the 500-600 nm range, which is the color green. This, obviously, is why plants are green -- because they reflect that light instead of absorbing it. Red and blue is where almost all the energy that plants absorb comes from.
Try a Nephthytis (Score:1)
http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/envirohort/facts heets/pottedplants/nephthy.html [vt.edu]