Friday, June 3, 2011

Name that Houseplant

When we first moved here, my family sent us a potted plant. It was big and gorgeous, but it had no instructions or list of what plants were in it. We have since repotted all five of them into separate pots. 

We have our guesses as to what they are, but we're a little unsure. So, if you are plant-minded, or just like to google obsessively, here is your chance to guess what plants they are. We'd like to know so that we know how to take care of them and if they are at all poisonous to small people 

Our best guess for this one is Begonia. It's kinda redish, greenish and has produced no flowers.

This is likely a peace lily. It has now flowered twice, but the leaves keep going yellow, so we're not sure what we're doing wrong.
We have no idea what this is. Kinda looks like the top of a pineapple.



This is Ivy, pretty much for sure.

Bamboo Palm? Some other kind of palm? Is this going to get big?

Okay, so this is definitely a Gerber Daisy. It's not part of the guessing, it's just cute.

This is also not part of the guessing, it's just awesome. We planted some orange and lemon seeds and they all sprouted! They get bigger and bigger every day and it's so cool to watch.
Not sure what this one is. It's kinda papery. 


7 comments:

  1. Second one down: peace lily. The leaf thing might be not enough sun - the bigger the leaves, the more sun a plant needs. Third one down looks like a flowering ginger plant. The "blooms" are usually dark pink/red and are the top part of the plant. Ivy is correct, and it is actually poisonous for babies and cats. Keep it out of reach. Your palmish one is quite likely to get big.

    The papery one looks like an iris. Beware: they propagate like mad! ;)

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  2. I think the third one is a bromeliad. I had one once and it died quite spectacularly, probably from under-watering. I love that you have houseplants, I find very few people do. I have extra aloe and shamrocks if you want to expand your collection!

    Jane

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  3. Bottom one is definitely a construction paper plant. I'd stake my life on it. It may be a butcher paper plant, but then I would lose my life, wouldn't I?

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  4. I am so impressed that your plants are still alive! Way to go!

    The leaf shape of the first one looks similar to a plant I have - I think it's a philodendron, but I don't know if they come in that colour. I had a plant like the third one down when we were in Winnipeg. Amazingly it managed to stay alive in our north facing apartment. You can also plant the top of a pineapple, but it wouldn't be quite as pretty. I think the palm type one looks like ginger. At least, it looks like what came up when I planted a little piece of ginger that had sprouted in my cupboard.

    I love Gerbera daisies. I hope yours lives a long and happy life!

    By the way, I love the new look of your blog. :)

    And Sam says, "Ooo ooo oooh! Please can you write ooo ooo oooh for a funny word?" He loved G's plant.

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  5. top most I would tend to agree to be a philodendron, and by the look, could be a Red Congo. bright indirect light. partial to full shade. stem juices of philodendron are poisonous and can cause skin irritation in some individuals

    Peace lily: yellowing/browning is due to inappropriate watering, either too much or too little. Try to water slowly and not in one small area. Could also be from direct sunlight, which as you might have guessed, is not its forte...

    third one from top is actually a variety of Dracaena. Easy to take care kinda plant, no direct sunlight, watering once every 10 days or so depending on surrounding temperature.

    Mimi ;)

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  6. Oooh! Ding, ding, we have a winner. The third one is totally a Janet Craig Dracaena. It looks exactly like the pictures I've found.

    I'm not convinced that the first one is a philodendron. The leaf shape doesn't really look the same as the pictures I'm finding.

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  7. hummmm... call it Janet then.... or not original enough?

    really not a philodendron... leaves usually look spear-shaped or heart-shaped...
    oh well, the mystery is still intact

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