New plants for my cube

[Stanislaw]

So I'm thinking of buying some plants for my cubicle, unfortunatly its pretty low light, theres a window and some natural light filters in, but its not very much, mainly all I have to work with are the standard fluorecent lighting strips...

...so far I have one low maintenance plant that thrives in junky low light conditions (I have no idea what it is - it was given to me)

I'm kind of dumb when it comes to house plants, my gardening hobby is mainly just around vegitables and fruits.

so, here be me question:

What is a nice low-light plant suitable for a cubicle?

[papayahed]

Does it have to be small? The first thing that came to mind is a mther-in-law plant (aka snake plant) but those can get pretty tall.

[Stanislaw]

Does it have to be small? The first thing that came to mind is a mther-in-law plant (aka snake plant) but those can get pretty tall.

Nope size doesn't really matter (well, so long as it doesn't get taller than 7- 8 ft)

edit:
I just googled the snake plant - that is the plant that I have in my cubicle, I had no idea what it was called :D

[Lily Adams]

You should get Audrey Jr. from The Little Shop of Horrors to keep annoying co-workers who you don't like away. All she needs is blood to survive.

I'd want Audrey Jr. in my cubicle.

[Stanislaw]

You should get Audrey Jr. from The Little Shop of Horrors to keep annoying co-workers who you don't like away. All she needs is blood to survive.

I'd want Audrey Jr. in my cubicle.

I very sincerely want this plant for my cubicle, heh, goodbye coworkers!

[Niamh]

Peace lilies.

[Logos]

I agree with Niamh, Peace Lilies (spathiphylum) (http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/Hort/Hort332/images/plantlist/peace%20lily%20wallisii.jpg) are great for low light. They grow as a bush, so don't get too high, depending on the variety you get. You can get miniature ones that stay less than a foot tall to keep on your desk, or floor specimens that get to be about 4 feet tall. Their 'white flags' are really cool.

Chinese Evergreen (http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/Hort/Hort332/images/plantlist/chinese%20evergreen%20SQ.jpg) plants are really hardy, great in low light. They come in diff. varieties of speckles and markings and such on their leaves, and they also sometimes produce 'white flag' flowers similar to the spath above. (the plant in the pic does have flowers, they're just not open yet, kinda hard to see)

And like papaya suggested, Sansevierias (http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/Hort/Hort332/images/plantlist/snake%20plant.jpg) are really 'hard to kill', that's why some call them 'mother in laws tongue' plants :lol:

George Orwell wrote a hilarious book called Keep the Aspidistra Flying which is in reference to a 'cast iron' plant (http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/Hort/Hort332/images/plantlist/aspidistra.jpg), another highly tolerant plant.

Pretty much any Dracaenaceae (http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/Hort/Hort332/plantlists.html) variety can tolerate low light. They come in plain green or white, pink, or yellow variegated varieties and a huge variety of potential sizes. They don't grow very fast.

You could also try a vine-type plant, one that doesn't get too tall but sends out shoots you can drape around your cube and be the envy of all the ladeeze :p like a pothos (http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/Hort/Hort332/images/plantlist/pothos.jpg) plant, they too come in predominantly green or varieties with yellow or white in their leaves. Around here anyway the variety with white in its leaves is hard to find! but I love them.

Another vine is the wax plant/vine (http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/Hort/Hort332/images/plantlist/wax%20plant.jpg), again they can be found with really cool 'marbling' on their leaves in white and pink, AND, BONUS! if it flowers for you? their waxy bunches of florets last forever, are really fragrant, but not in a gag me overly perfumy way :D

And here is your secret weapon: I'd say the #1 one thing people neglect to do when they've got plants stuck under flourescent lights is that they forget to give them FERTILIZER. Plants need food, even if it is not a flowering variety. Once or twice a week, when you water your plant--it should only be slightly moist, never wet and never bone dry, so say a 6" pot? maybe a cup of water every couple of days, but that would vary on the temp and humidity of your office and whether there is high air circulation/fans/ etc. so just keep an eye on and feel the soil first--mix in a small amount of fertilizer, like half or a third of the recommended amount. Miracle grow is great :)

[Bakiryu]

An air fern, it looks pretty and you can forget it to water it for years, it'll still live! Just put in on an airy place, my air ferns look great!

[Stanislaw]

awesome! thanks for the tips Logos! If I were going to grow potatoes in my cube I'd have no problem ;)

...I like the vine idea, that could be pretty cool.

and I'll take a look at the air fern aswell!

[papayahed]

But Air Ferns aren't real.

Logos had some good suggestions. I think most plants are fickle though. You never know where they're going to grow, I've had plants where I followed the directions to the tee (even getting a moisture meter) and they still died and other plants I neglected like a red headed stepchild and they thrive, darn African Violets!! (I really don't like African Violets all that much and someone gave me one no matter how much attention I didn't pay to the thing I just kept growing and flowering. I gave it to my mom and a couple weeks later gone.)

[Niamh]

I agree with Niamh, Peace Lilies (spathiphylum) (http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/Hort/Hort332/images/plantlist/peace%20lily%20wallisii.jpg) are great for low light. They grow as a bush, so don't get too high, depending on the variety you get. You can get miniature ones that stay less than a foot tall to keep on your desk, or floor specimens that get to be about 4 feet tall. Their 'white flags' are really cool.

:)

I really like peace lilies. They are very easy to maintain, just water every now and then. And they constantly flower.
Heres a pic. Now like Logos said they can be big or small. This is big.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y95/WayWaterSide/MySpaths.jpg