May 102006
I’m trying to make my place a little more inviting by adding some plants and I need your suggestions. I have a jade plant that’s been with me for a decade and a friend gave me some kind of ivy a few months ago that seems to be doing nicely, but a couple of pansies just died on me. I’m not always great at remembering to water my plants (and then I compensate by overwatering them), so I’d like to find something that won’t punish my occasional inattention by shriveling up immediately. I suppose I could get a cactus, but having a cactus seems to be an open admission that I’m incapable of taking care of something that is even the slightest bit demanding. I’m not sure that’s the message I want to convey to visitors, especially the cute ones.
Try a ‘Christmas Cactus’ – they survive abusive care – flower beautifully – almost NEVER need re-potting because they like tight quarters –
Mine lives on the kitchen window sill – blooms like crazy with huge lipstick red flowers and doesn’t hate me.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_cactus
Perhaps mine is something else – because it never blooms in December – but is blooming now and will again in July. Good luck!
I’ve also managed quite nicely with a peace lily, mainly because it abruptly collapses when it desperately needs water — but it doesn’t seem to hold a grudge about having to collapse. The visual signal works wonders for me.