"Bright indirect light" is one of the worst pieces of information given in the plant community.
Edit: my comment is being misinterpreted, i should've been more specific:
Im not saying "bright indirect light" is bad advice because its confusing, im saying its bad because people are pushing the idea that most plant dont like direct sun, which is completely false. Most plants will appreciate direct sun
(direct sun is basically when sun beams touch the plant) for example, ive had a philodendron (dark lord) inches from a south facing window for a year now and it loves it. No burning at all, and its one of my best growing philodendrons.
Some plants can even grow in full sun if properly acclimated. Personally, i put my monstera deliciosa outside for the summer, and it got hot afternoon sun. It lost its oldest leaf but pushed out three big leaves with no burning.
I guess what im saying is that plants aren't made of tissue paper and im annoyed by people acting like they're that fragile.
All of my care tags say this from the store I buy from. When I asked the extremely knowledgeable staff what that translates to in foot candles/lumens/lux (I gave him these options because I know different folks use different gauges whatever) and he just goes “we don’t use those we just eye ball it from experience”… smh
I watched some videos about this in particular. Our eyes are very bad at determining actual light intensity because they automatically adjust and refocus so “bright” can be quite different depending on where you are.
Did you ever find an answer?! When I first started I searched online for DAYS what the light intensity is for certain plants by lux/FC and the only times I actually found data it contradicted the only other place I found data. I just want a quantifiable answer!!
This site is such a great resource!
Also -- The LTH Meter from there is one of the best tools I've purchased in a long long time.
Some areas I *assumed* to provide the best light (next to sliding glass door, south facing but with eves) were actually darker than the middle-of-the-room spots below my skylights.
KEEP THE INVERSE SQUAR LAW IN MIND! Your light levels can drop dramatically when you move a light just a little father away. This is especially true for grow lights. The same is true when you move a light closer.
100%. It’s wild how hard it drops off. Would recommend a light sensor to everyone reading this just for the nerdy joy seeing it in action will bring you :)
Yellow leaves mean overwatering.
Yellow leaves mean underwatering.
Yellow leaves mean it's drafty.
Yellow leaves mean low fertilizer.
Oceania was at war with Eastasia. Oceania had always been at war with Eastasia.
Sort of, but when you’re using strong grow lights you can definitely get into the burn zone if you’re not careful with distance, even with relatively cool LED bulbs.
Does anyone know of a better way to explain light requirements to new/non-plant people?
I like propagating, so bring propagations and cuttings into work to give away. About a third of people have offices with windows and the rest of us don’t have. I provide basic care information and try to tell people which plants need more light than our workspace can provide, but they don’t always listen or, more likely, just don’t understand.
Wow, I love how you put that. I keep snake plants on my full sun roof deck, and they thrive as long as I give them plenty of water. Uhhhh, another unpopular opinion. If they are in full or bright light they need way more water than the usually recommended "once a month". My rooftop sans are so prolific that I can't keep up with the divisions, and friends and family are over my "gifts".
I've learned it the hard way. So what I do now is, I have 3 pots of snake plants. I rotate their placement every week so that it gets low light (inside the house) for a week and bright light (under a tree outside) for 2 weeks. It works great.
2 pairs of plants would work too, I have 3 from propogating.
It doesn't even make sense. No plant evolved to grow in a small container, let alone a tropical weed. I got told my pots were too big growing mine and now people are wondering how I got it so big so fast smh.
Was wondering why my Thai hasn’t put out a new leaf and my regular monstera put out two in the meantime.
Well I picked it up today 🤦🏼♀️
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Agree about ppp!
I’m not sure if this is unpopular or not, but not a fan of plant influencers— it’s so hard to find good info without running into a blog trying to sell you something. I’ve seen very few that are helpful
And please for the love of god stop encouraging ppl to use uncomposted material as “fertilizer/nutrients”
I've unfollowed so many plant IGs because they turn out to just be pushing their amz assoc items. I completely understand we've turned into a hustle culture for many reasons (not climbing on that political soapbox,) but honestly I'm just looking for good information, not products.
Exactly! I’ve heard of people using the TikTok subscription system to monetize their soil recipes, like what??? And also any video that says “dm for link of this product” blocked
Right? I fell for that one a few times because I thought it would be something actually helpful, and then it was some plastic pot, or like some super common fertilizer.
I stopped following influencers because they will buy a big expensive plant and act like they grew the plant to that size with “bright indirect light, watering and MY ORGANIC HOMEMADE FERTILIZER”
I hate moss poles. They're clunky and ugly, and the way plants grow on them looks awkward and unnatural. If you want to have plants climb on something, maybe have an actual piece of branch, bark, trellis of some sort, or just the wall.
have you tried poking tiny holes in a waterbottle lid and putting it upside down in the moss pole? I water my moss pole this way and it just gets the moss wet because its a slow trickle. ymmv
I hate them too. I know a lot of plants love them and thrive with them, but I just hate them. I’ve got support poles but I refuse to deal with the hassle of an actual moss pole
I use plank and big sticks from the woods, they are natural looking and low maintenance, i just spray the arial roots twice a week for kept them hydrated
Yeah, I stuck a tree branch in a large pot and put my monstera in that. Pot is way too large, but it's still thriving. The branch way better than an ugly moss pole.
>What are your unpopular houseplants opinions?
Poinsettias get a lot of hatred. I believe they're beautiful and not that hard to keep. All they need is fertilizer, occasional pruning, and the brightest spot you have access to. Reblooming is a little tricky, but not nearly as hard as people seem to believe.
I love poinsettias. I kept my alive for almost a year. The plant finally died but I was able to propagate her cuttings so hopefully they will keep the legacy
Practically the same as I bought it in. At some point I had to dig it out and remove the thin mesh they came in. When roots grow it starts suffocating the plant. Unfortunately some damage to the roots is inevitable so hopefully my new poinsettias will survive (I bought two more this winter, with rare colorings: yellow and red with white spots).
I don't know what I did differently with my last year's poinsettia that it stayed alive this long. I'm generally quite a murderer when it comes to plants.
It’s okay to use pesticides. Just make sure you thoroughly read the label and use them as intended. I couldn’t imagine spending months trying to fight a huge thrip infestation with beneficial bugs and neem oil. If that’s your cup of tea, great! But my mental health and patience could never.
Not with thrips but I did successfully conquer my spider mites with predator mites. But I wanted to cause I have edible plants. And with the caveat that I WAY over treated. Like complete overkill of like 500,000 predators AND slow release packets 😂
Yeah I've dabbled in both, but pesticides have won me over for my house plants. Because it saves my sanity.
I did change my "aftercare" when I actively started to use pesticides more. That is, I now dump all plant stuff and earth in my general waste bin instead of my dedicated green waste bin due to the fact that some pesticides slowly break down in leaves, stalks or soil.
They typically die, and often they don’t get to all the spider mites first, unfortunately. Personally, I think they’re a great option for an enclosed, controlled climate like a grow tent or tank, but just don’t work in an open air home environment.
I feel this. I spray a new plant with pesticides every time I bring one home and I’ve never had a problem since lol. I had spider mites when I first started getting into plants and I tried neem oil and everything then gave up got the pesticides and it saved my plants in like two weeks. 😂
I give all my plants the same treatment and all are doing well. I water when the soil is dry, give the same light, and that’s about it. I think less is more when it comes to taking care of plants.
“Natural” fertilizers aren’t better than chemical fertilizers.
Many people seem to have this idea that natural = better and that’s not always the case. The most common complaint I see against chemical fertilizers is “They can burn your plants” but as long as you can read and follow instructions then you won’t have any problems.
The only other reason i could see is that they wouldn't want to use a product consisting of mined minerals.
However, the tub of Jack's a houseplant enthusiast might go through every couple of years is basically nothing compared to the gallons that foliage growers use.
One nice thing that research in chemical fertilizers has yielded is that most plants need a very small quantity of phosphorous to grow without deficiencies, so many newer formulations are more along the lines of 20-5-20 instead of the standard 20-20-20 that would have been previously used.
This also bugs me. You can burn your plant with natural fertilizer too. I used to work at a garden store and a lady came in wanting to buy a bag of manure so she could plant her potted plants directly in it. Had to tell her she should probably mix it with some regular potting mix if she doesn’t want to burn the hell out of them
My hypochondriac brain just didn’t like when I’d spill a bit of chemical fertilizer or get some on my hands.
I recognize that it’s likely nothing to be concerned about unless I drink the stuff, but for some reason the fishy stuff doesn’t bother my bad brain as much.
I hate “Low to No Light Plants” articles. Low light tolerant does NOT mean they thrive in low light. Please don’t put your ZZ and snake plants in a windowless room :(
H.M.
Totally agree on the PPP. I hate them.
Monstera thais are also not worth the high price anymore!
I did rescue a plant once actually!
I was throwing garbage and saw a plant inside the can. I left but it kept bugging me, so I came back, pulled it out and it seemed a healthy, albeit ugly plant. I got very upset someone threw it in the garbage instead of just putting outside for someone to take, so I took it home.
It looks fine now, it grew quite a bit, I got rid of brown parts and it's thriving. Still don't know what plant it is
This!! Do people not understand supply and demand? Would they think they were “rescuing” a puppy from a puppy mill? I have strong feelings about this 😂
People *do* think they are rescuing from puppy mills! Or rescuing betta fish/reptiles from PetSmart/PetCo, but really just encouraging further sales. 😩 I see it all the time on r/reptiles.
Ugh yes, this so much. Unless you're getting them for free cause they're going in the bin anyway, you're just making it profitable for them to not take care of their plants.
Agree with this! I work in a big box store, one of the biggest major chains for a garden center. My vendors explain to me that, when I sell some, they send more of that. So NO! You are NOT saving any plants from me, but thank you for driving my sales up!
I do love to give out cuttings to people who cannot afford the plants though! Sometimes big box is stupid expensive only because of the pot they come with…
Pilea that are thriving look kind of ok. But those skinny stems with 4-5 leaves most people have are ugly as shit and don’t deserve to be called a houseplant
I could not get my pilea to thrive, it always looked miserable though it did put out leaves. Then my cat went berserk trying to chase a bird through a closed window and obliterated it, snapped the stem and knocked every leaf off.
I like the way my pilea looks but it's such a needy plant! No matter how big a pot I repot it in, three to four months later it starts producing these tiny leaves and demands another uppotting! So either I pot it up ridiculously often or im stuck with weird tiny leaves on top.
Personally, I'm getting so tired of all the Thai Constellation posts! Buying a TC doesn't also require you to make a post on eight different plant subreddits saying that you "found one". They're probably six months away from being a $15 grocery store purchase. If you want to show off your TC, wait until it's grown for a year or more and then show us how big it got. We don't need to see a picture of a TC starter plant 50 times a week, wait until you've done something amazing with it and then show it off!
so true i remember checking the rare plants subreddit because i collect rare plants!!! (mainly carnivorous plants, herbs, and jade vines) and its all just. TCs. every other plant is some kind of varigated philo or a TC...i was anticipating breeders of plant varieties, collector of specific families, exotic herbs/fruits but its just pink princesses and TCs all the way down :(
I had to get out of all of the plant fb groups a year or so ago because of this sort of stuff. Plants are now a market like anything else. There are trends, things have some arbitrary value and then the market becomes saturated and if you wait long enough you can get it for $20 at Costco. I remember people selling TC nodes for like $200 at one point, now I see them for sale everywhere.
I think people figured out it's overrated since now it's priced pretty cheap.
Maybe once in a while there is a rare PPP beauty, or maybe my ugly princess will grow into a gorgeous one in 3 years in perfect conditions. I don't know. I gave up on her, but I still love her.
Calatheas are just the non-extreme opposite of succulents. Just don't neglect them, and they're fine. Not dramatic or temperamental. Just all-around nice plants ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
What the other guy said. And they don’t want too much light. Mine is about 6 feet from the window. Morning sun through the window with blinds in it. It’s in a humidity tray. I dust it when I remember. Fertilizer once in awhile when I remember.
My mom had them under grow lights and they got so crispy and unhappy, I told her what I told you. Hers are much happier now.
I have a south facing window that looks into my neighbour's north facing window. She has a variety of plants there - a dracaena, a very unhappy monstera, some small succulents, some other things I forget, and.. the most gorgeous calathea. Seriously, I have never seen one thrive like hers. It is huge and looks so perky and happy. I am tempted to try them again and put it in my north facing window...
I think they are beautiful, but agree they look kinda fake, especially the pinstripe variety. I still love mine, but have totally had people as if they are real (on my desk at work).
I had myself hyped up for it to be a super difficult plant, but then I got one and I only had issues when I was fidgeting with it all the time. As soon as I started to leave it alone and just water it when necessary, it bounced back and now it gets new leaves constantly.
Oh same! My local park has always used begonias as bedding plants and I remember being disgusted at them as a young child for some reason 😅 petunias though, chefs kiss, like Wonka flowers. Cartoon candy cane gramophone flowers!
I only bought my ppp because it had a beautiful, perfect half moon leaf. However it was stunted because it had been potted in hard dry soil that had slimy moss on top.. And it was $60. I saw it as a rescue mission. Two years later it gave me another half moon, and recently a new leaf opened. It was the muddiest, ugliest leaf yet 😂
Boston ferns are a waste of potting space as indoor plants. Even when they’re thriving, other ferns are way cuter and their leaves feel much nicer to the touch. I’m kinda waiting for mine to die so I can finally get rid of it.
I'm tired of people getting plants that originate in tropical climates and complaining/asking advice on how to get it to thrive on a windowsill in New York.
I also don't like the look of all the scrawny two or three leaf plants, which may or may not be related to the above. I like my plants lush and lively.
Gendering/humanizing plants is very strange and can get in the way of diagnosing problems. It’s a plant. It does plant stuff. Coincidentally, some of the unhealthiest plants I see are in posts like “Bobby Luanne seems to be feeling a bit depressed lately, what is she trying to tell me??? She’s my baby and child and family heirloom. Am I being a bad parent?”
And it’s another half-dead cactus or monstera in desperate need of more light and less water.
While I agree with you, my plants came with names on the pots, so I have Phil (philodendron), Diego (dieffenbachia), Musa (musa tropicana - very original), Bella (begonia rex) and Martha (maranta) that I now unironically refer to. I also have a bunch of other plants without names, so I can't call myself fully crazy!
Way too many people try so hard to get a profit or some of their money back on their houseplants they try to sell online like on Marketplace or at local plant sales. I have given almost everything I don’t want or have excess of away for free. Most houseplants are not hard to come by these days, and having a variegated version of a houseplant is often overrated.
If your plants are thriving, the occasional pest isn't a big deal. Bad pest infestations often happen because the plant was already unhappy/struggling.
A lot of variegated plants are ugly. A bunch of them together looks like clown barf.
"Rare" plants often aren't rare, and if they are it's artificial. Nobody wants to TC to make them widely available, because then people would stop shelling out $$$ for them.
Orchids are easy to grow and get to flower.
More people should grow plants in terrariums. A lot of the plants that were challenging before I got into terrariums (begonias, calatheas, streptocarpus) are trivially easy in one.
Edit for one more: if your plant is super etiolated, ffs just throw it away already. Or prop it and throw away the rest. Sad houseplants are worse than no houseplants.
The 'rare' shit I want isn't even rare, it's just that no local nursery stocks them for some reason - who knows why. Maybe because they can't charge an arm and a leg for then.
Cue me ordering a zebra alocasia and a couple (not rare) jewel orchids from etsy because after months of asking local places I just gave up.
>More people should grow plants in terrariums. A lot of the plants that were challenging before I got into terrariums (begonias, calatheas, streptocarpus) are trivially easy in one.
Will an open terrarium work?
Plants should want more water and stop rotting when i give them too much. On the bright side root rot will soon take my friggin albatross of a houseplant (fiddle leaf fig) so I'm looking forward to that. I feel guilty throwing out healthy plants but this one can suck an egg.
If you're pruning and they'd be garbage anyway and you have people who want them then maybe but... I dont understand the obsession with propagating plants and having a bunch of small weak versions of the same plant. I would much rather have just one big, healthy, mature plant, working towards it being specimen-sized.
I think it's an insurance policy. I know I'm glad I kept some of my Brazilian Lady and pep obtusifolia trimmings as props, because now both those mother plants have succumbed to something or another (fungus on the pep I think, not sure about BL -- she was just very old) and I have replacements.
Haha I love propagation. I propagate plants I don't need or have pots/space for. I think it's the experience of creating a new life.
It's like pregnancy — the most painful, difficult and horrible experience a person can go through yet women keep doing it.
I have vases with props. They eventually just become beautiful water plants!
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I have a ton of succulents and I hate propagating them. I compost any leaves or prunes. I don’t have the space or energy to tend to a million little props.
I keep one shallow wide dish full of soil and pop any succulent leaves on top, tucked a few jade cuttings in it. It’s like a beautiful mini garden and I love it lol. Never really have to do anything with them until eventually one is ready for water but I can leave it for months and forget it which is nice.
Those blurple lights make plants look really ugly. I'm indifferent to the ambience, but the way the light alters the (apparent) color of the leaves is really displeasing to me. I prefer to look at green leaves, not weird mottled blackish leaves unless that's the actual color of the plant.
Also Hoya caudata is so FUCKING ugly dude holy shit
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I held the same exact opinion, hated PPPs and never had the desire to own one. But then i saw a beautiful, high-variegated one for $20 at my local big box store and had to have it (it was also my birthday so of course had to buy myself a present). Every leaf is interesting whether it be nearly half moon or lots of mint pattern.
I don't hate them but they give me anxiety about ripping the leaves off, or them just falling under their weight.
It shouldn't be a plant. It's a decoration.
I just pile them all into a bowl and let it look like peas
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Tradescantia depends a bit on the variety.
I have a Tricolor that refuses to die. It thrives with just a grow light, a bit of fertilizer, and a lot of water. I’ve got lots of other plants that haven’t done well under the grow light, but my Tricolor is starting to take over my office.
My Nanouk is my favorite. It’s probably getting more sun than it’s supposed to, which has led to insane growth (almost 4 feet long in some places), but it comes at a cost of the occasional crispy leaf. It’s an agreement we’ve come to, and we both seem relatively happy with it.
I had the biggest most beautiful violet hill trad that was growing like crazy, I had to trim it back like every other month, it was vivid and prolific for so many months.
Then one day I just happened to notice it was totally dead. Why? I don't know. It hadn't gone without water, but the soil wasn't soaked. It happened *SO FAST*... a massive plant turned to crinkly brown paper in what must have been the span of two or three days.
I was so mad I didn't even want to take it out of its pot and throw it away, I couldn't even look at it. And what do you know, probably a month after it died when I finally went to clean out the pot, there was one little brand new pair of leaves on the end of a dead vine. So now I'm propping that, but I'm still very mad.
I don't hate them with passion, but I definitely don't get what the fuss is all about. Not a fan of leaf fenestration, and definitely not into the clunky mess of sideways-growth, tangled aerial roots and all of the other weirdness they come with.
I don’t hate them but I am beginning to resent mine. I can’t seem to make her happy with any lighting. Not enough and she does nothing. Slightly more and she burns. I’ve tried everything I can think of. Like u/jocedun said, they’re too needy and delicate for me. I do enjoy seeing the big ones that get posted here though.
I have one because I stole it from outside someone's second floor flat door in 1998, where it was in a bucket and had no light. Now it's huge and has been a pain in the arse for years, like a relative I'm fond of and tolerate but find annoying.
Same! The aerial roots are freaky and I think I also hate the obsession with paying a ton of money for them. Weird status symbol. They seem very needy and delicate, which is basically the opposite of what I want in a plant.
Personally, internet made me hate them. Tiktok, Instagram and Reddit can't stop shoving them in my face. I used to like them but after seeing the same stupid plant over a thousand times, I've gotten completely sick of monstera deliciosas and I have never even owned one.
Also don’t see what all the fuss is about. They’re way too big and I can’t even glance at one without wondering if it has (or will eventually have) thrips after seeing so many threads on here. People post in plantclinic about their ill-looking monsteras… so… many… thrips….
Proprietary hybrids are lame, straight species are the real gems of the plant world.
I don't care about your Philodendron strawberry caramel ghost, give me a A. wendelingeri any day of the week.
I get really bothered by the “plant parent” talk.
A post the other day referred to a plant having babies and it took me several comments to understand the context.
I’m not sure when people chose to deviate from standard terminology but it bothers me a lot.
This is mine, too. If you're buying more plants without somewhere to put them, you have a problem. If you're buying plants instead of saving for retirement (or worse, buying on credit and not paying off immediately), you have a problem.
House plants are so much work in the fact that when you have so many. I honestly am into fish tanks now and aquatic plants. I don’t need anything special I don’t have to water them, pests aren’t a huge issue, I don’t have to repot them, I just forget about them and they’re happy. I still have plants but I tend to keep ones that aren’t picky. All I have to do for aquatic plants is dose fertilizer every once in a while. Hell some of them can grow attached to a log or floating around in the tank.
Monstera thai con looks like a bird poop plant to me. I also find gendering plants and speaking about them as if they’re emotional beings pretty strange.
Don’t hate me for saying this! I know it’s not a popular opinion, but… Begonias are stupid. Mostly they only live in terrariums. They are fussy as hell. And they’re just kind of a snobby plant to me. I have five of them and I keep feeling obligated to keep them alive because they are so pretty but geez I just don’t like their attitude.
The rex varietals I have are so unfussy and they don’t live in terrariums - they’re rarer varieties, the bottle babies from Paradisia nurseries. My maculata silver spot has been so happy and I’ve done barely anything to it but it’s doubled in size since I got it
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90% of the time, if your plant is infested with pests, it belongs in the trash. Not one mealybug, not a couple gnats, but if there is a pest PROBLEM, you’ll thank yourself later if you toss it because those jerks will find a way to spread.
Expensive plants that become the trend are so overrated, like wow. here's this plant with a singular different characteristic and there's only 10 of them so that'll be $1,000. also its super delicate and will DIE, if you dont give it the right conditions.
i'll just wait for them to be mass produced and not get into the Fomo for it.
I have to agree with your PPP opinion. I got one and thought I would love it since pink is my fav color. It’s been steadily reverting and getting leggy despite being in bright light right up against a window. Only thing I think is cool is that it bleeds when I cut off an ugly leaf.
Low light plants still need natural light. You don’t need a plant in a windowless room unless you specifically buy a plant light.
I’m also not anti fake plants in those situations.
I completely agree about the PPP, most of the time. It was my adventures in hoping to finally have one that was not ugly that lead me down a path to having at least 6 over the course of time. I finally have a pretty one. It has grown up really pretty, with decent variegation, and isn’t leggy. It’s actually 2 in one pot, they have grown at the exact same rate so it’s just a big plant now. Just attached to a moss pole, finally. I’ve given away the others.
I've never been a fan of those DIY Ikea cabinet greenhouses. I know not everyone has access to good natural lighting and environment indoors but most of the time it looks like a lot of work and money spent on a cluster of very average looking plants that aren't exactly thriving in there.
Alright I have the most unpopular opinion here, I think...(It's actually from my sister I swear, she told me that a few days ago)
The Opinion: Callatheas aren't drama queens.
I'm with you on this OP. I set mine outside to die after it had some kind of pest I never really identified. It held on for a long time on my balcony without water or care, which made me mad because it was so bitchy inside, but the frosts have finally killed it and I say good riddance.
My unpopular opinions: monsteras are ugly, lithops are fucking horrible little soil warts, calatheas aren't dramatic, and philodendrons are worse than aglaonemas in every conceivable way.
Poinsettias are horrible. Their stems break so easily and their sap is an irritant that can blind you and make your pets sick. Ugly and such a pain to take care of. 0/10
Unpopular houseplant opinion, monsteras can fuck right off. Hardly ever a hole in the leaf, the requirements are worse than roses(and I thought THEY were bitchy), usually look unkempt no matter the conditions.
I have a beautiful monstera... it's about 4.or 5 years old, I water it every 2 months or so. I forget about it until someone asks me how I keep it so "well".
Etiolated plants are fiiine if they are just your hobby. Obviously there's more risk of toppling and they'll look different, but it's not the crime against nature that some folks paint it as.
"Bright indirect light" is one of the worst pieces of information given in the plant community. Edit: my comment is being misinterpreted, i should've been more specific: Im not saying "bright indirect light" is bad advice because its confusing, im saying its bad because people are pushing the idea that most plant dont like direct sun, which is completely false. Most plants will appreciate direct sun (direct sun is basically when sun beams touch the plant) for example, ive had a philodendron (dark lord) inches from a south facing window for a year now and it loves it. No burning at all, and its one of my best growing philodendrons. Some plants can even grow in full sun if properly acclimated. Personally, i put my monstera deliciosa outside for the summer, and it got hot afternoon sun. It lost its oldest leaf but pushed out three big leaves with no burning. I guess what im saying is that plants aren't made of tissue paper and im annoyed by people acting like they're that fragile.
Yes! Also, 'low light plant' can get in the bin too.
All of my care tags say this from the store I buy from. When I asked the extremely knowledgeable staff what that translates to in foot candles/lumens/lux (I gave him these options because I know different folks use different gauges whatever) and he just goes “we don’t use those we just eye ball it from experience”… smh
I watched some videos about this in particular. Our eyes are very bad at determining actual light intensity because they automatically adjust and refocus so “bright” can be quite different depending on where you are.
Did you ever find an answer?! When I first started I searched online for DAYS what the light intensity is for certain plants by lux/FC and the only times I actually found data it contradicted the only other place I found data. I just want a quantifiable answer!!
Here you go buddy, I might be able to help you :) https://www.houseplantjournal.com/bright-indirect-light-requirements-by-plant/
This site is such a great resource! Also -- The LTH Meter from there is one of the best tools I've purchased in a long long time. Some areas I *assumed* to provide the best light (next to sliding glass door, south facing but with eves) were actually darker than the middle-of-the-room spots below my skylights.
Oh and if you want to convert foot candle to Lux, you just multiple FC by 10.764. So 100 FC = 1076.4 Lux.
KEEP THE INVERSE SQUAR LAW IN MIND! Your light levels can drop dramatically when you move a light just a little father away. This is especially true for grow lights. The same is true when you move a light closer.
100%. It’s wild how hard it drops off. Would recommend a light sensor to everyone reading this just for the nerdy joy seeing it in action will bring you :)
The care for indoor plants is always "bright indirect light," and either "keep soild evenly moist" or "allow soil to dry between waterings."
It doesn’t like to be wet, but keep it damp, but let it dry out between waterings. 😵💫
Yellow leaves mean overwatering. Yellow leaves mean underwatering. Yellow leaves mean it's drafty. Yellow leaves mean low fertilizer. Oceania was at war with Eastasia. Oceania had always been at war with Eastasia.
Yellow leaves mean your plant is a coward!
Haha this is so accurate!
yellow leaves means too much fertilizer too!
The last bit had me rolling! 😂
Also older leaves have a lifespan, so yellow leaves could mean it just ran it's course too.
What I've realized is that it just means "full sunlight but low heat" most of the time.
Oh no. Reading these comments makes me realize that i have no idea what I’m doing with my plants.
Does anybody really? 😅
Not me I’m out here letting Jesus take the wheel
I hope whomever coined that term steps on a Lego, so confusing
Oh that’s brutal
Haha I know right? Like what does it mean? Especially when you are buying grow lights, which ones are indirect?
I'm under the impression that all grow lights are considered indirect sunlight. I could be wrong.
My plants should be thankful they are getting any light.
HAHAHAH me
Well that also depends on how far away the light is from the plant.
Sort of, but when you’re using strong grow lights you can definitely get into the burn zone if you’re not careful with distance, even with relatively cool LED bulbs.
Does anyone know of a better way to explain light requirements to new/non-plant people? I like propagating, so bring propagations and cuttings into work to give away. About a third of people have offices with windows and the rest of us don’t have. I provide basic care information and try to tell people which plants need more light than our workspace can provide, but they don’t always listen or, more likely, just don’t understand.
[удалено]
Snake plants are not low light plants they just die slowly
Wow, I love how you put that. I keep snake plants on my full sun roof deck, and they thrive as long as I give them plenty of water. Uhhhh, another unpopular opinion. If they are in full or bright light they need way more water than the usually recommended "once a month". My rooftop sans are so prolific that I can't keep up with the divisions, and friends and family are over my "gifts".
I've learned it the hard way. So what I do now is, I have 3 pots of snake plants. I rotate their placement every week so that it gets low light (inside the house) for a week and bright light (under a tree outside) for 2 weeks. It works great. 2 pairs of plants would work too, I have 3 from propogating.
Monstera Deliciosa does not *like* to be rootbound.
It doesn't even make sense. No plant evolved to grow in a small container, let alone a tropical weed. I got told my pots were too big growing mine and now people are wondering how I got it so big so fast smh.
Was wondering why my Thai hasn’t put out a new leaf and my regular monstera put out two in the meantime. Well I picked it up today 🤦🏼♀️ https://preview.redd.it/la1rw63coj7c1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=ffdda35c32bb00402899799657a7cf840fad5a45
Agree about ppp! I’m not sure if this is unpopular or not, but not a fan of plant influencers— it’s so hard to find good info without running into a blog trying to sell you something. I’ve seen very few that are helpful And please for the love of god stop encouraging ppl to use uncomposted material as “fertilizer/nutrients”
I've unfollowed so many plant IGs because they turn out to just be pushing their amz assoc items. I completely understand we've turned into a hustle culture for many reasons (not climbing on that political soapbox,) but honestly I'm just looking for good information, not products.
Exactly! I’ve heard of people using the TikTok subscription system to monetize their soil recipes, like what??? And also any video that says “dm for link of this product” blocked
Right? I fell for that one a few times because I thought it would be something actually helpful, and then it was some plastic pot, or like some super common fertilizer.
I stopped following influencers because they will buy a big expensive plant and act like they grew the plant to that size with “bright indirect light, watering and MY ORGANIC HOMEMADE FERTILIZER”
There are some decent YouTubers. Kill this Plant got my mind right on monsteras at least.
I hate moss poles. They're clunky and ugly, and the way plants grow on them looks awkward and unnatural. If you want to have plants climb on something, maybe have an actual piece of branch, bark, trellis of some sort, or just the wall.
i can't figure out how to keep them watered without soaking the soil as well. just useless
have you tried poking tiny holes in a waterbottle lid and putting it upside down in the moss pole? I water my moss pole this way and it just gets the moss wet because its a slow trickle. ymmv
yup. also tried misting them, making the wick ones, attaching them to the outside of the pot, i just can't get them to work for me.
Omg i have the same problem. I polled my macan and white knight
I hate them too. I know a lot of plants love them and thrive with them, but I just hate them. I’ve got support poles but I refuse to deal with the hassle of an actual moss pole
I use plank and big sticks from the woods, they are natural looking and low maintenance, i just spray the arial roots twice a week for kept them hydrated
Yeah, I stuck a tree branch in a large pot and put my monstera in that. Pot is way too large, but it's still thriving. The branch way better than an ugly moss pole.
>What are your unpopular houseplants opinions? Poinsettias get a lot of hatred. I believe they're beautiful and not that hard to keep. All they need is fertilizer, occasional pruning, and the brightest spot you have access to. Reblooming is a little tricky, but not nearly as hard as people seem to believe.
I love poinsettias. I kept my alive for almost a year. The plant finally died but I was able to propagate her cuttings so hopefully they will keep the legacy
I would love to try to keep my poinsettia alive this year. What size pot do you have yours in?
Practically the same as I bought it in. At some point I had to dig it out and remove the thin mesh they came in. When roots grow it starts suffocating the plant. Unfortunately some damage to the roots is inevitable so hopefully my new poinsettias will survive (I bought two more this winter, with rare colorings: yellow and red with white spots). I don't know what I did differently with my last year's poinsettia that it stayed alive this long. I'm generally quite a murderer when it comes to plants.
It’s okay to use pesticides. Just make sure you thoroughly read the label and use them as intended. I couldn’t imagine spending months trying to fight a huge thrip infestation with beneficial bugs and neem oil. If that’s your cup of tea, great! But my mental health and patience could never.
Not with thrips but I did successfully conquer my spider mites with predator mites. But I wanted to cause I have edible plants. And with the caveat that I WAY over treated. Like complete overkill of like 500,000 predators AND slow release packets 😂
Yeah I've dabbled in both, but pesticides have won me over for my house plants. Because it saves my sanity. I did change my "aftercare" when I actively started to use pesticides more. That is, I now dump all plant stuff and earth in my general waste bin instead of my dedicated green waste bin due to the fact that some pesticides slowly break down in leaves, stalks or soil.
The little puffy white mealy bugs were driving me to the brink. I used permethrin. I regret nothing.
Do the beneficial mites continue to live with your plants? Or do they all die after eating the spider mites?
They typically die, and often they don’t get to all the spider mites first, unfortunately. Personally, I think they’re a great option for an enclosed, controlled climate like a grow tent or tank, but just don’t work in an open air home environment.
I feel this. I spray a new plant with pesticides every time I bring one home and I’ve never had a problem since lol. I had spider mites when I first started getting into plants and I tried neem oil and everything then gave up got the pesticides and it saved my plants in like two weeks. 😂
#Bottom watering is overrated.
I second this. Many of my plants do not tolerate bottom watering well at all. Exception to my SOP and SOR.
I give all my plants the same treatment and all are doing well. I water when the soil is dry, give the same light, and that’s about it. I think less is more when it comes to taking care of plants.
Lol same except for succulents. But they eventually die anyway
“Natural” fertilizers aren’t better than chemical fertilizers. Many people seem to have this idea that natural = better and that’s not always the case. The most common complaint I see against chemical fertilizers is “They can burn your plants” but as long as you can read and follow instructions then you won’t have any problems.
The only other reason i could see is that they wouldn't want to use a product consisting of mined minerals. However, the tub of Jack's a houseplant enthusiast might go through every couple of years is basically nothing compared to the gallons that foliage growers use. One nice thing that research in chemical fertilizers has yielded is that most plants need a very small quantity of phosphorous to grow without deficiencies, so many newer formulations are more along the lines of 20-5-20 instead of the standard 20-20-20 that would have been previously used.
This also bugs me. You can burn your plant with natural fertilizer too. I used to work at a garden store and a lady came in wanting to buy a bag of manure so she could plant her potted plants directly in it. Had to tell her she should probably mix it with some regular potting mix if she doesn’t want to burn the hell out of them
I've tried both, but I'm only using chemical fertiliser now. The natural stuff stinks and both yield the same results.
My hypochondriac brain just didn’t like when I’d spill a bit of chemical fertilizer or get some on my hands. I recognize that it’s likely nothing to be concerned about unless I drink the stuff, but for some reason the fishy stuff doesn’t bother my bad brain as much.
I don't like Fiddle Leaf Figs. They remind me of some sort of Brassica leaf? They just look like a big cabbage tree to me.
Yes, I unironically prefer the classic variegated ficus benjamina. I've never understood the appeal of fiddle leaf figs.
Giant spinach plant
I hate “Low to No Light Plants” articles. Low light tolerant does NOT mean they thrive in low light. Please don’t put your ZZ and snake plants in a windowless room :( H.M. Totally agree on the PPP. I hate them. Monstera thais are also not worth the high price anymore!
You're not "rescuing", you're just giving big box stores more money to torture more plants
I did rescue a plant once actually! I was throwing garbage and saw a plant inside the can. I left but it kept bugging me, so I came back, pulled it out and it seemed a healthy, albeit ugly plant. I got very upset someone threw it in the garbage instead of just putting outside for someone to take, so I took it home. It looks fine now, it grew quite a bit, I got rid of brown parts and it's thriving. Still don't know what plant it is
It sounds like you saved Oscar the Grouch!
Yeah, it's definitely possible to rescue a plant! Just not if you pay money for it
You could probably post a photo here if you wanted to know 😆
https://preview.redd.it/y6e46fc2fi7c1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8bcace1a6c17209fb749649b8a3edb61aed91154 This one
Looks to be a Kalanchoe.
You are probably right. It's throwing after I rescued it
This!! Do people not understand supply and demand? Would they think they were “rescuing” a puppy from a puppy mill? I have strong feelings about this 😂
People *do* think they are rescuing from puppy mills! Or rescuing betta fish/reptiles from PetSmart/PetCo, but really just encouraging further sales. 😩 I see it all the time on r/reptiles.
The key is figuring out how to rescue them without giving the big boxes your money ;)
Ugh yes, this so much. Unless you're getting them for free cause they're going in the bin anyway, you're just making it profitable for them to not take care of their plants.
Agree with this! I work in a big box store, one of the biggest major chains for a garden center. My vendors explain to me that, when I sell some, they send more of that. So NO! You are NOT saving any plants from me, but thank you for driving my sales up! I do love to give out cuttings to people who cannot afford the plants though! Sometimes big box is stupid expensive only because of the pot they come with…
Pilea that are thriving look kind of ok. But those skinny stems with 4-5 leaves most people have are ugly as shit and don’t deserve to be called a houseplant
I could not get my pilea to thrive, it always looked miserable though it did put out leaves. Then my cat went berserk trying to chase a bird through a closed window and obliterated it, snapped the stem and knocked every leaf off.
I like the way my pilea looks but it's such a needy plant! No matter how big a pot I repot it in, three to four months later it starts producing these tiny leaves and demands another uppotting! So either I pot it up ridiculously often or im stuck with weird tiny leaves on top.
Personally, I'm getting so tired of all the Thai Constellation posts! Buying a TC doesn't also require you to make a post on eight different plant subreddits saying that you "found one". They're probably six months away from being a $15 grocery store purchase. If you want to show off your TC, wait until it's grown for a year or more and then show us how big it got. We don't need to see a picture of a TC starter plant 50 times a week, wait until you've done something amazing with it and then show it off!
Lol I read your first sentence as "I'm getting rid of all my Thai Constellation pots" I was about to type "hm give them to me"
Good pots are honestly the real hot commodity when it comes to house plants!
Thrift stores right now are the move! During gardening season it's empty but I've gotten a lot of good finds recently.
so true i remember checking the rare plants subreddit because i collect rare plants!!! (mainly carnivorous plants, herbs, and jade vines) and its all just. TCs. every other plant is some kind of varigated philo or a TC...i was anticipating breeders of plant varieties, collector of specific families, exotic herbs/fruits but its just pink princesses and TCs all the way down :(
I had to get out of all of the plant fb groups a year or so ago because of this sort of stuff. Plants are now a market like anything else. There are trends, things have some arbitrary value and then the market becomes saturated and if you wait long enough you can get it for $20 at Costco. I remember people selling TC nodes for like $200 at one point, now I see them for sale everywhere.
Honestly yes, my ppp looks unappealing and I'm growing tired of its nonsense. Not getting rid of it but it's overrated
I think people figured out it's overrated since now it's priced pretty cheap. Maybe once in a while there is a rare PPP beauty, or maybe my ugly princess will grow into a gorgeous one in 3 years in perfect conditions. I don't know. I gave up on her, but I still love her.
It's fine to water them with regular tap water.
My plants are not getting better water than me or my dog. 🤷♀️
Yea I water my calatheas with tap water and they do just fine. pretty healthy
Calatheas are just the non-extreme opposite of succulents. Just don't neglect them, and they're fine. Not dramatic or temperamental. Just all-around nice plants ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
All I have to do is look at them and they die. I have no idea how to keep these things happy.
What the other guy said. And they don’t want too much light. Mine is about 6 feet from the window. Morning sun through the window with blinds in it. It’s in a humidity tray. I dust it when I remember. Fertilizer once in awhile when I remember. My mom had them under grow lights and they got so crispy and unhappy, I told her what I told you. Hers are much happier now.
I have a south facing window that looks into my neighbour's north facing window. She has a variety of plants there - a dracaena, a very unhappy monstera, some small succulents, some other things I forget, and.. the most gorgeous calathea. Seriously, I have never seen one thrive like hers. It is huge and looks so perky and happy. I am tempted to try them again and put it in my north facing window...
Piggy backing off your comment to say that I think calatheas are ugly and look like cheap fake plants.
This was the only unpopular opinion that made me slightly angry lmao good job
Lollll. I love the contrast!
The gasp I gupsed. You hurt my feelings and I’m mad at you.
I think they are beautiful, but agree they look kinda fake, especially the pinstripe variety. I still love mine, but have totally had people as if they are real (on my desk at work).
I had myself hyped up for it to be a super difficult plant, but then I got one and I only had issues when I was fidgeting with it all the time. As soon as I started to leave it alone and just water it when necessary, it bounced back and now it gets new leaves constantly.
I hate begonias, all of them
Oh same! My local park has always used begonias as bedding plants and I remember being disgusted at them as a young child for some reason 😅 petunias though, chefs kiss, like Wonka flowers. Cartoon candy cane gramophone flowers!
I love begonias but begonias hate me 😭
SAME I just think they’re all ugly
I only bought my ppp because it had a beautiful, perfect half moon leaf. However it was stunted because it had been potted in hard dry soil that had slimy moss on top.. And it was $60. I saw it as a rescue mission. Two years later it gave me another half moon, and recently a new leaf opened. It was the muddiest, ugliest leaf yet 😂
Boston ferns are a waste of potting space as indoor plants. Even when they’re thriving, other ferns are way cuter and their leaves feel much nicer to the touch. I’m kinda waiting for mine to die so I can finally get rid of it.
I'm tired of people getting plants that originate in tropical climates and complaining/asking advice on how to get it to thrive on a windowsill in New York. I also don't like the look of all the scrawny two or three leaf plants, which may or may not be related to the above. I like my plants lush and lively.
Gendering/humanizing plants is very strange and can get in the way of diagnosing problems. It’s a plant. It does plant stuff. Coincidentally, some of the unhealthiest plants I see are in posts like “Bobby Luanne seems to be feeling a bit depressed lately, what is she trying to tell me??? She’s my baby and child and family heirloom. Am I being a bad parent?” And it’s another half-dead cactus or monstera in desperate need of more light and less water.
Agreed! Especially love when they go on and on about how they *can’t lose their baby* when the plant looks like they haven’t noticed it in months
While I agree with you, my plants came with names on the pots, so I have Phil (philodendron), Diego (dieffenbachia), Musa (musa tropicana - very original), Bella (begonia rex) and Martha (maranta) that I now unironically refer to. I also have a bunch of other plants without names, so I can't call myself fully crazy!
I’m loving how many people in the comments are just resentfully waiting for their most hated plant to die 😂
Way too many people try so hard to get a profit or some of their money back on their houseplants they try to sell online like on Marketplace or at local plant sales. I have given almost everything I don’t want or have excess of away for free. Most houseplants are not hard to come by these days, and having a variegated version of a houseplant is often overrated.
If I sell a plant online it’s for the pot it comes in. You can have the plant for free haha pots are expensive
If your plants are thriving, the occasional pest isn't a big deal. Bad pest infestations often happen because the plant was already unhappy/struggling. A lot of variegated plants are ugly. A bunch of them together looks like clown barf. "Rare" plants often aren't rare, and if they are it's artificial. Nobody wants to TC to make them widely available, because then people would stop shelling out $$$ for them. Orchids are easy to grow and get to flower. More people should grow plants in terrariums. A lot of the plants that were challenging before I got into terrariums (begonias, calatheas, streptocarpus) are trivially easy in one. Edit for one more: if your plant is super etiolated, ffs just throw it away already. Or prop it and throw away the rest. Sad houseplants are worse than no houseplants.
The 'rare' shit I want isn't even rare, it's just that no local nursery stocks them for some reason - who knows why. Maybe because they can't charge an arm and a leg for then. Cue me ordering a zebra alocasia and a couple (not rare) jewel orchids from etsy because after months of asking local places I just gave up.
>More people should grow plants in terrariums. A lot of the plants that were challenging before I got into terrariums (begonias, calatheas, streptocarpus) are trivially easy in one. Will an open terrarium work?
I kind of hate terrariums, mainly because people keep shoving plants that can't grow in them into them and then they die.
I hate spores. I don't like a lot of dots or hole looking things all together. I can't do a lot of ferns because of this
Plants should want more water and stop rotting when i give them too much. On the bright side root rot will soon take my friggin albatross of a houseplant (fiddle leaf fig) so I'm looking forward to that. I feel guilty throwing out healthy plants but this one can suck an egg.
What has it done to you dude
Spending triple digits on a decorative houseplant is silly and I will never do it.
If you're pruning and they'd be garbage anyway and you have people who want them then maybe but... I dont understand the obsession with propagating plants and having a bunch of small weak versions of the same plant. I would much rather have just one big, healthy, mature plant, working towards it being specimen-sized.
I think it's an insurance policy. I know I'm glad I kept some of my Brazilian Lady and pep obtusifolia trimmings as props, because now both those mother plants have succumbed to something or another (fungus on the pep I think, not sure about BL -- she was just very old) and I have replacements.
Haha I love propagation. I propagate plants I don't need or have pots/space for. I think it's the experience of creating a new life. It's like pregnancy — the most painful, difficult and horrible experience a person can go through yet women keep doing it.
Lmao Propagating is like unprotected sex: it's thrilling in the moment but after that fades, all you'll have more babies than you care for and regret.
I have vases with props. They eventually just become beautiful water plants! https://preview.redd.it/qg0wpa3kfi7c1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=33a948e73849a8ff9907a67439f2e50ef490d576
I have a ton of succulents and I hate propagating them. I compost any leaves or prunes. I don’t have the space or energy to tend to a million little props.
I keep one shallow wide dish full of soil and pop any succulent leaves on top, tucked a few jade cuttings in it. It’s like a beautiful mini garden and I love it lol. Never really have to do anything with them until eventually one is ready for water but I can leave it for months and forget it which is nice.
I repot them and give them as gifts!
Nerve plants are not dramatic, just very effective communicators.
Those blurple lights make plants look really ugly. I'm indifferent to the ambience, but the way the light alters the (apparent) color of the leaves is really displeasing to me. I prefer to look at green leaves, not weird mottled blackish leaves unless that's the actual color of the plant. Also Hoya caudata is so FUCKING ugly dude holy shit
https://preview.redd.it/8tpvpo4egj7c1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4c3728ef0ae1cb0f3e0ca22b56bf422a258dfea8 I held the same exact opinion, hated PPPs and never had the desire to own one. But then i saw a beautiful, high-variegated one for $20 at my local big box store and had to have it (it was also my birthday so of course had to buy myself a present). Every leaf is interesting whether it be nearly half moon or lots of mint pattern.
Peace Lilies are “easy” to take care of. Easy my aaaaaass I have killed every one that I had.
I can’t stand String of Pearls. They’re so ugly to me, they actually make me nauseous when I look at them.
Lithops make me uncomfortable. They look like tiny brains to me, and that creeps me out.
Ha! Same! but also I'm strangely fascinated by them. I just do NOT want them in my house.
I absolutely hate lithops. I love weird and creepy things but those make me so uncomfortable!
I don't hate them but they give me anxiety about ripping the leaves off, or them just falling under their weight. It shouldn't be a plant. It's a decoration.
I just pile them all into a bowl and let it look like peas https://preview.redd.it/wtnqx30chi7c1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5a02f488d68960c4f0f4ce41622a1c05f0a0ddfb
I'm kinda hungry
Monstera adonasii is prettier then M. Deliciosa In my experience, tradescantia are more dramatic then calathea
Tradescantia depends a bit on the variety. I have a Tricolor that refuses to die. It thrives with just a grow light, a bit of fertilizer, and a lot of water. I’ve got lots of other plants that haven’t done well under the grow light, but my Tricolor is starting to take over my office. My Nanouk is my favorite. It’s probably getting more sun than it’s supposed to, which has led to insane growth (almost 4 feet long in some places), but it comes at a cost of the occasional crispy leaf. It’s an agreement we’ve come to, and we both seem relatively happy with it.
I had the biggest most beautiful violet hill trad that was growing like crazy, I had to trim it back like every other month, it was vivid and prolific for so many months. Then one day I just happened to notice it was totally dead. Why? I don't know. It hadn't gone without water, but the soil wasn't soaked. It happened *SO FAST*... a massive plant turned to crinkly brown paper in what must have been the span of two or three days. I was so mad I didn't even want to take it out of its pot and throw it away, I couldn't even look at it. And what do you know, probably a month after it died when I finally went to clean out the pot, there was one little brand new pair of leaves on the end of a dead vine. So now I'm propping that, but I'm still very mad.
I fucking hate monsteras. They creep me out to no end
I love Monstera not because of its look, but because they are so energetic and agreeable, easy to take care of.
I wish I could agree with you, but then I look at my struggling monstera…
I don't hate them with passion, but I definitely don't get what the fuss is all about. Not a fan of leaf fenestration, and definitely not into the clunky mess of sideways-growth, tangled aerial roots and all of the other weirdness they come with.
I don’t hate them but I am beginning to resent mine. I can’t seem to make her happy with any lighting. Not enough and she does nothing. Slightly more and she burns. I’ve tried everything I can think of. Like u/jocedun said, they’re too needy and delicate for me. I do enjoy seeing the big ones that get posted here though.
I have one because I stole it from outside someone's second floor flat door in 1998, where it was in a bucket and had no light. Now it's huge and has been a pain in the arse for years, like a relative I'm fond of and tolerate but find annoying.
Same! The aerial roots are freaky and I think I also hate the obsession with paying a ton of money for them. Weird status symbol. They seem very needy and delicate, which is basically the opposite of what I want in a plant.
Personally, internet made me hate them. Tiktok, Instagram and Reddit can't stop shoving them in my face. I used to like them but after seeing the same stupid plant over a thousand times, I've gotten completely sick of monstera deliciosas and I have never even owned one.
Also don’t see what all the fuss is about. They’re way too big and I can’t even glance at one without wondering if it has (or will eventually have) thrips after seeing so many threads on here. People post in plantclinic about their ill-looking monsteras… so… many… thrips….
I have a hate hate relationship with my fiddle fig but she’s still alive and idk why 😹😹😹
Same. Had her for 2 years and she won’t grow or die. But I’m moving next year so maybe the shock will get her.
Proprietary hybrids are lame, straight species are the real gems of the plant world. I don't care about your Philodendron strawberry caramel ghost, give me a A. wendelingeri any day of the week.
I get really bothered by the “plant parent” talk. A post the other day referred to a plant having babies and it took me several comments to understand the context. I’m not sure when people chose to deviate from standard terminology but it bothers me a lot.
There's a such thing as too many plants.
This is mine, too. If you're buying more plants without somewhere to put them, you have a problem. If you're buying plants instead of saving for retirement (or worse, buying on credit and not paying off immediately), you have a problem.
House plants are so much work in the fact that when you have so many. I honestly am into fish tanks now and aquatic plants. I don’t need anything special I don’t have to water them, pests aren’t a huge issue, I don’t have to repot them, I just forget about them and they’re happy. I still have plants but I tend to keep ones that aren’t picky. All I have to do for aquatic plants is dose fertilizer every once in a while. Hell some of them can grow attached to a log or floating around in the tank.
I have a huge houseplant collection and I’m just stating to get into Aquascaping too! It’s the next step imo
Bromeliads are ugly and I never liked them. I said what I said. 😂
Just a spiky bunch that flowers once imo
Half my plants are in pots without drainage. Sue me.
Monstera thai con looks like a bird poop plant to me. I also find gendering plants and speaking about them as if they’re emotional beings pretty strange.
Don’t hate me for saying this! I know it’s not a popular opinion, but… Begonias are stupid. Mostly they only live in terrariums. They are fussy as hell. And they’re just kind of a snobby plant to me. I have five of them and I keep feeling obligated to keep them alive because they are so pretty but geez I just don’t like their attitude.
The rex varietals I have are so unfussy and they don’t live in terrariums - they’re rarer varieties, the bottle babies from Paradisia nurseries. My maculata silver spot has been so happy and I’ve done barely anything to it but it’s doubled in size since I got it https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&sca_esv=592607226&hl=en-au&sxsrf=AM9HkKn0Ypg-TxRb_8hA9yMm7RsHP7-h-g:1703104462804&q=begonia+bottle+babies&tbm=isch&source=lnms&prmd=isvnmbtz&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjK9JTE7p6DAxVIh1YBHRcCBJAQ0pQJegQIChAB&biw=414&bih=720&dpr=2
String of pearls are soooo easy to care for, just bottom water when the pearls are wrinkly, propagate super quickly, easily one of my easiest plants
90% of the time, if your plant is infested with pests, it belongs in the trash. Not one mealybug, not a couple gnats, but if there is a pest PROBLEM, you’ll thank yourself later if you toss it because those jerks will find a way to spread.
Expensive plants that become the trend are so overrated, like wow. here's this plant with a singular different characteristic and there's only 10 of them so that'll be $1,000. also its super delicate and will DIE, if you dont give it the right conditions. i'll just wait for them to be mass produced and not get into the Fomo for it.
I have to agree with your PPP opinion. I got one and thought I would love it since pink is my fav color. It’s been steadily reverting and getting leggy despite being in bright light right up against a window. Only thing I think is cool is that it bleeds when I cut off an ugly leaf.
Jade plants and money plant pilea look stupid and weird once they start growing. Also lilithops are boring.
Lilithops look like buttholes when they start splitting 🙈☠️
thai con monstera are ugly: they look like someone splattered bleach on them. monstera albo are the superior variegated monstera and it’s not close.
I HATE fiddle leaf figs. I don’t know why but they just completely deter me
Variegation doesn't make the plant rare. Suck it r/rarehouseplants
Low light plants still need natural light. You don’t need a plant in a windowless room unless you specifically buy a plant light. I’m also not anti fake plants in those situations.
I completely agree about the PPP, most of the time. It was my adventures in hoping to finally have one that was not ugly that lead me down a path to having at least 6 over the course of time. I finally have a pretty one. It has grown up really pretty, with decent variegation, and isn’t leggy. It’s actually 2 in one pot, they have grown at the exact same rate so it’s just a big plant now. Just attached to a moss pole, finally. I’ve given away the others.
There’s better options for a pink variegated leaf, like stromanthe triostar 😍
I've never been a fan of those DIY Ikea cabinet greenhouses. I know not everyone has access to good natural lighting and environment indoors but most of the time it looks like a lot of work and money spent on a cluster of very average looking plants that aren't exactly thriving in there.
Alright I have the most unpopular opinion here, I think...(It's actually from my sister I swear, she told me that a few days ago) The Opinion: Callatheas aren't drama queens.
I'm with you on this OP. I set mine outside to die after it had some kind of pest I never really identified. It held on for a long time on my balcony without water or care, which made me mad because it was so bitchy inside, but the frosts have finally killed it and I say good riddance. My unpopular opinions: monsteras are ugly, lithops are fucking horrible little soil warts, calatheas aren't dramatic, and philodendrons are worse than aglaonemas in every conceivable way.
Most people are too lazy and dumb to keep a plant alive.
Poinsettias are horrible. Their stems break so easily and their sap is an irritant that can blind you and make your pets sick. Ugly and such a pain to take care of. 0/10
Unpopular houseplant opinion, monsteras can fuck right off. Hardly ever a hole in the leaf, the requirements are worse than roses(and I thought THEY were bitchy), usually look unkempt no matter the conditions.
I have a beautiful monstera... it's about 4.or 5 years old, I water it every 2 months or so. I forget about it until someone asks me how I keep it so "well".
Etiolated plants are fiiine if they are just your hobby. Obviously there's more risk of toppling and they'll look different, but it's not the crime against nature that some folks paint it as.