Novices should avoid houseplant divas

The Dieffenbachia plant is among those that can sicken a pet if the leaves are chewed.

The Dieffenbachia plant is among those that can sicken a pet if the leaves are chewed.

Saturday, August 30, 2014

As with some people, good looks can come with higher maintenance requirements in the plant world. So what are the plants you, as a beginner, might want to save for Houseplants 201?

Although orchids are also suggested for beginners, Janet Carson, associate professor for the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, warns against them; they're reluctant to rebloom the next season, she says. Also, she says, steer clear of the Araucaria heterophylla, or Norfolk Island pine, which is finicky. It needs moisture but can't tolerate wet feet. And avoid the weeping fig, or Ficus benjamina, which will drop leaves if the conditions aren't just right. Ferns shed leaves indoors in the winter. Carson says to give consideration to Codiaeum variegatum, or croton plants, which are easier to care for but which indoors are subject to lose their brilliant, fall-ish colors and turn green because light is required for color retention.

Edwina Crockett, an interior designer with Tom Chandler and Associates, wouldn't saddle an inexperienced client with an Adiantum, or maidenhair fern. "That's the most difficult thing I've tried to grow," she says. According to various online sources, they're picky about their environment and need consistent moisture.

Sharon Reed of Cantrell Gardens says she discourages such plants as cacti (they need a pretty sunny window, she says) and the Ficus benjamina, which doesn't like to be moved.

What about the plants that may be easy to maintain, but risky to have around pets? Robin Connell, president of Plantation Services, notes that poinsettias, some types of ficus trees, and Dieffenbachia (also known as dumb cane) plants "secrete a white kind of sticky substance and if ... enough of it was ingested," it could sicken a pet. "Some people are more frequently allergic to those types of plants as well." She cites her respiratory allergy to ficus plants, and notes that some people have allergic reactions to the pollen in peace-lily blooms.

"We try not to use those in certain accounts if those are an issue."

-- Helaine R. Williams

HomeStyle on 08/30/2014