I'll lose my

membership if I

purchase these

easy-to-care-for

plants.

SOCIETY

Philodendron

I

correct), is another
am a member of a select,
plant that needs
little known, shadowy
little care.
group. We are the Al Qaida
"Set them in a cor-
of the plant kingdom, able to
ner; water them maybe once a
kill houseplants within days of
month and forget about them:'
purchase, and in some extreme
Bowman-Tomlinson said. "If
cases we can cause lettuce to wilt
they really like where they are,
by merely walking past a salad
they're vigorous growers; and
bar.
HARRY KIRSBAUM
they can break the pot."
I'm talking about the Black
COLUMNIST
The bromeliads are in the
Thumb Society.
same
family as pineapples,
We're not proud of it. We
she said. "They keep water in the bloom,
just try to deal with the cards we've
and the water spills over into the root. It's
been dealt.
a very good bathroom plant because it
I've always tried to populate
doesn't need a lot of light, likes the humid-
my living space with greenery,
ity and the flowers last for months."
but my luck has always been so
A good office plant is the lucky bamboo,
bad in keeping plants green that
a member of the gramineae family, said
I'll buy a plant based on the pot
Bowman-Tomlinson. "Basically, you just
it comes in. Once the plant dies,
keep water over the root. You don't need
it's good to have another nice
to submerge the whole stalk. It's good for
looking waste basket.
low-light situations."
So it was with a bit of trepida-
And contrary to popular belief,
tion that I decided to search a couple
some orchids are easy to care for.
of stores to find the most "bulletproof"
She recommends the phalae-
plants in the kingdom.
nopsis.
The truth was out there.
"In their natural setting
Linda Grogan, district manager at Royal
they live in trees, so they're
OakThrifty Florist, suggested a plant like
sturdy enough to put up
the peace lily, spathiphyllum, because it
with a lot of abuse, from
tells you what do do.
wind, falling out of trees:'
"If it gets too much light, the leaves turn
she said. "They like high
brown; if it doesn't have enough water, it'll
humidity, but they don't
wilt',' she said. "Give it water and it comes
need a lot of water or sun,
right back."
and they bloom for months."
Heather Bowman-Tomlinson, lead asso-
I'll take one plant at a time,
ciate at English Gardens in Royal Oak, said
and hopefully I won't kill them.
the peace lily is good for people who like
If they die, I'll make rock
to water their plants too much. "It's almost
gardens.
impossible to over-water them;' she said.
But for those who ignore their plants,
there are many types to choose from,
starting with the philodendron.
"They've been around as houseplants
for millions of years:' she said. "They like
to be close to bone dry between watering,
and grow anywhere including very low
light. They are almost indestructible.
"You always want to soak them, when
you water them, but never let them sit in
water:' she said. "The easiest way to tell
when the plant needs to be watered is by
the weight of the pot. Check the pot by
picking it up every three or four days:'
Philodendrons also come in yellow, the
new, hot color in plants, she said — which
is normally the color of my plants, before
they turn brown and die.
The sansevieria, mother-in-law's
tongue (snakeplant if you're politically
Staff photos by Harry Kirsbaum

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HOME & GARDEN I MARCH 30

I

2006

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