What do you grow indoors?

12 years ago

Hello,

I've been lurking for a while and have learned a lot (the biggest thing being, roots need air! Who knew?). As a result, my gardening hobby is taking off and there is very little space left on my balcony for new plants, which is the only outdoor space I have available at the moment. (It's mostly full of recuperating Aloe plants I adopted, a bunch of Jade cuttings, and some Bell Pepper plants that have put up with way too much already, although I'm trying to grow lettuce too.) Point is, I can only expand inward!

So, what do you grow indoors? Do you have special lighting, or do the plants do well by a window? Do you feed your indoor plants differently than your outdoor plants? Do your plants show growth and pup, or are they just dormant?

Currently I have a few small Haworthias, Peperomias, mini Aeoniums and Strings of Pearls indoors in a bark-based mix. They have not shown much sign of growth, which is probably because they are about 10 feet from the nearest window. I chose these varieties for indoors based on their labels that said "filtered light", but could probably situate them closer to the window if I rearranged some things.

Related question-- Would a rotating indoors/outdoors schedule be better than constantly being inside? For example, let's say I brought them outside for a week at a time, with a week indoors in between. Would that be helpful or stressful to the plants? I figure they would probably grow faster if they were outside, but I like having plants inside and would have to make space for them outside.

Thanks for your responses!

~Pixel_Pepper (happy newbie)

Comments (4)

Colleen E
12 years ago
I'd say, sure, maybe keep the Haworthia and other shade-liking plants inside, but if you want happy/alive plants, the ones who'd like to be outside should probably be outside... self-sacrifice, though it's nice to have plants inside, and more rewards in term of growth and the plants looking their best. Some things could possibly stay alive in the house, but that wouldn't necessarily mean the growth would be compact and attractive like you might hope. Etiolated plants can be pretty sad.

But there's a possible middle ground with some plants indoors and others out. Your Haworthia could very well do alright by a window, if in the right mix (not too heavy or peaty) and with adequate light. I grow my Haws in the house year-round, and they get gentle filtered light some days and a good amount of shade on other days (and this is rainy Oregon, so that should probably be many days). In the summer, when the light becomes direct and strong, I move most things back and close curtains. And they most certainly grow and pup. A lot of it depends on watering the correct amount for the plants and for the conditions, and on the soil being well-draining. I water my Haws when they're dry...they don't want to be sitting in a wet, heavy mix, but they do like regular watering. I personally don't really treat them as having a period of dormancy.

I don't know about anybody else, but I cannot do Aeoniums in the house. They shed leaves and begin to croak. Not enough light.
goddess9
12 years ago
^ That might explain why my A. 'Sunburst' bit the dust about a week after I took it home.

My succulents are doing pretty well inside. They are all on west-facing windowsills and are currently getting some sort of light all day. My set up consists of everything I can fit up against the sills, with several tables right in front of the windows filled with plants. Everything that can tolerate part shade is further back from the window on bookshelves or stools.

I too have a Senecio Rowleyanus and she's hanging up in the window. She gets full sun in the afternoons, water every ~2 weeks, and she's flourishing. Remember that they have very shallow roots so they don't need to be drenched. I pick out the fallen/rotting "pearls" regularly and that's about it. They're pretty low maintenance.

Haworthias are such troopers. I have no luck with Aeoniums and it will probably be a while before I get another one.

I grow every single one of my plants indoors. I live in a big city that's notorious for having tiny, concrete backyards...if you're lucky to be able to afford to buy a house. I live in an appartment with little space, so inside they grow. No grow lights, just moving them where the sun is. It's hard work since I have a bad back but they're worth it.

I don't know much about growing outdoors, but I remember reading about slowly acclimating them to the outdoors and same when you move them back in. Maybe you can rotate but they will need some time to get used to either setting.
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meyermike_1micha
12 years ago
Anything and everything I can get my hands on that is not common..lol

Mike
flowerpottipper
12 years ago
Right now i have my smaller succulents on a shelf inside with plant lights I bought from walmart for about $11 each and tied it to the shelves with yarn for the time being (I'm planning on buying a diffrent shelf sometime in the future so I don't want to permently have the lights stuck) and the bigger plants by my windows...on the window sills, and tables, hanging...

And soon as it's warm and sunny enough outside, most of my succulents and house plants are going outside for the summer except for my more sensitive plants...then I'm planning on rearranging BIG TIME inside for when the plants come in this fall...I'm trying to figure out how to add shelves by the windows while not looking too tacky. And since I live in an apartment i cant build anything into the walls or anything...then like I said earlier, I want shelves with more suffecient lighting fixtures...but since this all costs alot of money, it'll be a work in progress...

But til then...everything is shoved wherever they can get light, whether from it's from the plant lights or the windows.

-flowerpottipper