[HN Gopher] Coping with the Clutter of Houseplants
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Coping with the Clutter of Houseplants
Author : richardatlarge
Score : 21 points
Date : 2021-09-30 20:06 UTC (2 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (dirtwise.substack.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (dirtwise.substack.com)
| mdoms wrote:
| For some context on why this person is so keen on selling
| houseplants, New Zealand is currently undergoing an absolutely
| absurd houseplant bubble. Variegated monstera plants are selling
| for north of $20,000[0] in some cases, and well over $1,000 in
| ordinary cases[1]. I have no idea what is causing the houseplant
| bubble, but I can say in my opinion that variegated monsteras are
| ugly compared to ordinary green monstera plants which grow like
| weeds and can easily be propagated.
|
| [0] https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/houseplant-sells-on-
| tra...
|
| [1] https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketplace/home-
| living/outdoor-...
| belval wrote:
| I could blame the pandemic but as far as I remember I always
| loved plants so it was really more of a reason to go crazy. I
| went from 4-5 potted plant to over 35 in the span of a year and
| half.
|
| Actually taking care of plants in the sense that you fertilize
| them correctly, only mist the one that needs to be provide the
| right amount of sunlight, etc... is a really fun and inexpensive
| hobby.
| mstade wrote:
| Same here, though I'm in the lower tens, not quite as high as
| over 35. It's a learning experience for sure, but he joy of
| seeing a living thing thrive in your home is wonderful.
|
| That said, it really makes me anxious to be away from home for
| more than a couple of days now. Have you looked into any
| automation solutions to deal with watering etc.? I've resorted
| to buying a few bottles of wine for my neighbors so they agree
| to take care of them, but not quite dared to hook up an
| automated watering system, for fear of coming home to an
| apartment full of water everywhere.. :o)
| belval wrote:
| Same here, I had to leave for 2 weeks and had a family member
| take care of the watering. As far as automated watering goes
| I don't think that there is a good solution that scales for
| potted plants. I do however have an hydroponic NFT system
| that is hooked to a larger pump and reservoir system with
| artificial lights. I use home assistant to manage the lights,
| pump and camera so I am able to control it remotely.
| danielheath wrote:
| You can get glass bulbs with a straw that sticks down into
| the soil; air pressure prevents them draining quickly so
| the better ones take a week or so to deliver 150ml of
| water.
| rolph wrote:
| epipremnum is a good beginner plant if you want results:
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epipremnum_aureum
|
| it is not the type that will give good practice keeping plants,
| as its very tolerant of poor conditions, however it can be an
| index plant for light intesity.
| noirbot wrote:
| What do you mean by "index plant for light intensity"? I have
| one and I've noticed that I've had pretty hard time keeping
| different vines of it alive, but the plant itself has done
| fine.
|
| It's definitely touchier than my snake grass. I water that
| maybe every 2 weeks and it's growing like mad.
| rolph wrote:
| the leaf colouration will change dark green in lower light,
| or enhanced yellows and varigation in high light intensity,
| so if you have no light meter it is an index of where your
| light intensity is.
|
| yes epipremnum will make trailers but is not great at being a
| vine, it is better at being a creeper unless you have rain
| forest like conditions. it will ^tolerate^ repeated dryouts
| rather than give up, if given time to heal between droughts
|
| extremes of forced growth habit ive seen range from
| monsterous orchid like with aerial root structures, to life
| supporting tendrils of bare nodes running several yards away
| from a single gallon pot to find a slot of light and grow
| small tufts of leaves at the terminal.
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