Easy House Plants!

[hasty22]

Which tropical plant or plants do you find easy to take care of after being brought in for the winter?
Let me start I have had the giant white bird of paradise, strelitzia nicolaigiant, in house for 2 winters. Just water it and its fine. love it!

On the other end of the scale I have very little luck keeping a musa basjoo plant alive till spring!

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[lucky1]

Gorgeous BoP, Keith.
Ever bloomed?

The Cymbidium orchid is probably my easiest indoors.

Barb

[hasty22]

No Barb. I am not sure how big they have to be or if are summer is long enough?

[seedscanada]

my avocado tree and sagos are happy to come in.
The ensete and cavendish bananas dry up and get spider-mitey. the grapefruit trees get infested and defoliated by scale!

[canadianplant]

Easiest to bring in and out is "yucca cane" (Yucca guatemalensis (formerly elephantipes (sp)) IT can take an amazing amount of shade for a yucca inside, and took repeated nights at -10C in a pot, and 2 months with nights below freezing. Cymb orchid seem ok for me too, but I havnt had them a year, so I cant say too much.

In my experience Musa Basjoo does great indoors given enough light, and so do quite a few other banana. Philodendron bipinnatifidum (selloum). Mine died back this year and sprouted 3 pups from the base. Itll take a few years to get back to its former glory, but they do really good inside in a bright room.

Ill say this as well. Avoid Majesty palm. They are gorgeous, but are usually ripe with scale (in my experience) and are generally really tough to get to grow inside, and out in northern areas. Not saying its impossible, just a tough one, and there are easier, better looking choices.

[lucky1]

how big they have to be or if are summer is long enough?

Had mine for a few years when someone mentioned to hit it with Superphosphate/Triple in late summer (after a summer outdoors, and after using regular fertilizer during the summer).
Finally bloomed early that winter.
It's the second one in N-P-K. (used to think it was K--potassium)

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Going to use it on my Grapefruit tree this year too, hoping for some flowers finally.

More details here: http://www.bonide.com/lbonide/backlabels/l969.pdf

Barb

[hasty22]

I agree with the yucca cane as well. I was going to say that for my second choice.
Nice flower on the Bop Barb. hopefully this year for mine.

[lucky1]

After severe burn outdoors with only a few hours of morning sun, this Cycad belongs in the house year-round.
Needs little care indoors, doesn't even need a high light area.
This one's never going outdoors again.

Lori Pickering of Jurassic Plants Nursery (where I bought it) recommends keeping them indoors.

Dioon Spinulosum:

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Barb