# Houseplants or Outdoor Container plants, you're tending?



## Kaila (Jun 16, 2021)

I recently managed to acquire some small starter plants,
 and to get some of them planted outdoors, where I can see them from inside my windows.  That was the original goal.

They are plants sold in 6-packs, that are intended mostly for outdoors,
But,
 it occurred to me, that they are species that could survive indoors as well,
so I now have some of them indoors in pots, so I could possibly enjoy watching them up close, at least for a while, and perhaps for longer than those that are outdoors, into the next coming  colder seasons,
and instead of having had them all planted outdoors.

Some of the outdoor plants, do well indoors, if they tolerate or enjoy shade outdoors, then they get enough light indoors.

Has anyone else, done this?
Or does anyone have any small outdoor plants started in pots or containers?

I find that even having just a few houseplants, or a few plants in containers, when one is not able to have or plant an outdoor garden,
is a positive activity, and feels nurturing to the soul, and enjoyable, and adds interest to each day.


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## Kaila (Jun 16, 2021)

I used to mix my own potting soil, and start everything from seeds.
 I am no longer up to doing that, now, but it's still good for me to plant and tend something.

I got a bag of Strawberry Fields potting soil, for the first time, and it's quite a good, light mixture, for indoor pots,  or for outdoor containers,
or even for an outdoor bed for flowers or herbs or small fruits, etc.


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## SmoothSeas (Jun 16, 2021)

good for you!  you said you were gonna start a new thread and here it is.

as far as my collection of vintage flower pots go, they're all in storage, as well as most of my other household goods.  I moved in with my niece and her family and no longer have the square footage I once enjoyed.  Besides, the kitchen cabinets can hold so many mixing bowls and stockpots...

here's hopin' your new thread gains some attention...


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## terry123 (Jun 16, 2021)

I am growing some Japanese cucumbers on the patio.  They are climbing now and hope they will be blooming soon.  I am growing them as my sister does and she makes the most amazing pickles with them.  I will not be canning them but putting them in vinegar, salt and a little sugar for every day eating.  They are burpless too.


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## RadishRose (Jun 16, 2021)

I'm down to only one houseplant. One hanging plant outside and a pot of basil. I have no room anymore.


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## funsearcher! (Jun 16, 2021)

Three large pots with flowers, on the patio, which is mostly shade. Entertaining to watch the morning glories continue to climb the trellisse
s, changing overnight, Raised bed with vegs in sunny area.


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## RadishRose (Jun 16, 2021)

Awhile ago, I had a mature fox tail fern. It needed another transplant, but I never did it. Finally, the roots burst the clay pot to pieces!


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## SmoothSeas (Jun 16, 2021)

My niece has a HUGE Rose of Sharon bush running along the front porch.  When I landed here, around last Labor Day it was in full, luxurious flower.  What fun it was to sit and watch everything that came to feed - bees, butterflies, a wide variety of hummingbirds 

No flowers yet this season, but I'm anxiously waiting this seasonal display...


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## Kaila (Jun 16, 2021)

That is amazing,  @RadishRose 
 that your fern roots got so angry 
at their small quarters, 
_that they could break the clay pot!  

I also love that wall hanging of yours, with the leaves, etc., all silhouetted on the black background!_

Oh yes,  @SmoothSeas 
I had forgotten, but the rose of sharon is beautiful, and that's a nice thing for you to wait for and watch for, too!

All of the posts on this thread are interesting ones. 

An herb like Basil, that was mentioned,
 is an excellent choice for either an indoor or outdoor pot or container of any type.  It just bushes out more, as you take branches off, and using the leaves is so easy, delicious and versatile!


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## RadishRose (Jun 16, 2021)

Basil to me, is the herb of the gods! I even put a few leaves on a sandwich. 

Thanks @Kaila for your compliment on my botanical print.

Rose of Sharon in New England blooms late. One of the few shrubs in flower at that time of year.


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## Kaila (Jun 16, 2021)

I spotted another very small pot of plants on your patio,
@RadishRose  

Are those wee succulents of some type? 
 Hens and Chicks, perhaps?


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## RadishRose (Jun 16, 2021)

Kaila said:


> I spotted another very small pot of plants on your patio,
> @RadishRose
> 
> Are those wee succulents of some type?
> Hens and Chicks, perhaps?


Fake succulents, LOL! Not sure what they're supposed to be.


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## Kaila (Jun 16, 2021)

oops!  
I did, very briefly, consider that they _might_ be fake ones!  

Start a different thread (_Feel free to_.....  )
for and about, Fake plants, if you'd like!


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## RadishRose (Jun 16, 2021)

Not me.


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## Kaila (Jun 16, 2021)

But... @RadishRose  !
Please remember to tell us, if they start to grow!!!!


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## Becky1951 (Jun 16, 2021)

Sad to say I don't have a green thumb, but my DIL had a Philodendron and I cut one small vine that had 3 leaves on it last year and put it in a container of water and this is it today.


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## funsearcher! (Jun 16, 2021)

Hoping to block the parking lot view eventually this summer, but still have a lot of morning glory to grow!


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## Kaila (Jun 17, 2021)

The small starter plants for outdoors, that I wrote about in Post #1 of this thread,
are coleus, and begonia varieties, which both love shade outdoors,
so they often do well indoors as well.

I put some of them in small indoors pots, and they are doing fine, so far.  It's fun to watch them up close!


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## RadishRose (Jun 17, 2021)

I've grown both and agree they are wonderful shade plants! The coleus needs a lot of pinching. 

Do you like the tuberose begonias? I've only had them one year in my garden.


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## RadishRose (Jun 17, 2021)

Becky1951 said:


> Sad to say I don't have a green thumb, but my DIL had a Philodendron and I cut one small vine that had 3 leaves on it last year and put it in a container of water and this is it today. View attachment 169472


Becky, I forgot! I have one of these in the kitchen!


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## Robert59 (Jun 17, 2021)

Does this plant flower again this year? It flowered once a few weeks ago. It's a Oriental Lily. 

Thanks


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## JonDouglas (Jun 17, 2021)

No houseplants but several outdoor flower pots and one rose bush.


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## RadishRose (Jun 17, 2021)

Robert59 said:


> bDoes this plant flower again this year? It flowered once a few weeks ago. It's a Oriental Lily.
> 
> Thanks


Once all the buds have opened, it won't bloom until next year. The stalk and leaves have to ripen in the sun to restore energy back into the bulb.


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## Ronni (Jun 17, 2021)

I have so many plants!  I use plants inside as a decorating item plus our porch is overflowing with all kinds of plants. I also have plant pots around the exterior of the porxh and I’m growing both flowers and herbs in them. Did someone mention basil?


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## Ronni (Jun 17, 2021)

Here are some of my other outside plants


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## RadishRose (Jun 17, 2021)

Ronni said:


> I have so many plants!  I use plants inside as a decorating item plus our porch is overflowing with all kinds of plants. I also have plant pots around the exterior of the porxh and I’m growing both flowers and herbs in them. Did someone mention basil?
> View attachment 169655


Divine!


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## Keesha (Jun 17, 2021)

Becky1951 said:


> Sad to say I don't have a green thumbView attachment 169472


I will politely disagree. You DO have a green thumb NOW. That plant couldn’t be any healthier.


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## FastTrax (Jun 17, 2021)

I once thought I had a green thumb. I asked the plant store guy for yellow Sunflower seeds and he gave me some kind of green seeds labeled GPF Seeds from Monsanto. Well lo and behold the more green GPF Seeds I planted and the taller they grew the lower my towns population dwindled.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_of_the_Triffids_(film)






Go figure.


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## Kadee (Jun 17, 2021)

I have way to many plants mainly on my back verandah ….not only that I have a dozen or so fruit trees .
This a Begonia A shade spot only plant ,I’d like to know what it’s called cause I have a few spares to sell I think will fetch a good price on eBay  but not even the top people in the begonia club can name it for me .
I have 20+ different variety’s of begonias on my big back verandah ,they need protection from the sun wind and rain


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## Granny B. (Jun 18, 2021)

I've got an outdoor potted Rabbit's Foot fern that I've had for over 20 years. It's a miracle I haven't killed it.


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## Ken N Tx (Jun 18, 2021)

Knockout Roses planted after the Texas freeze..


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## Kaila (Jun 18, 2021)

RadishRose said:


> I've grown both and agree they are wonderful shade plants! The coleus needs a lot of pinching.
> 
> Do you like the tuberose begonias? I've only had them one year in my garden.


Thanks for reminding me how much , coleus benefits from pinching it!  I haven't had one in some recent years.

I love all sorts of begonias, including the ones in the photos here in this thread, from  @Kadee46   !
That fuzzy star-leafed one in her picture, was once one of my favorite types.

Current favorites are the taller ones, Dragon-Wing, and Copper-leaf Whopper,
as well as the short, common (and very inexpensive)
varieties often called _wax begonias,
which still bring a smile to my face, when I watch them grow and flower so profusely.

All of the above, have done well for me, at times in the past, whether indoors or outdoors._

I like Angel-wing type of begonia, too.


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## Kaila (Jun 18, 2021)

@Ronni 
Loved that pot of plentiful basil!  Could you move it a little closer to my computer screen, please, so I could pluck some?  You'll never notice it missing any.


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## RadishRose (Jun 18, 2021)

@Kadee46 grows one of my fav; the Rex Begonia. I can't!

Yes, the little wax begonias are very pretty. I once had a large-ish pot of them in the house.

There's a nursery here in CT called White Flower Farm. They grow tuberous begonias from England that are huge.





"At Connecticut’s White Flower Farm, a very special offering of tuberous begonias exists – if you live anywhere in the North East – a visit may be worthwhile – for the Blackmore & Langdon strain from the famed UK nursery, is by far, superior to Dutch strains which we so often find at home centers in the spring."




I visited the collection years ago. Walking into that greenhouse was breath taking.

https://growingwithplants.com/2016/08/the-lost-art-of-growing-tuberous/


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## timoc (Jun 18, 2021)

My next door neighbour bought a plant in a pot. A handsome looking specimen it was back in march when he planted it in his garden, he gave me the empty pot. 
Well his plant grew really fast, bigger and bigger until it was as high as his house roof. 
His wife was in the garden hanging washing out, when this plant seemed to arch down, then it sucked her up into a huge flower with a mouth. 
He came out looking for his missus, then the plant took a fancy to him as well, it swallowed him and then burped.
Overnight, that monster plant disappeared from the garden next door as though it had gone walkabouts.
I'm looking at the pot the plant was in, hold on a moment, there's a name on the pot, Trifidus or something like that.


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## Kaila (Jun 18, 2021)

@timoc
Have you ever considered moving house?
That plant might have caught sight of you, and despite that you hadn't appeared as tasty as the others, at the time, you never know what might happen in the future.....


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## Kaila (Jun 18, 2021)

RadishRose said:


> @Kadee46 grows one of my fav; the Rex Begonia. I can't!
> 
> Yes, the little wax begonias are very pretty. I once had a large-ish pot of them in the house.
> 
> There's a nursery here in CT called White Flower Farm. They grow tuberous begonias from England that are huge.


That place must have been wonderful to visit!

I love those Rex begonia's as well.


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## Liberty (Jun 18, 2021)

We've got lots of potted flowers on the back deck, including Portulaca and Mandevilla.  My favorite is this 5 ft. Gardenia I was fortunate enough to grow from a bouquet slip "soul" daughter brought me from her house a couple years ago.  The delicate white blossoms are so fragrant this southern gem perfumes the whole area.  Its blooming profusely!


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## Kaila (Jun 18, 2021)

Liberty said:


> We've got lots of potted flowers on the back deck, including Portulaca and Mandevilla. My favorite is this 5 ft. Gardenia


I didn't know that Gardenia can be grown in a container. Yours looks great!  I do remember how far, across an outdoor area, that one can smell the scent from those.

I also like that begonia full of blooms , in your photo as well.


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## RadishRose (Jun 19, 2021)

@Liberty, they are all just beautiful! I'm crazy about gardenias!


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## katlupe (Jun 19, 2021)

RadishRose said:


> Basil to me, is the herb of the gods! I even put a few leaves on a sandwich.
> 
> Thanks @Kaila for your compliment on my botanical print.
> 
> Rose of Sharon in New England blooms late. One of the few shrubs in flower at that time of year.


For some reason every time I try to grow basil in my apartment it died. I think I am going to try again.


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## Kaila (Jun 19, 2021)

katlupe said:


> I think I am going to try again.


_Why *not?  
*_

Do you have a sunny spot near a window?


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## katlupe (Jun 20, 2021)

Kaila said:


> _Why *not?
> *_
> 
> Do you have a sunny spot near a window?


I definitely have a sunny spot for it.


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## katlupe (Jun 20, 2021)

This morning, six of my houseplants. I have three more not in the picture.



The aloes were started by my father and my two African Violets were from his house when he died in 2012. One of the violets I actually started from the other plant. I am a bit sentimental about them. I have a Peace Plant that I got in 2008 when my mother-in-law passed away. My church had sent it to her so I took it from the her room that day. The Philodendrons I started from a leaf of a plant someone I worked with had on her work station at the last job I had. See.......all sentimental reasons to keep them going.


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## timoc (Jun 20, 2021)

Kaila said:


> @timoc
> Have you ever considered moving house?
> That plant might have caught sight of you, and despite that you hadn't appeared as tasty as the others, at the time, you never know what might happen in the future.....


If I keep eating sprouts, then my farts will deter any Trifidus plants from coming near me. Thank you for caring though.


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## Kaila (Jun 20, 2021)

Those plants all look great, and very healthy, too, with your care,  @katlupe  !  
I love the stories about them, too. Very special. Thanks for sharing.


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## Keesha (Jun 20, 2021)

Since we only just moved, I don’t have many house plants yet so I will show some of my outdoor hanging baskets and annual flower planters we have.

These baskets I purchased separately and lined them with coconut husks, then filled with young begonias. I made them myself since I had so many to fill . The ones in full sun are petunias; some are hanging baskets and some are in planters. All together I have 21 hanging baskets and 10 planters full of flowers. The bigger planters I purchased as is. 

YES I got a ‘tad’ carried away but we have a wrap around veranda and I LOVE hanging baskets


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## Kaila (Jun 20, 2021)

Those are wonderful plants and groupings, 
and wonderful photo's too!
Thanks for showing us, @Keesha 

I knew you haven't been there very long, so I wondered,
but I had imagined you might have already done something wonderful with plants, in your new place, and now, I see that you definitely did! 
I am glad you've settled in!


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## Ruthanne (Jun 20, 2021)

I have a wandering jew, 3 devil's ivy, and a prayer plant.  I have to remember to water them more often in the hot weather we will surely get in July and Aug.


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## Keesha (Jun 20, 2021)

Kaila said:


> Those are wonderful plants and groupings,
> and wonderful photo's too!
> Thanks for showing us, @Keesha
> 
> ...


I couldn’t wait to get hanging baskets up. Thank you .


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## Kadee (Jun 20, 2021)

What a beautiful show of colour @Keesha love your collection 

We have trouble keeping fibre basket liners cause the birds take them thread by thread . 
We have pest black birds and starlings who are the biggest culprits


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## Keesha (Jun 20, 2021)

Kadee46 said:


> What a beautiful show of colour @Keesha love your collection
> 
> We have trouble keeping fibre basket liners cause the birds take them thread by thread .
> We have pest black birds and starlings who are the biggest culprits


Thank you. I hadn’t even thought of birds using it for nesting material. Why wouldn’t they? It’s perfect. Our last baskets with coconut husk liners lasted 3 years. They may have lasted longer but I made the mistake of keeping the potting soil in them all winter while they sat in the greenhouse. Big mistake. 
This time I will make sure to empty them so they dry out. Luckily replacement liners don’t cost too much. 

Some of lobelia I got is blue and some is white and I didn’t realize that until they started flowering, plus I’d forgotten it comes in white also.

So far I haven’t seen any signs of the birds picking at them. Hummingbirds have taken over the veranda and they are super territorial. That’s a huge surprise also. We didn’t feed the hummingbirds where we were before since all our windows would get too hot so we didn’t learn much about them. We are both very entertained by them. They are super fun little things.

Here crows are pesky and whiskey jacks which are related to the blue jay but we don’t have any around us yet. Touch wood.


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## Kadee (Jun 20, 2021)

We don’t have humming birds in Australia to my  knowledge @Keesha   however we have a tiny bird called a Willy Wagtail which is about the size of a sparrow ,I’ve nicknamed it ‘bossy boots ” that are very territorial and will take on birds as big  as crows if they get to close to their nests 
or even if a bird like a dove lands in our garden they know they will be sent on their way 
by a WWT they are so bossy .
We was at the sons one day and this WWT kept attacking the Labrador dog in a small backyard 
when we seen the bird go back to a lemon tree we looked and seen a nest ( still have a photo ) 
with young ones ..if it hadn’t made a fuss we wouldn’t have even known it had a nest nearby


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## Keesha (Jun 20, 2021)

Look at those tail feathers. What a cute little thing. I kind of have a soft spot for the underdog types for some reason. It reminds me of the little lap dogs that don’t seem to realize their size and jump up to bite the bigger dogs in the face. Lol.

Funny though, those smaller birds can out maneuver a larger bird any time. Larger birds just can’t turn as sharply. We often witness larger birds getting picked on by smaller ones. It’s pretty funny to see.

Hummingbirds are amazing little things but you have your own unique species which we don’t have.


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## Gaer (Jun 21, 2021)

I hjust have red geraniums in big blue pots on the big front porch to my gallery and red geraniums in yellow pots on my other porch.
High desert here, you know!


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## debodun (Jun 21, 2021)

I have a killer cactus with 2 inch needles. It's about 5 feet tall in the container and getting to be a real pain (literally) to move inside during winter and outside during summer. It's so top heavy, it tips easily. When I moved it out this spring, it flopped over and I narrowly missed getting poked in the eye, but I did have a scratch in my face for about 10 days. Luckily I didn't get *ca*c*t*us scratch fever, though. I tried selling it on Facebook, but only one person responded and when she saw it in person, didn't want it.


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## Kaila (Jun 21, 2021)

I've had a very old amaryllis bulb, dormant in a pot, on the back of an indoor shelf,
that I'd been ignoring for a very, very long time.... possibly 2 years?

I was moving the pot (finally   )
and checking to see if the bulb seemed rotted soft enough to discard, this was sometime last month (May)
and..... (drumroll please )
It had a little green growth starting!

I started watering, and a few weeks later, it now has about 4, _very healthy-looking, _ leaves surrounding a large bud stem, all over 6 inches high and growing, every hour.


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## Kaila (Jul 1, 2021)

That bud stem, of the very old, potted amaryllis bulb,
that I mentioned in the above post 10 days ago,

is now _over 2 feet tall!
Appears very hearty and healthy!

The bud is just beginning to split.
No petal color is yet visible.

Anyone else have some fun or interesting houseplants, or potted outdoor plants, to update for us, or to tell us about?  _


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