Arboricola

This is the newest addition to our collection of houseplants. I've come to have increasing confidence recently about my skill at keeping houseplants alive and healthy. Plus, it was on sale for only $2.44. Originally, before I had a yard of my own, my interest in and attraction to plants was solely directed at houseplants. It's not the way I wanted it to work out, but I killed so many plants during that period. A big turning point for me was that I read Howard Garrett's Organic Manual at about the same time I got a yard of my own. Those events together activated my instincts about what plants need in a way that neither could have done on their own, and I started to have success with outdoor plants. In any case, I found later that the same skill I developed worked with houseplants too, although I still see them as a greater challenge.

Devil's Ivy

Here is a picture of two of three Devil's Ivy plants that I have. The foliage on one appears to very thin when compared to the other. I think that, all other things being equal, the difference between the two is that the one with denser foliage spent about a month in late summer in a shady spot in the yard (where it is much brighter than inside). The one with thinner foliage has spent all of it's time inside. Otherwise, they get the same treatment: each gets a continuous supply of compost from kitchen waste, and you can often find some pillbugs and earthworms living in the soild. The soil is alive, not sterile. They are a type of plant that is suited live inside, but maybe they should all have a turn to spend some time outside. Why not all of them spend all of their time outside? That's fine in the spring, summer and fall, but they will not survive the winter that way. Plus, I like to have a few plants inside.