A Botanist I Am Not!

I feel quite bad for the plants that come into my life.  I love plants – indoor, outdoor, flowering, you name it.  I just have a problem with keeping them alive.  I don’t mean to not water them regularly or put them in the proper sunlight.  I tried the silk plant route and that didn’t work either.  I obviously didn’t kill them, but either they didn’t look real enough for me or they got so dusty that my allergies rebelled against them and they had to go.

About a year ago I read an article that it is near impossible to kill succulents.  Succulents are plants that retain water and can live in very arid conditions.  Translation: they don’t need that much love to be beautiful and stay alive.  So I figured I would get some of these succulents – and I did.  6 of them.  I bought super cute pots from West Elm and re-potted them with my aunt one night.  There is still ONE alive!!  (Kind of sad, I know).

In wanting to expand my repertoire of greenery in the home, I researched some more plants that may survive my “not-so-green” thumb.

ZZ Plant – first of all, what a cool name! Secondly, this plant is said to be great for people that tend to ignore their plants for a week or more.  They don’t need a lot of light and, like succulents, they store water.  Sounds good to me!

Rubber Plant – I forgot, I do have one of these!!  It is growing well, although I do have to re-pot it as it has outgrown its current home.  I bought a new, bigger pot yet keep forgetting to get potting soil.  If it’s not one thing, it’s another!

Staghorn Fern – these plants are just cool looking.  You can keep them in a wire basket or mount them on the wall.  Staghorns retain water in the winter, but need a little bit more love in the summertime.

What are your tips and tricks to keeping plants alive and vibrant?  I can use all the help I can get!!