I have a window that needs a plant
June 1, 2019 4:21 PM   Subscribe

I won the cube jackpot and now I have a desk next to a window. What kind of plant won’t I kill?

The window faces east but I have to close the blinds during the time it would actually get direct sun. It’s still pretty bright.

I am a notorious murderer of plants so something not too challenging would be great. Bonus points if it’s safe around cats.
posted by Francies to Home & Garden (13 answers total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
Ponytail palm! They are almost unkillable.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 4:32 PM on June 1, 2019


Pothos
Very easy and very forgiving.
posted by BoscosMom at 4:56 PM on June 1, 2019 [3 favorites]


Spider plants are super easy to grow. I've forgotten to water mine before (to the point that one was completely droopy), but they always come back once I water them again. A++ would recommend!
posted by catabananza at 5:03 PM on June 1, 2019 [4 favorites]


You can leave sansevieria in a dark closet for a few months with no water and it will be fine.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:54 PM on June 1, 2019 [3 favorites]


Peace lilies are also very easy to maintain... I am a terrible plantmom and have yet to kill mine.
posted by unicorn chaser at 6:10 PM on June 1, 2019


I had a little 4x24" weird container and such a ledge. I planted grass in it. Straight up Perennial Ryegrass (my favorite grass seed for my yard). Clip it up, keep it neat, it's pretty cool.
posted by sanka at 6:21 PM on June 1, 2019 [1 favorite]


We have little mini gardens in the office made from terrarium moss in soup cans or coffee cups, with air plants or succulents in them. You can also use dirt or growing medium. I mist the succulents once a week and replace the moss a couple times a year.

If you don't have access to a neighborhood plant swap You can get a a dozen baby succulents or air plants mailed to you via amazon or ebay for about $1 each. They start tiny, you can water by misting, they grow pretty quick and they are hard to kill.

I have bought from these people on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Kqp6qu

shop around

obviously you can buy local versions, they are often overpriced in garden centers, they grow pretty fast and you start giving away parts of them within a year.
posted by bobdow at 6:41 PM on June 1, 2019 [1 favorite]


Get a snake plant and plant it in a container that's too small for it. Like you can barely fit the roots in. Soon the roots will grow (Water it every 2-3 months) and they won't fit in the container. Then (and this is going to blow your mind) it will bloom. Yes, that's right. Snake plants flower, but only if severely neglected and root-bound. Mine blooms a couple of times a year.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:54 PM on June 1, 2019 [3 favorites]


Philodendrons are pretty easy, but I wouldn't put one right next to a window. Seconding spider plants!
posted by Agave at 7:01 PM on June 1, 2019


I kill everything and I have managed to keep a snake plant/sansevieria/cast-iron plant alive and seemingly healthy, in an office with no windows, for five months now. I try to remember to water it weekly, but I don't always succeed in that.

I also have not managed to kill, in that same windowless office, a lucky bamboo that's potted in gravel and water and that I bought at Safeway on a whim, though I found it right around lunar new year when they're commonly sold around here. But it also seems fairly happy.

I cringe whenever someone gives me a potted plant because I know it's going to die within a month and I'm going to feel like a murderer, so I researched VERY hearty plants and I'm so far happy with my choices.
posted by lazuli at 7:03 PM on June 1, 2019


(Oh, I think the sansevieria is not cat-safe. I had to stick mine on my porch the night before I brought it into work, because my cats were trying to chew it and I had read that they shouldn't.)
posted by lazuli at 7:05 PM on June 1, 2019


How big is too big (either for the plant or the pot)?

Will the blinds be up or down when you're not there (weekends, vacations, etc.)?

How warm/cold does it get when you're not there?
posted by Spathe Cadet at 8:09 PM on June 1, 2019


I like succulents a lot because you can pretty much forget about them until they start to look... not so succulent... then water them well and they're fine again for a few weeks. Mine did fine being left over the holidays, too.
posted by randomnity at 5:25 AM on June 3, 2019


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