Office jungle: Summer plant update.

Well, there was me thinking that looking after houseplants would be easy, a drop of water, a bit of plant food and some sunshine and I would have a healthy bunch of specimens on my windowsill. Like most plants over the winter, they stayed pretty dormant and kick-started back into growth in the spring. So how have the original plants faired and what additions (and unfortunate subtractions) have been made? Let's dig in...

Firstly the Aloe Vera which was my tallest plant hasn't changed much. After a period of over-watering where she wasn't as thirsty as some of the others, she seems relatively content. The Hoya Carnosa is getting longer and has started trailing from my top bookshelf and the Monstera has literally turned into a monster! Unfortunately this week she has taken on some little friends which I think might be thrips so she is starting treatment. It looks like the Monstera and the Hoya will be needing moss poles so I plan to look into them. The Tradescantia Zebrina grew very quickly and grew some lovely flowers but the window sill was too hot for it which led to some sunburn.

All four of the smaller succulents have done well. The two Crassulas and African Spear have continued to grow slowly and the Haworthia has grown a long flowering stem. The Snake and Spider plants are also growing steadily along with the Pilea.

The final plant from the original bunch is the Philodendron which has struggled due to thrips. The original photo is the best she has looked; every time leaves grow thrips kill them off before I can get rid of them. There are new shoots again so I will be persistent.

There have been six new additions in total. The first was a Dracaena which I thought was very thirsty; it turned out that the browning leaves were due to overwatering and it suffered from root rot. This is the only plant I have lost and the lesson has been learnt. I have added a smaller green Tradescantia Tenderness but this also struggled with sunburn so she is being sheltered for now. There is also a purple-leaved Calathea and a small Nephrolepsis or Boston fern which I have only had for a couple of weeks. I plan to add another succulent to the mix.

Finally, I tried my hand at a couple of terrariums using Fittonia Forest Flame and Callisia Repens which have grown incredibly well and will need some work done to them, cutting them back.

So that rounds up my current collection. I want to try growing a Dracaena again at some point and also get a larger floor-standing plant when I can decide which one to choose!