Indoor plants (Updated 2019)

I'm pretty sure some of my friends would be wondering how to maintain an indoor plant. Often I hear tell-tale stories of plants dying in a week's time or facing a major disaster when the whole plant just turn yellow and rot. So, here are some tips of how to handle a plant.

The most important factor is facing disappointment.
When you see a dying plant: What to do next?
In most cases, it might just be too late to do anything.
(this is based on my perception and experience)

Then, comes the next important question:
How then can one successfully have a thriving indoor plant?
Ahh... (that is the most important question to ask before having a plant indoors)

Let's get a fact right:
Most indoor plants are not naturally designed to remain long term in an indoor condition,
All of the indoors plants thrive well outdoor. So, when they are placed indoors they just sustain instead of thriving, their survival mode takes place as some species are hardy when you place them indoors.Some species last longer than others, and in most cases they seemed to adapt to the right condition in the room environment.
Again, it depends how versatile is the indoor condition: Is it like a store room or a greenhouse environment?

The most important factor you must consider is Lighting.
Office lighting is good compared to residential lighting.
(due to the working environment - bright lights are required in a workplace)
Place the indoor plant right above the lighting (or the plant will eventually trail to the nearest light source making it very unattractive and leggy)

The other factor that are important is water, soil (or medium) & maintenance.
The factor is different for each different species. I had discovered some require minimum watering but requires good lighting.

Once the plant is placed indoors for a long time, they may not able to handle the pressure when they are placed back outdoors (in most cases, they die out of stress)

These are some of the ideas of how to keep an indoor plants:
See pictures below


.
Mother in law tongue.
They can last for months without water, you can just cut the leaves and place them in long clear jars as decor piece. They will eventually dry-up unless you plant them in a soil.
.

.
These are known as lucky bamboo, they were brought from an outdoor environment. I had stripped off their leaves and reveal their inner beauty and best displayed indoors in this style.
.



.
Goose Foot Plant
.
They are very hardy and you can place pebbles or shells with water for the medium.
Also you can use soil (even without drainage)
.

.
Other plants that you can consider indoors are:
1) Dumbcane
2) Basket Plant
3) Marble Queen & Money plant (Epipremnum aureum) or Pothos
4) Mother in law Tongue
5) Dracaena species
6) Palms

There are more newer species introduced year after year, select the cheaper ones (if you are buying them)
.

HOW TO CULTIVATE AND CARE FOR INDOOR PLANTS:

DIFFERENT TYPES OF BEST INDOOR PLANTS:

Here are the list of the best indoor plants that can thrive and manage well indoors.

Do click on the names that will link you to detailed information about them
& their different cultivars in their species and also about their care & cultivation.

ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamifolia)

Dumb Cane Plant. (Dieffenbachia)

14 Different Types of Dieffenbachia - Names & Images

Mother In Law Tongue Plant or Snake Plant (Sansevieria)

Chinese Evergreen (Agloanema)

Agloanema (the Red Version)

Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)

Satin Pothos (Scindapsus pictus)

Philodendron species

10 Different Types of Philodendron - Names & Images

Thaumatophyllum Species

Monstera deliciosa

Monstera sp "Peru"

Monstera adansonii

DragonTail Plant  (Epiprennum pinnatum)

Arrowhead Plant  (Syngonium podophyllum)
10 Different Types of Colored Syngonium podophyllum - Names & Images.

Goose foot plant (Syngonium podophyllum)

Silver GooseFoot Plant  (Syngonium wendlandii)

Syngonium Erythrophyllum

Garden in my Office

I was taking a walk around my office area for my afternoon stroll (sort of making up for my exercise time and so I thought of using my one hour in brisk walking)
I had spotted several trees along the roadside and found this cluster of hanging fruits which really look very familiar.
I had once collected these seedpods and used it for my wedding decoration (found them fallen from a tree due to a strong thunderstorm) I had used it for a candle-light decoration where I placed tea-light candles inside the orange seed pods.

Known as the Peanut Tree fruit, (Sterculia quadrifida) said to be edible that the inner seeds taste like raw peanut. More information, click : Wikipedia.
There were much excitement concerning this Australian native plant in my office. I actually got it when it was a unopened olive coloured fruits, which eventually turned orange in a week's time.

Also another factor that took much of my time was giving away plants to my office mates, to date I manage to give away about 50 plants - in jars, pots and in decorative items. It had created a lot of plant frenzy in the office environment.

You can see it at the last two pictures below where I had sorted the plants in one of the office cubicles. These are indoors plants and they are doing great for some time now. I may have to give all of them away by this week before the long 1 week Chinese New Year Holidays.

I would like to wish a prosperous Chinese New Year to you.
In the matter of celebration - I'm pretty sure your garden will be auspiciously red and gold.

Something that is called "Duit-Duit"

I cannot find this plant's name, the closest I got was a felt fern but this is definitely not from a fern genes. So back to the research board (which is the google search of-course)
I remember during my school days where its known locally as "duit-duit" but again, when I search and found that its all the others that resembles the name (money) but not the one I'm seeking.

Well, I was fascinated when I first saw it and thought could this also do well together with the Spanish Moss - they do look good together and hoped that they might complement each other.
And so, I managed to rip few vines and fastened it and it did well for few months.
New shoots appeared but the leaflets are quite tiny compared to the previous ones.

If you do come across its name - do let me know, I really have no idea whats this one called.