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Plants for Cubicles?
Frank of Earth asks: "Our company recently moved to a new location and I was lucky enough to get a cube with a window. Now that I actually can benefit from sunshine, I thought it would be cool to grow something in a potted container. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a lot of information on growing plants in your cube. Most of the indoor plant growing topics I found are related to illegal types of plant growing you do in your closet. What types of plants make good cube plants with a geek flare? Rather than just growing a boring spider plant, I would like to grow something cool like a fruit or vegetable. If you've had experience growing something unique, please post your thoughts!" What kind of plant would you grow in your cubicle?
Plus the time it takes to grow will make everyone wonder what's going on, and before long, everyone will pay you a visit everyday to see how it's doing.
And when it finally blooms, everyone will congratulate you for a job well done!
I attempted to do this, but the thing died. However, I do not have much of a green thumb. If you do, they look pretty cool.
Mid-Eastern Pennsylvania Gaming Convention
/. accepted my story idea!
Thankfully I didn't use any links to my homepage-- that would have been really stupid and costly [ignore the links in my signature!]
Live web cams
Try this Grows everywhere, under almost every condition, everybody will love you, you will be very popular. Good for your health as well.
People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.
Sorry!
Imagine a potential client visiting your cubicle, and you feel like you could use a little energy boost, just stroll over to your tray of wheatgrass and graze for a few moments, then rip some out and offer a small handfull to your client.
I think it would really impress them.
You could start wearing animal hides as well, that's also impressive.
(seriously though, wheatgrass is easy to grow, and you can nibble on it or juice it)
I have several bonsai all over my computer desk, on the computer speakers, and sitting in the window by my desk. Azaleas are perfectly suited for indoor life. Also nice is the rabbit's foot fern on one of the speakers which just looks weird and multiplies as fast as a spider plant. Behind my computer (a laptop permanently fixed on my desk) is a small cluster of palms of some sort which enjoy the heat that my laptop's fan pumps out at them.
Occasionally the fern will droop down low enough to get in the way of my screen. This is a really good indicator that the plants need watering.
Direct away from face when opening.
And if it's grown enough, you can even feed her your lusers.
You can try a lemon tree ; sure, you'd have to wait a couple of years (or buy an older plant) before you can actually get a lemon out of it :p
Anyway, the plant smells nice and it's quite resilient - my sister had a larger one in her room for almost 15 years.
By reading this signature you agree to not disagree with the post you just read.
my lab workbench has giant windows that get lots of sunlight.
Being a biologist (but not a botanist) I've experimented with various plants. Currently I have 3 pothos (philodendron) vines, and a small palm tree. The vines are great, you can drape them over anything and they bring a nice natural look to an artificial environment. They don't require a lot of light, and only need watered once a week. On the first of the month, I usually spike their drink with a bit of fertilizer (Miracle grow) to replace nitrogen and minerals in the soil. The big one is about 40 feet long now.
The palm tree gives a nice tropical feel to the area, esecially during the D.C. winters. It does, however, require direct sunlight, and for it I follow the same watering regimen as the philodendrons.
One plant that I've wanted to try in the lab are Venus fly-traps. They can be very tricky to grow. IIRC, they need low to moderate sunlight, and the choice of soil is critical. Too much fertilizer (nitrogen) and they die. In the wild they like moist peat, and they get their nitrogen from catching flies. I always thought that carnivorous plants would be great for an office setting. Especially if you're like me and often just want to work in peace.
"Me fail English, that's unpossible." --Ralphie
I would have to say, ask your local florist. I currently have a christmas cactus in my cube that I got from my florist, and it's doing very well despite the fact that I do not have a window and the lights almost never get turned off. It has survived a whole month so far.
You could also consult your local home improvement store or nursery, which ever one you know where is.
This signiture copied from somewhere.
I would recommend a cactus.
They require little care (water once a week during the warm months, none at all during the cold months, fertilize once a year), so they can survive vacations and weekends unattended.
Cactii come in all kinds of strange, unique geeky forms, and several produce weird looking edible fruit.
Look up epiphyllum catus, beautifull flowers, and fruit that tastes like passionfruit (smell before eating, goes bad very fast).
Most mammillarias produce small red edible fruits, and some have very interesting shapes. Look up mamillaria elongata cristate, or Mammillaria bocasana 'Fred', one of my favourites.
If you like really weird shapes, look up Euphorbias, I specially like my Euphorbia obesa cristate.
Note: Cristate means a Crested fromd of the plant. They usually look like brains.
Even though you have a window, you'll find that shade loving (or at least shade tolerating) species will do best. I seriously doubt that you can not find any information on growing indoor plants other than weed on the web, get real. That aside, here are some suggestions: Ferns, look nice, filter the air, easy to grow, love shade. African violets, small, don't require frequent watering so they won't die over weekends or vacations, don't mind shade. They don't bloom often, but they look nice even when they aren't in bloom.
-73, de n1ywb
www.n1ywb.com
A Chia Head would be interesting in a cubicle. And it would be the source of lots of discussion. Or, how about an underwater plant? Or one of those dirtless air plants? Or some wheatgrass.
I grow mold all the time, but nobody seems to be interested or impressed.
move along, nothing to
A buddy of mine who happens to be a programmer grows alfalfa sprouts in his window, they are easy to care for and he uses one of those busboy trays like in a restraunt as a planter. Also he has a really nice beer glass filled with nice stones and water and stuck some bamboo into it, then these nice offshoots grow from the sticks.
piss off
Find something that can thrive on neglect.
I like jade plants. They're very long-lived, and don't require much care beyond watering every couple of weeks. When they get older, they start to look like miniature trees.
I don't usually reply to my own posts, but if your office doesn't have flies (The fruit fly labs upstairs would keep my lab well stocked), you can use raw hamburger. Or eventually annoying coworkers if the plant gets big enough. :)
"Me fail English, that's unpossible." --Ralphie
If you're going to be growing anything in a cube, it should definitely be one of these:
Tasty!
I mean, the parallelism alone would be great!
And when you're done, you could probably use the husk to create a diorama of you growing it in your cube for an extra bit of surrealism in your day.
That green slime had it coming.
A monstera(aka split-leaf philodendron). They are easy to grow from cuttings and trive in an office. Given the right conditions (rarely found in an office) they will also grow a large white flower with a corn-cob sized spike in the middle and the spike will ripen and become edible if you leave it long enough (months) and conditions are right. I have a huge one outside my home and on rare occasions get a ripe spike. It tastes sort of like pineapple but not as acidic.
~~~~~~~
"You are not remembered for doing what is expected of you." - Atul Chitnis
No idea what the lighting/watering requirements are, though it should be easy enough to find out.
The Fire Lily is the coolest looking plant, :)
http://http//www.firelily.com/firelily.html/
Dont know how Cubicle friendly..., but annoying for co-workers is part of your job....
I've had luck with small bamboo plants. I keep mine filled with water, so there's no overwatering. It doesn't require a lot of light, but they'll grow faster if there's more.
They do grow very slowly though. However, there are many very nicely arranged ones.
Why, o why must the sky fall when I've learned to fly?
The first thing that you should try is some Basil. True, it is not a veggie or a fruit, but it is an amazing plant that is great to start a window-box-ish type work project. Start with one of the smaller leaf varities (which should grow very quickly in direct sun... try 'small leaf greek') and see if it's for you, and then you can move onto one of the larger leaf varities (opal or italian large). I've had many co-workers enter my office and comment on how nice the smell is.
Odd definition of lucky. How about working in a place where they actually treat you as a human being? (No cubicles at all?)
Hate me!
I would agree that a bonsai tree is definitely the way to go, although I will admit that they can be a bit difficult to care for. I have two of them in my house, and everyone who comes over asks about them. If you put one in your cubicle, you will instantly transform into Mr. Popular.
Another thing to consider is that there are actually many types of bonsai trees, each with their own distinct style. Check out http://www.bonsaisite.com/ for lots of good info styles, growing and care of bonsai trees.
Garlic was fun.
Tomatoes were useful.
Corn was unwieldly after a bit,
Peanuts are next on the list.
Plants like these are a great way to break up the day and increase pleasure in the office.
Yep, I never spell check.
More incorrect spellings can be found he
If you're not picky on the exact sort of mushrooms you get then all you need is moisture, not too cold temperatures and some compost. In one of my previous offices we had some mushrooms growing out of the edge of the sink in the pantry...
If you're picky on the sort of mushrooms you want then it's hard...
Hint: don't eat them.
You mean those crispy, brown things...
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
Orchids are not actually as hard as you might think to grow, and are beautiful too. If you go the the store and buy the ones without flowers, they are even very cheap ($10 or so). Just be sure they get enough humidity. There's plenty of information online about growing them, and the flowers are definatly unusual.
grow some Chipolte or Habenero peppers. They are pretty and tasty at the same time. They are Pretasty!
Put some on your lunch, or give them away to your coworkers.
If bad puns were like deli meat, this would be the wurst
I like African Violets - the foliage is nice, (and it's fuzzy!), and it has little blossoms year around. Lots of variety here.
Jade plants are cool too. They're succulents - have sort of plump leaves.
Both of these are easy to care for and should do fine in medium light.
Facts are stubborn things.
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Try a bonsai kitten. ;)
OK, ok, you wanted fruits and vegetables---I would suggest peppers. They grow pretty quickly, aren't hard to grow, and you can use them in your lunches.
Also, you can cultivate morning glories. They're not actually illegal (it's just illegal to consume the seeds), and I'm sure once you have a batch of seeds, a few people will covertly approach you and ask to buy some seeds off of you. It's not illegal to sell seeds (as long as you don't know they're being used illicitly), so you'd be doing nothing wrong, and making money. However, I don't know how much space they take...
--TheOrangeSquid Is it any wonder things seem so awry? We swim in a sea of confusion and don't have to think to survive
I suggest growing zinnias. They're easy to grow, grow quickly, and turn out some darn impressive blooms. Plus, you can always use them to surprise coworkers of the opposite sex...
De Bas Meister
Perhaps you're lacking in reading comprehension. Of course you could find info about growing any type of plant your grandma is probably growing on our window sill right now. He clearly states he was looking at veggies/fruits or something unique with a geek flavor.
You can have your very own ecosystem, complete with water and fish. It will not need any care (only a little light), since the bowl is completely sealed.
h ri mp-ecosystem.html
http://www.gadgets.co.uk/eco-sphere-ecosphere-s
I thought of buying one myself, just for the geekfactor.
-- look sir droids...
Although they don't require direct sunlight, venus fly traps make a good conversation starter.
On my desk, I have a pineapple plant. You can start you own by saving the crown of any store-bought pineapple. Mine is growing hydroponically in a glass jar. The plant is very forgiving and can handle prolonged neglect. I've let my jar run dry up to a week.
I've had a corn plant for 13 years. I forget to water it for a month sometimes. It's doing fine. It doesn't need much light, either.
With some fertilizer, it decided to bloom and put out spectactularly-scented flowers.
http://www.evergrowing.com/tips/cornplant.htm
The one I recently got came entirely in sphagnum moss. No soil at all I believe. Tips?
Believe it or not, I've been wondering what it would take to get some of that. I get the impression that since it went nuts in the southern states it's hard to get elsewhere (people afraid of it taking over...)
If somebody would engineer some oil-producing genes into the stuff we could solve our fuel problems virtually overnight (biodiesel is our friend). I imagine the remains from processing the oil could be pressed into cheap building material, too...
Hacker Public Radio is our Friend
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Since I don't know of a slashdot for gardeners (stemdot?) I recommend going to your local greenhouse, and telling them you want something...
;)
1. for indoors (duh);
2. that will get light from [whatever direction your window faces];
3. that generally requires a drenching of water once a week, but can handle twice a week and won't die if it doesn't have water for two weeks.
They'll have a whole selection for you. Unless, of course, you'd rather stick with doing the equivalent of asking people in the gardening forum what kind of computer to buy for ordering seeds online.
you get one of those plants from Little shop of Horrors. Not only will it eat your PHB, it will do a little song and dance afterwards!
Monstar L
I have grown Japanese dwarf tomatoes in small containers indoors with no problems. The tomatoes are about the size of a large cherry with some plants producing yellow and some red. Pretty cool 12 to 15 inch plants with more tomatoes than you would think.
They are uniquely beautiful plants, they live a long time, require little maintenance. They are also quite adaptable when it comes to amount of sunlight.
,even when the plant is in exposed conditions.
Of course, if you have some room and really want a conversation starter, grab yourself a "Laurier" (not sure of the english name). Its quite an impressive plant. Mine is 6 feet tall and lives with about 3 hours of direct sunlight+rest of the day in shade.
As a rule of thumb, avoid any plant which requires constant or high humidity, since the windows will most likely trigger variations (sunlight/aircurrent/heating) when you are not there (weekend/vacations). However, anything with a big, unexposed pot will be able to fare better
A co-worker of mine once grew a small jalapeno plant in his cube and succesfully produced edible peppers within a year. Surprisingly, this worked without the benefit of a window; the plant grew quite well on fluorescent light alone.
Practice random acts of ineffability.
My roommate has been growing some habanero plants for quite a while. I guess he waters them profusely every now and then, and uses plant food meant for tomatos, and the crazy thing has grown twice its size in two weeks. Very rewarding, and edible too!
I saw this upside-down tomato garden on a recent flight in SkyMall and thought it looked pretty cool. The tomato plants grow downwards and then you can plant something else on top. It's rather large, but I think it's rather unusual and is the ideal geek planter.
If you want to be original I'd suggest adding a bonsai to the cubicle farm. You can get as geeky as you want with it - there is lots to learn about bonsai care and it might even make a nice hobby when you are not dealing with IT stuff.
...they will worry that the webcam pointing to it has 100% uptime.
-Derek
You can grow a small lemon tree in your office rather easily, keep in mind it will only bear about a dozen to a dozen and a half lemons a year, but it is different, and colorful.
Can anyone recommend cool plants in the same vein as the submitter, but ones that don't have flowers? You know, for all the geeks allergic to pollen?
[o]_O
Lettuce is nice, especially as a small leaf salad. Or you could have just a few in their own pots, and eat the outer leafs every once in a while. Okra is geeky, though a little tall, you can always cut it down when it gets too tall. That would need pollination. For something viney, sweetpotatoes work well, though not easy to get to produce anything. Radishes are a little out of taste, nor are they pretty aboveground. Cucumbers need pollination too, and are not too easy.
In the way of flowers, a lemon tree would be right on. Also try a butterfly bush. It would need frequent pruning to keep it small, but it could be done for a year or two.
What not to do: Peppers are tough except for hot ones, so if you like them, go to it. Tomatos are miserable. Wheatgrass is all right, but not very longlived.
He said that he wanted something legal, not Cannabis. Are morning glory seeds illegal, and why? Stick to the subject!
Billy
No, I don't believe it's illegal to consume the seeds. It's inadvisable to eat commercially distributed seeds, as I believe they coat them with something that would make it unpleasant. I'm sure it's illegal to extract the LSA or whatever the active ingredient is from the seed, but eating them .. it just wouldn't make sense to make that illegal.
I'm sure www.erowid.org has better information. Don't think I can get there at work, though.
||:|::
Get a potato plant, take care of it meticulously, even coming in during the weekends to water it, only to have it die when it's almost full-grown!
I suffer from attention surplus disorder.
Chives spring immediately to mind. They do need to be watered regularly, but provide abundantly with fresh seasoning for your lunches. They also reproduce vegetatively so one cluster of bulbs will spawn additional clusters so you can afford to give some away or grow more.
Mints do well, but need a larger pot, lots of water, and will take over a good part of your window. The upside is that they smell great if you do so much as rub against the leaves, and the leaves are great as an herbal infusion.
If you are lousy at watering your plants, aloe vera thrives on neglect. I wouldn't look to it for culinary uses but its healing properties are the stuff of legend (and, in my experience, it's a reputation that is largely deserved).
I hate to be a party pooper, but if you work at a bigger company you should check with someone first: either Human Resources or Maintenance.
;)
One large company I was with had very specific rules about what could and could not be kept in the office. While it seemed really petty and controlling on the surface, I was told that problems with insect infestation (especially ants) and allergy-causing plants were the reason.
Or you could always get a silk flower, and impress the ladies with your gardening skill. Just remember to dust it every week or so.
There are other alternative to plants. You go to a local toy store and get some Sea Monkeys, (you could also go to the local petstore and but a package of brine shrimp eggs). Or if you want more aggressive creatures you could get some triops. Very aggressive and a great conversation starter. All of the above would fit in a small container on a standard desk.
Sea Monkeys
Monkey
Monkey
Monkey
Triops
Triops
Triops
Triops
The smell should be enough to get you out of work for the rest of the day. Of course you have to wait half a decade for it to work...
It's about twice as big as it was when my sis gave it to me. It has even been harvested a couple of times.
;-)
Other than than what could be more geeky than quadrotriticale
If you can't find any sprouts or seeds of that, then get some of this instead. You can get it here Just plant 4 pots and fudge it!
Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.
- W. Wriston, former Citibank CEO
Easy to grow, low light requirements.
Growing an avacado from a pit is pretty cool. After you use an avacado, take the pit and suspend it, round side down, in a small bowl or glass of water. I use 3 toothpicks, stuck into the outside of the avacado, roughly equidistant around the middle and halfway down. You want maybe the lower 1/3 in the water. After that, some references will tell you to give it a week in the dark, and some say to just sit it in the sun. I am lazy, so I just put mine on the windowsill and let them go.
.. the plants are pretty, they smell great, and if they get plenty of sun they'll flower. Nothing big and showy, but quite nice overall.
After a week to a month, the darned thing will sprout. You'll want to keep water in the bowl, and let it grow until you have 3 or 4 strong leaves. Then transplant to a small pot, keep it watered, and there you have it.
You won't get a full-sized tree (they grow 60' 70' tall in the wild) and you probably won't get fruit, but the leaves are pretty, and its cool to tell people that you're growing an avacodo tree.
This is a decent refs: at AllSands.com. Of course a google for "growing avacado" will get 100s of results as well.
I've also grown small herbs (ha ha, not THAT herb) in office settings. Basil, oregano, thyme, some mints
Watch for nasty visitors your plant may introduce or attract to your workplace.
A coworker once had a plant in his cube, it became infested with some kind of mite. These mites then migrated through the halls to some other plants, can't recall if they killed the plants or what the deal was. Caused quite the stir, plants at desks were banned from then on.
Anything is possible given time and money.
BTW, it appears to be a doctored photo of a lily. I'm not sure what the original poster was trying to suggest.
http://bonsaikitten.com/
Perfect for the cube, you can make a cube-shaped kitty!
That's easy to answer. Get yourself one of many variants of the common Pothos. They are extremely hardy. You can neglect them for weeks, sometimes months and still the damned things won't die. I had one way back in HS that I was required to keep alive in biology. If our plant or animal died during the year we lost points. Right before the X-mas break I took a few of the really long runners from my plant and dipped them in the aquarium sitting next to the pot. When I got back from the break (after 3 weeks or so) the teacher asked me why I tried to kill my plant. She then told me that the aquarium was filled with bleach. I know for a fact that it wasn't when I left but it sure enough was when I got back. I'm sure that teacher did it. In all honesty that woman redefined the word bitch. Nevertheless my plant lived. For about a year the veins in the plant's leaves were snow white. It looked really cool. I recommend a Pothos. You can't go wrong there.
Greetings, I grew Bell Peppers and Hot Peppers in my office window. The peppers grew great, and some of the staff picked them to take home. I also tried to grow corn also, they grew to 12 inches, but then I went on a business trip and they died. After that they moved me to an office without windows, so I ordered a mushroom log from one of those junk magazines you get in the mail. They grew nice, and with all the Horse Hocky at work it added to the meaning of "The Mushroom Effect". (kept in the dark and feed loads of Horse Hocky)
In your sig:
"Blaming GW Bush for the Iraq war is like blaming Ronald McDonald for the poor quality of food."
I can't figure out what point you're trying to make, exactly. The things that occurred to me are:
1. GWB has about as much control over his country's actions as Ronald McDonald has over McDonalds' actions
2. GWB looks like a clown to all the world
3. The US is like a crappy fast-food joint that's only popular because it's cheap
It initially looked like a statement defending bush, but on further consideration-- there's no way that comparing GWB to Ronald McDonald like that could be anything but a criticism. Unless you consider powerlessness and clownhood the marks of a good president. I'm not sure which way you meant it, but it turned into the Best Liberal Sig of the Day.
Move your cubicle to Alaska. Grow "la buena herba".... Share with me.
Gimme that booze you little pumpkin pie hair cutted freak!
Maybe a miniature orange tree. You can eat the oranges in a pinch but they're pretty small. You can spend time pruning the thing. I think it would grow well in fluorescent lighting + the window.
I suggest an orchid (the crazy amount of work it takes to get one to grow suits a geek's OCD tendencies). I also have a dwarf orange (might be a valencia orange or something), white ginger (order a root-takes lots of sun), rubber plant (grows nice and slow), aloe (looks cool and good for the occasional office cut), and this crazy hanging plant someone told me is called a charlie.
Degaussing scares the bad magnetism out of the monitor and fills it with good karma.
and you don't need to get another plant ;-) (sorry, i couldn't resist)
actually, you might consider any plant that's hydro/aeroponic friendly. take a look at the hyodponic gel, that supplies water and nutrients to your plants root system. spider plants are nice because of their broad light/heat/moisture requirements. so are the lucky bamboo plants, which are actually related to the corn plant and have no relation to bamboo at all. i actually have a spider plant in our kitchen(not too bright, 'cause it's next to a gangway), but i tossed a betta in the bowl, and he loves squirming between the roots!
i also saw a suggestion for a dwarf orange tree... perhaps some of the other dwarf fruit plants(citrus, banana) might work well.
good luck
three can keep a secret, if two are dead - benjamin franklin
I've got an interior office and my Spathiphyllum is doing just fine. I put it by the window over the weekend and when I'll be gone on a trip for a while. Most plants will go (even in a dry office) for a week without water if you make sure they're nice and moist before you leave.
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/b959-w.htRemember that overwatering can be just as bad as underwatering. And if you get someone to water your plant for you, make sure you casually run down how often they should water it and how much! I personally just keep an eye on the soil and give a plant water "when it needs it," but most people can't tell that (a good way to check the soil moisture is to stick your finger in it; you should aim to keep the moisture at a relatively constant level) and need to be given a schedule ("every three days give it two cups of water"). Keep in mind that if you have a non-draining pot the bottom can accumulate water and drown/rot the plant.
- A terrarium with carnivorous plants (Venus Fly Traps, Pitcher plants, Sundews)
- A caudiform succulent. There are a lot of different kinds of these. They are very odd looking when dormant (which is a lot of the time). If you can get one, a Boojum Tree would be a good choice just for the name alone.
i'm growing a bamboo in my open plan cubicle, its doing much better than the last plant I had
---- Put Sig here:
"bonsai tree" is too generic a recommendation. it would be better to limit the choice to to ficus (fig) and similar plants that do well in low/flourescent light. unless that sunshine is direct and reliable for 6+ hours a day, a normal tree (like a pine or maple), will not do well. plus most non-tropical trees will need a cold period.
hoyas seem to thrive in lower light, can withstand drought (they are epiphytic so they are used to a drench and dry cycle), and their blooms are cool as hell. some orchids might do well too. dont waste your time with palms and such (right !!?? you didnt "ask slashdot" so we could suggest common crap ?!! ;)
The flowers are fragrant without being sickly so. Provided the office stays at least 70, you'll have leaves for all year except - say - Febrary, during which time you can blow off the watering. As long as the inside temp stays above 40, it'll come back big time in the spring. The branches are pretty thick and stay green, so it won't come off as spindly. When it gets too big for its britches, you can safely cut it back and pass out the cuttings to the potted plant gardeners hiding among your friends and coworkers. Don't worry, they'll find you after the first bloom.
Luke, help me take this mask off
It's going to be tricky growing substantial fruit or veggies unless you have a lot of cubicle space in front of a big window. Some herbs might be a better way to go. Mint is pretty hardy.
If you do have some good space, cherry tomatoes or hot peppers work well in pots.
Not very geeky, I know. For that I'll second the cactus suggestion made above.
We had little potted ones in the bathroom of the first startup I was in back in 96 . . . no windows. Just fluorescents when someone would go in there and turn the lights on . . . They got watered (with water) maybe once every couple weeks and sometimes would go months. The did not die. Since they were so hardy, we moved them from bathroom to bathroom as the startup grew . . . eventually after I decided to leave the company after it got absorbed by a big telco, I took the plant with me and gave it a spot at home. I havent watered it in a month now, but it seems to be ok. Definitely a bit bigger than the little bathroom pot it started from . . and in a cube, you can make yourself a veritable jungle winding that stuff around . . .it explodes in good sunlight and lotsa water, but it does just fine in very little too.
That's what I'm growing now.
"Your superior intellect is no match for our puny weapons!"
I remember when my sister first entered college that one of her college friends had a bunch of aquariums and a couple pothos plants. They went around the room at least twice. Every wall had a huge amount of plant on it. They were run through the aquariums for water. Hellva big plant. I saw a bigger one a couple months ago. Here in Wichita there is a timber products company. I was in their building one day and happened to look into one of their offices. They had the plant stretched back and forth across the ceiling and up and down the walls. It was litterally a jungle in the entire room. The room was office space for 4 oe 5 people if IIRC. Huge plant.
Someone at my last workplace had some Ivy growing in their pod. They didn't even have it in soil, it started out as just a 20cm length of vine in a plastic water bottle. A year later and with some strategic guiding along the ceiling it was growing in 5 different directions. I suspect that it grew so well partly because the lights in the building were left on at night.
you should grow some san pedro cactus. it is one of the fastest growing cacti you can find... when it gets too big, just cut off the top, eat it, and trip balls for the next 6-8 hours.
Bromeliads are very low maintenance and every now and then they will have a huge probiscus-like flower thingy that protudes rudely out and will impress everyone. I know someone who used to water one with his leftover tea and coffee and it still lives to this day.
a e.html/
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/monocots/bromeliflor
Apparently pothos are incredibly good at filtering the air too: http://wa.essortment.com/houseplants_rwhz.htm
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I've worked at 2 different places that had some kind of small palm tree/plant, and both had the same problem: everytime they were watered we got a swarm(dozen or so) of some kind of small flying insect(fruit-fly?). The only thing worse than an office with a open thermostat control, is an office with bugs(ants/flys). Get a Glade plug-in or something if you need to cover up your farts.
They tend to dry out in the average office.. And if you are in the middle of a sea of cubes, the lighthing sux .. they need real sunlight..
---- Booth was a patriot ----
http://mediarelations.officedepot.cc/hotproducts03 /proddet164026.html
My wife gave me one of these and its kool. My job would not allow any plants, even without soil, so she had to adopt it.
JB
Philodendron, spider plant, african violet, wandering Jew, lucky bamboo, thalinopsis orchid, snake plant (aka Mother-in-law's tounge), Ficus benjamina.
For the ambitious, Andropogon gerardii or Acer abes.
The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them. - Mark Twain
Raw hamburger is considered a little too fatty for a fly trap.
Also, unless you have athletic body-building ride-a-bike-to-work freaks as coworkers, they'll probably be too fatty, too.
Mother-in-law's Tongue or Snake plant are impossible to kill.
% 20 law's%20tongue&hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&sa=N&tab=wf
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=mother%20in
I have had fabulous success with African Violets.
;-)
You can buy a small one at Home Depot for under $3. They come in a huge range of colors, so pick one you like.
The KEY to cube-grown African Violets is the pot. A pair of nested "self watering" pots will give your African Violet the right amount of water all the time, while you just have to remember to check it ~once/week.
Again, Home Depot is your friend. They have a few pretty options in the under $10 range for smaller pots. Google also provides a lot of alternatives.
I grew 2 in my cube, and over the course of 2 years, they went from being 2-inch baby plants to thriving plants approximately 12 inches in diameter. And both bloomed almost-constantly.
OH, and African Violets have a reputation of being difficult to grow. So you'll be able to impress non/. readers with your green thumb.
Unfortunately, mine still in VA while I'm down here in GA, so I can't link to any pictures.
Liza
These opinions are my own. My employer is not aware of them, does not endorse them, and is not responsible for them.