Exterior door ISO eye-catching plant

August 6, 2021 1:19 PM

Bland house entrance seeking charismatic outdoor shade-tolerant plant that is safe for kids and pets.

Next to my front door, under the porch light, I'm wanting to put a nice planter with a plant that has a vertical habit, ideally around 3' tall, and looks artsy, kind of like a snake plant, except those are not safe for cats. Its is full shade there (with a fair amount of reflected light). Zone 9b.

Rattlesnake plant? (Not sure it's humid enough?)

It doesn't have to have those long sword-like leaves. Anything that would be more vertical than horizontal could work. I also really like monstera (swiss cheese plant) or whatever this is, but monsteras aren't safe.

(Yes, this is my second question today related to my house facelift project. Thanks, Metafilter!)

Thanks!

posted by Spokane to Home & Garden (10 answers total)

What region? Are you indeed in Spokane WA?
posted by travertina at 1:30 PM on August 6, 2021

Response by poster: No, Sacramento.
posted by Spokane at 1:37 PM on August 6, 2021

Fatsia japonica ("also known as" list): pet-safe; shade-loving; large, striking leaves; happy in a container; zones 8-11
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:46 PM on August 6, 2021 [2 favorites]

Iris Gambol beat me to it. Japonica FTW. There are some variegated varieties rolling around out there that are just lovey.
posted by furnace.heart at 2:03 PM on August 6, 2021

Response by poster: What concerns me about fatsia japonica is that it seems to be pretty squat and bushy? We have a narrow 3'-4' space in between the walkway and the wall, and for it to get as tall as I want, it seems like it'll be crowding or overflowing the walkway. (It looks like width tends to be 2x the height?)
posted by Spokane at 3:58 PM on August 6, 2021

Jasmine? Bamboo? The first will be both beautiful and aromatic, but can get leggy and will need care to keep it in a shape you want, the second will just need to be chopped off while the tops are soft occasionally.

Both are pet and kid safe, have very different appearances depending on your particular porch style, both are reasonably hardy.
posted by Grim Fridge at 5:53 PM on August 6, 2021 [1 favorite]

If potted and trimmed, they can maintain their size. I was thinking something along these lines.
posted by furnace.heart at 6:14 PM on August 6, 2021 [1 favorite]

I had a ficus benjamina outside in full shade. Ficus elastica might work too.
posted by pinochiette at 8:33 PM on August 6, 2021

Cast iron plant might work. The leaves are more plain
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:50 PM on August 6, 2021

I would probably get a fuchsia - you can get one that grows upright, or alternatively combine an upright and a trailing one in the same pot. They need watering or they dry out in our California weather, and they loathe direct sun in my experience, but they're perfectly capable of growing big.

My neighbour while growing up managed to grow a fuchsia to a 6ft standard shape (that is, 6ft of stem and then leaves and flower on top), so height will not be a challenge as long as you support them with a cane. And they really don't care if you trim them to shape (the trimmings will even root if you want babies)

Granted they're less artsy and more twee. They're still pretty.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 9:32 PM on August 6, 2021 [2 favorites]