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Caring for Your Plants in Unnatural Environments? 60

Posted by Cliff from the most-cubes-are-drab-yours-doesn't-have-to-be dept.
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?"
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Caring for Your Plants in Unnatural Environments? More

Caring for Your Plants in Unnatural Environments?

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  • 'lucky' bamboo (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Frumious ( 1000 ) on Thursday August 29, 2002 @10:47PM (#4167992) Homepage
    Lucky bamboo (a few 8-10 inch cuts of bamboo bound together with a silver or gold twist-tie) needs very little light. You can find it at places such as IKEA, along with a vase and some glass stones or real stones to put it in, or you can often find 'prebuilt' sprigs of bamboo in a vase being sold from a cart at your local mall.

    See this faq [natureperfect.com] for more details (and you can order online, too). I just googled for this at random.
    • I bought a house that someone planted bamboo in the back yard and then rented the house out for a few years. The bushes are trees, the trees are death traps (need to be pruned of dead limbs) the yard is all weeds (at least it's green) and the bamboo is covering 1/3 the back yard and has crossed over into several neighbors yards.

      For the love of god (and your own sanity) avoid bamboo!
    • One point that people should know. 'lucky bamboo' is -not- the same plant as the bamboo most people are familiar with. It does not get much if any bigger than how you buy it, unlike real bamboo, which tends to...well....grow.
      • I'm no bamboo expert, but my understanding is that no type of bamboo grows any taller once it is cut.

        -Peter
        • The problem with bamboo is not that it grows taller, the problem is that it spreads out like crazy. If you have bamboo in one area, it's roots will spread out and will spawn new plants several feet away. I once had some dwarf bamboo in my yard, the "dwarf" however only related to the parts above ground. I had to take it out, otherwise it would have overtaken the neighborhood. Once the main plant was out, it took about a year until we got rid of all traces of the plant below and above ground.
  • My personal favorite are GE brand grow lights, available retail at Wal Mart. They used to be marketed under the name Grow-n-Show, but I think it's something different now. Look for a bluish frosted tint on the bulb. I've never tried the flourescent tube variety, but the incandescent standard and floodlight style bulbs kick ass! You can just about watch the plants grow under these things.

    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)

    by simonfunk ( 592887 ) on Thursday August 29, 2002 @10:55PM (#4168028) Homepage
    Philodendrons [evergrowing.com] do great in a cubicle. I had one for years. Actually, I still have it, twelve years later, though now it's on a bookshelf at home. When it gets stragly looking, I give it a haircut, and it just leaps back stronger than ever. No fertalizer in all that time, and I only water it a couple times a month tops (but soak it when I do). Nice looking plants, too. (here's a recent pic [interstice.com] that shows some of it.)

    -Simon

    • I have to second this - the facilities crew here has these things ALL OVER the place - in fact, they have had planter boxes built that snap right on the top of the cube walls In the 2 months I've been here, they've watered them like 4 times, and I've pulled about 10 yellowing leaves off of 2 large planter boxes full of plant.

  • Mushrooms. (Score:3, Funny)

    by Unknown Poltroon ( 31628 ) <unknown_poltroon1sp@myahoo.com> on Thursday August 29, 2002 @10:57PM (#4168037)
    No, not that kind you stoner.

    Now remember mods, theres trolling, then theres HUMOR. THe above is an example of HUMOR. Understand?

  • Mushrooms .... (Score:4, Funny)

    by RabidMonkey ( 30447 ) <canadaboy@g[ ]l.com ['mai' in gap]> on Thursday August 29, 2002 @11:08PM (#4168079) Homepage
    and other fungi. They grow especially well in large corporate envrionments - they're normally laden with bullshit ...

  • Plastic
  • Heh, I first read "Caring for Your Parents in Unnatural Environments".

  • Pothos! (Score:3, Informative)

    by RevAaron ( 125240 ) <`revaaron' `at' `hotmail.com'> on Friday August 30, 2002 @12:26AM (#4168130) Homepage
    Pothos [4abasket.com] are plants they do great on neglect- they do fine in low light and not-so frequent watering.

    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)
    • I second this. When I was in high school we had to keep a plant or animal alive for the entire year or lose a large amount of credit in some science class (I've tried to forget and I think I've succeded!). My mother got me a pothos. I watered once or twice a month and it thrived. It was a hardy little devil too. Over X-mas I dangled a couple of the runners into the aquarium next to my plant. (I've seen pothos spread all the way around a room when there was half a dozen aquariums to dangle in along the way) Well school started up again 2-3 weeks later. On the first day back, the teacher asked me why I was trying to kill my plant. She said that the aquarium was full of bleach (trying to cleanse it from the dead fish that were once in it). Sure enough when I went over to it, there was a very strong smell of bleach. The leaves of my pothos were cool as hell. Everywhere there was a vein, it was snow white. It looked awesome. I still have that plant back home all these years later. Stout little bugger. On a side note, there was no bleach in the aquarium before X-mas. I have an excellent nose and would have noticed that. I'm convinced that the bitch teacher did that. grrr.... Now I'm starting to remember!

  • Cacti (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Bistronaut ( 267467 ) on Friday August 30, 2002 @12:32AM (#4168143) Homepage Journal
    I have a cactus in my office that never gets natural light (I keep my window shaded to prevent glare on my monitor). In fact, I don't water it either. I don't know how, but it still looks as healthy as the day I bought it (almost). I googled and found this site [nodak.edu] about caring for cacti.
    • Well, many true cacti will look good under little or no light -- iff you give them no water.
      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.
  • Chia pets! Don't ask me why I keep commenting on a story that doesn't interest me, because I don't know.

    • Actually, Chia Pets require good moisture and a medium amount of sunlight at the least (after all, they are sprouted seeds).
    • According to my Dad chia seeds are an excellent energy food. I haven't verified this personally, but he was quite fond of them when he was working 10-12 hour days in construction.

  • For easy care and satisfaction... (Score:5, Informative)

    by Dancing Tree ( 536870 ) on Friday August 30, 2002 @12:58AM (#4168213) Homepage
    ...I recommend spider plants. You just stick them in some water and they grow just fine, they don't even need soil. You can buy one potted for pretty cheap at any home center (you can probably get one for around $1.99). When it forms runners, you can cut them off and place the leaf clusters in water and they *will thrive*! You can also try to find a friend who already has a spider plant and get clippings from them. Once the cluster has developed a root system, you can then pot it in soil or leave it in water, either way! I've had one spider plant for 15 years. I don't know how many years my mother had it before that. I've rooted many plants off of it too. You can let potted spider plants dry out even. They'll start to look like they need some water but will survive this way for a l-o-n-g time. Just give them some water and they bounce right back! If you water them regularly, they get downright jungle on you. They can do well in everything from direct sunlight to very little light at all. This will affect how deep a green they are (along with water) and will also determine whether or not they form yellow colored veins. These are truly hardy plants. The only way I know of to kill them is to let one (not in soil) dry out for a few weeks, or, let one (in soil) dry out for over a month. I've never fertilized one, ever, just watered. Sometimes I put the dead leaf clippings back into the pot. If you want, you can put them under a grow light. If they get enough light, they will produce runners with very small white flowers (they don't really have any odor that you would notice). These are really great plants and they produce some great oxygen! So grab a spider and get growing!

  • Obvious (Score:3, Funny)

    by flikx ( 191915 ) on Friday August 30, 2002 @01:15AM (#4168253) Homepage Journal

    Has anyone mentioned MUSHROOMS?

    Oh.. darn.

    • Heh. Sometimes I wonder if people at Slashdot even know what plant IS to keep suggesting mushrooms. Plus, I don't think a musty grey or brown mushroom does much to liven up a darkened space.
  • There are other plants that have been reputed to be able to grow in any environment. But some might get you arrested. Or some of your office workers might harvest your crops.
  • I've had ivies for years, and they do very well. I have a pretty bushy one at work now, with many stalks (fronds? tendrils? shoots?) over 10 feet long. It's cool to drape them over stuff.

    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!
  • You could try to build a pressurized aquarium and put in a few deep-water fish; they're blind anyway, so they don't care about the missing light ;-)

  • Snake Plants (Score:2, Insightful)

    by chewedtoothpick ( 564184 )
    They are very popular and I have had great luck with thim in my very low-light basement office. They need a lot of water (at least 2 times a week) and are slow-growing without monthly miracle-grow, but they are very beautiful. They are also easy-to-find and cheap. You may be better off jst buying a garner's UV light though...
  • You want foliage plants rather than flowerers. You know, the sort of plants that grow on the forest floor.

    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])

    • I've had one of these for 6 years. I bought it for $1.99 on whim and it just won't die. I can't even remember how many times I've done things to it that would have a lesser plant crying out for mercy. I've let it go a couple of weeks without water, I've dropped it, I had in my dark dorm room for 2 years, etc. Each time, it just comes back from the dead. If you clip off a living portion and put it in water, it'll sprout roots in about a week.
    • Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema)
      Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria) ...
      Madagascar Dragon Tree (Dracaena Marginata) ...

      just how big IS your cubicle????
    • Everyone's conditions are different and those used in books may not match your workplace environment (which are usually colder and dryer than most houses). Chinese Evergreen will NOT last on a sliver of light. Low light, yes, but under house equivalent lights it will die. Plants are also sensitive to toxins (even if they do clean the air) so you might want to be concerned about how much fabricated furniture (and associated fabrication fumes/resins/etc) will be slowly suffocating your plant.

  • Plastic Ones! (Score:3, Funny)

    by Steve Cox ( 207680 ) on Friday August 30, 2002 @04:27AM (#4168555)
    Though plastic ones tend not to thrive, but rather remain constant (until some jerk starts pulling bits off of them).

    • Though plastic ones tend not to thrive, but rather remain constant (until some jerk starts pulling bits off of them).
      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.
  • Snake plants, which, from my understanding, are nearly impossible to kill, and so far I've proven true. Ditto for spider plants. Any kind of cactus, especially jade. Papyrus grows pretty well. You can submerge the pot in a bucket of water (how it normally grows anyways) and it'll pretty much just 'live' (unless, like me, you have cats that seem to enjoy the taste of it. Also, you could try mold, mildew, or any number of fungi (mushrooms should grow well in an office, what with all the bullshit ;). Failing that, check the break-room fridge and see what's already growing there, then just move it to your cube. Chia-sandwich!
    • Again, people need ot talk about their work/home conditions. I've reduced a jade plant to a small percentage of its original leaves due to sliver of sunlight conditions. This was a residence in Washington with nice humid conditions and home lighting when the sliver of sunlight was not present.
  • A spathiphylum is good. Just remember to give the leaves a wipe with a damp cloth every so often. And to fertilise occasionally.
    Another option is african violets. Just don't put water on the leaves; mist underneath them.
    thats al i can think of right now.

  • I know, it's silly. But I've had potatoes grow to a huge size in my cupboards... They're really a perfect plant - you don't need to water or feed them, and you can eat them too!
  • Most (indoor) plants I've tried thrive under cheapy fluorescent lights. If you can place a plant *directly* under a flurorescent light 24 by 7, water it often, and use some cheapy fertilizer/indoor bug killer here and there, it should totally thrive.

    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.
    • 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.

      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.
  • I have one on my desk. They grow well in any light and you can pick one up from a home despot^Wdepot or grocery store for a few bucks. Here is some official looking information about them:

    http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/envirohort/facts heets/pottedplants/nephthy.html [vt.edu]

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