While I was spending time in bed this week, I came across an article called "Success With Your House Plants" in the November 1945 issue of Better Homes and Gardens. Perfect timing - as it was just a few posts ago I was wondering what kinds of houseplants stylish in the 1940s would do well in my dark kitchen. Here's a list of houseplants from the article that are supposed to do well in little light:
Plants Known for their Flowers
Azalea
Everblooming Begonia
Christmas Cactus
Gloxinia
Impatiens
Oxalis
Shrimp Plant (Beloperone)
Plants Known for their Foliage
Airplane Plant (Chlorophytum)
Artillery Plant (Pilea)
Artillery Plant (Pilea)
Asparagus Fern
Rex Begonia
Boston Fern (Nephrolepis)
Bowstring Hemp (Sansevieria)
Coleus
English Ivy (Hedera)
Grape Ivy
Nephthytis
Peperomia
Philodendron
Rubber Plant (Ficus)
Any advice from those of you with greener thumbs than mine? Are the authors of this article completely wrong about any of these plants doing well in the dark - and indoors at that? Are some of these plants more likely to attract bugs than others? With sunshine and blue skies, I'm itching to get out to a nursery and pick up something new...
10 comments:
I don't have a green thumb so I can't give you any tips about plants. I'm very glad to hear that you are feeling better!
christmas catcus is so easy to grow and beautiful. and they do well when you forget to water them. basicaly you just ignore them and they flourish! we have several of them. also rubbertree plants, but they can grow very large.
Many of those plant names sound like diseases to me. I think that the ivy with the little border of white around its leaves is the most wonderfully vintage pot plant of all...and very hard to kill, will grow anywhere. Or African violets. Also very old-fashioned. They were designed for those with black thumbs. You absolutely have to forget to water them for them to thrive. People who like to garden always kill African violets with too much attention and water. Wait till the soil is dry, then wait a few more days, then water. My 8yo daughter has managed to keep one alive for a year now on her dressing table, on the other side of the room to the window.
Happy gardening!
I'm with Hairball. I have a brown thumb--I kill anything that has its roots in dirt! I think they say bamboo is one of the heartiest of plants and I managed to kill that too.
Airplane plants! I love them and you can usually find someone who will give you a runner to start for free!
Oxalis is very dangerous if you have cats, I have been told.
Andrea
Thanks, Hairball, I think I'm on the mend...
My mom always has a Christmas cactus around the house, and I like the sound of something that does best when it's ignored! I did have a couple rubber trees/ficus when I had my first apartment and they were tough to maintain. There are so many leaves and they really got dusty. The least change in climate, and the tree would start dropping all its leaves. That's one species I'm not interested in sharing my apartment with again!
Jo, African violets are also mentioned in the 1945 article, though the author claims that they need full sun. My kitchen gets almost zero natural light, so that's a real issue.
Emer, you and me both! The only plants I've had any success with are some succulents I keep outdoors on my landing. If they weren't designed to survive in harsh and arid conditions, they'd never have made it!
Andrea, I don't have any cats right now, but I'll definitely avoid the oxalis in case that changes. I have no idea what airplane plants look like. I'm gonna go Google Image them and find out...
Azaelas and Impatiens will be much happier outdoors and impatients prefer dappled sunlight not direct sunlight if you do use them.
I still think you can't go wrong with ivy and a fern in the bathroom and a philodendren in the kitchen. A ficus is good, as they are rather hard to kill, just don't overwater.
Hi Jitterbug,
I second the suggestion for Christmas cactus. I've been trying to grow houseplants for years now, and so far that's the only plant that's really thrived. Imagine my surprise when it actually bloomed this Christmas! LOL!
And I know they didn't think of this necessarily in the 1940's, but many houseplants can actually clean the air in your house. Perhaps you could equate that effect to airing the house ca. the 1940's. Here's an article:
http://tinyurl.com/595pxq
I've commented before, but I want to say again how much I am enjoying your blog and feeling inspired by it. I even got my own copy of America's Housekeeping Book! (I wonder if that book is experiencing a spike in sales thanks to you. ;) ) And, housework is more fun with a vintage twist. I must say I've been enjoying making hospital corners and eating applesauce with breakfast. Thanks for the great blog and fun times!
my suggestion would be to go to IKEA and buy whatever they have there because it's kept in the depth of the store with only artificial light so it must do okay there...
do you have IKEA over there?
Thanks so much for the tips, 50s gal! I was hoping you'd have some thoughts with your background in plants. I'll leave the azaleas and impatiens outdoors if they'll be happier there.
humblelabor, you're so kind. It's definitely been interesting to approach housework from a new perspective. I'm glad you're enjoying my blog --- and the book!
W_E, we do have an IKEA about 2 hours away, but I've never been to one. I'll have to keep an eye out for real plants thriving in places like that without any natural light. We have plants in the lobby at work (which doesn't get any natural light) and they do incredibly just with flourescents.
Post a Comment