Readers Respond: Tales of the Toughest Plants

Responses: 49

By Jon VanZile, About.com Guide

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Readers share their experience with impossible-to-kill houseplants. What Works For You?

Of all the house plants I grow, none attracts more attention then the TickleMe Plant. When guests tickle it, they often jump back as it closes its leaves and lowers it branches like an animal. Easy to grow. Using the TickleMe Plant Book I was able to get mine to flower in mid winter. It's one house plant everyone loves!
—Guest Samantha

What are the best indoor plants? Can I grow elephant leaf plant indoors? how much water. Any other suggestions on plants I'd appreciate. thank you
—Guest Florence

I have killed lots of plants, including ferns in a shady area. Lo and behold I found one that lives! creeping myrtel planted on a steep wet shady slope. I planted it last year and it is is beautiful and thriving without any care except adoration. This is a great site. lol
—Guest Sandy

i need to know any information about house plants, kinds, how to grow them, watering and any other informations.
—Guest dalia farid

I bought a house that had been empty for 6 months. The previous owners had left a snake plant behind and it looked as lovely as any new ones I have seen. I had it for many years. It's the only plant I ever owned that I didn't kill.
—Guest K

I really would like to have plants in our place that mostly don't flower, smell or have pollen (d/t allergies + migraines). In addition, I'm looking for plants to be hanging or a floor plant or a tree-like plant. I have the ASPCA's poisonous+ nonpoisonous list.The Lists and the plants in store have different names scientific -vs- other names. Sometimes only family, group name, or just 'tropical.' The poisonous list contains plants that affects range from mild to severe + fatal. Another website gives some plants and their toxicity, (of course ANY plant could cause a cat digestive issues.) Okay now that I have the 20-30 PAGE list, which are ones that are commonplace enough that you will easy find them in your region. Finally, is there any online reference that would give me a picture of many of the plants on the nonpoisonous list. PS- I do know spider plants are on the ok list, and SOME Boston ferns are too!
—Guest emme

i has inadvertently dropped twig of bishop's weed on a window ledge and two moths later i looked down at the ledge when my pencil slipped through my fingers and guess what i saw? the twig was smiling up at me still green as ever still on the ledge six feet below. the window faces north and gets direct sunlight only or a month or so, but it is a concrete ledge.
—Guest Neelam

Epiphylium Achamanii or the Orchid Cactus, puts up with just about anything. If you stop watering it in the winter and start again in the spring it will reward you with some large scarlet blooms
—Guest normannicolson

I use distilled water for my house plants but unfortunately I don't have a lot of light in my home for them so my asparagus fern turns brown in the winter and my spider plant doesn't grow too well then also. I put them all out side when it gets warm and they thrive only to get sickly soon after I bring them in when fall comes. I don't know what else to do. I have a plant that was my mother's and I keep making starts so I can always have one I think its called a creeping charlie but its pretty when it grows correctly.
—virginiacee

I have a spotted Aspidistra (looks like a victim of a careless ceiling painter) as well as the usual solid green-leafed one. Both like well drained soil, and subdued light. The ZZ is incredible, growing under all but soggy conditions. It too prefers subdued light as it burns in the sun and cannot take extremely low temperatures. The ZZ will shed its leaves periodically making you think it is dead. Nope, just taking a bread before sending up a new leaf set.
—Guest larry

my ficus looks just awful most leaves are gone and had black moldy look on them HELP!!!
—Guest Debi

Claudine -- pls tell me your watering habits for that long lived ivy you mentioned!! Watering practice that finally got results for me is that in summer I water my plants once a week in the kitchen sink until it just seeps out bottom---in Winter I do the same every two weeks. This has made a big difference in keeping them better balanced and looking their best.
—Kathleen.Norris

I have brought two big size plants with the spiderlets. They both have died. I even went back to the same nursey. They still die I have tried to kep up with the care as the nursey but It does not seem to work. I am trying to root some of the smaller plants in water or soil. I hope I can get them to grow.
—Guest anna

my husband & i moved to mohali after retirement in 2005.To start with i needed some hardy plants till garden took shape.on a suggestion by a friend, i planted cuttings of Vinca rosea (i dont know the common name in english. it is a herbaceous plant with single terminal flower light purple or white coloured flower) on the borders & spider plant(chlorophytum) in baskets .It served my purpose as well both grew without much care & the garden did'nt look bare at any time.
—Guest paramjeet

These days, the genus Sansevieria is grouped with Dracaena (family Dracaenaceae), not "in the Agave family," nor grouped with the yuccas in Liliaceae (where all these plants were at one time thought to belong).
—amanzed

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Jon VanZile
Houseplants Guide