Replacing: Always, Sometimes, Never

As much as I love buying plants I've never tried before, I find more and more that my plant shopping is focused on replacements.  Plants that I've had, loved and lost.  Whether I made cultural gaffes, or the plant was lost to pests, I am eager to try these plants again:

Aglaonema 'Peacock' and Aglaonema 'Cory': I've come to the conclusion that I'm just not good with Aglaonemas. I don't know why; they are supposedly easy plants.  My mother, who insisted that she was no good with plants, had two that flourished. I inherited them when she died, and managed to kill them too.  Anyway, I would still like to try again with A.'Peacock' and A.'Cory', but these days, no one carries the green, white-stemmed Aglaonemas anymore. I love the red and pink ones as much as the next crazy plant lady, but I'd like to see some of the older varieties on sale.

Alpinia zerumbet 'Variegata': I lost my two plants to scale insects. While I have been able to fight scale and win at least twice, (with my huge ZZ plant and my Monstera deliciosa) I generally don't fool around with it. It's hard to treat and spreads like wildfire. My general rule is that scale-infested plants have got to go.

Begonia 'Cracklin' Rosie': A beautiful plant that did beautifully for years, till all of a sudden, with no change in care, it started to decline and continued until it died. 

Dracaena reflexa 'Song of India': I lost one to cultural mistakes, (not enough light, inconsistent watering) and another to the dreaded scale.  The third was very large, and was doing so well until it was attacked by mealybugs. Trying to get them out of the dozens of crevices where the leaves join the stems was impossible. Then the mealybugs attracted ants.  A disaster all around. 

Echeveria (any species or variety:) I lost the bulk of my collection to mealybug. I am slowly but steadily replacing them.

Part of my current collection of Echeveria (and Graptopetalum)

That certain Saintpaulia: The flowers were close to sky blue as possible for an African Violet, and outlined in white.  It has been close to 30 years since I lost it, (I was a complete AV newbie, and I repotted it into too large a pot) and I've never come across anything like it again. This is more than a quest, it is a crusade. I won't rest until I find something that looks like it. 

Then there are the plants that I have sworn to never buy again. I made this list about 9 years ago, and to tell the truth, I find myself wavering on it. Several of these plants have tempted me in recent years, so take the "never" with a grain of salt.

Aphelandra squarrosa: It's been years since I have had one. The memories of constant leaf drop are as fresh as if I tossed my last one yesterday.

Begonia rex: Even the popular "Houseplant Expert" book calls them short-lived. They can live their short lives with someone else.

Calathea, Ctenanthe, Maranta, Stromanthe:  These related genera are not difficult to keep alive, just hard to keep presentable without proper humidity. The edges of the leaves get dry and brown.  Even the Calathea zebrina I saw at the Garfield Park Conservatory had crispy edges

Calathea zebrina at the Garfield Park Conservatory.  Even in their humid enviroment, the leaf edges dry out.

Cissus discolor: Sometimes called the rex begonia vine. Enough said.

Dieffenbachia: Not culturally difficult--I just don't like them much.

Dracaena marginata: See Dieffenbachia.

Lithops: Their care requirements are beyond me, it seems. Since I'm a chronic underwaterer, I doubt that I overwater them. Maybe it was a light issue.  At this point, I don't care to find out.

Monstera obliqua (or M. adansonii, or M. friedrichsthalii): Whatever the actual Latin binomial, those vining swiss-cheese plants are as difficult for me to grow as they are to identify.

Peperomia argyreia and Peperomia caperata: I give them what they are supposed to like, and what do they do? Die, that's what.

Philodendron scandens: Yes, the easy plant that anyone can grow.  For some reason I can't. It's like Aglaonema. I just don't have what it takes. Unlike with the Aglaonemas, I don't care to try again.

Sansevieria trifasciata 'Hahnii' (any  variety): In my opinion, Sanseviera trifasciata in general isn't quite as easy as their reputation suggests.  But I do well with them.  Except the various bird's nest types.  Those seemingly come to my house to die.

Spathiphyllum: Apparently, I can't be trusted with anything that reacts that dramatically to underwatering. 

Well, there are the "always" and "never" lists.  What about the "sometimes" in the title? That list consists of every other houseplant you can imagine. If it's out there, I'll probably try it at some time or another. 

Addendum: Shortly after finishing this post, I went through the archives and discovered that I had posted a version of the never again list previously, shortly after I compiled it in 2009. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Going Once, Going Twice, Sold to the Lady Among the Leaves

As I mentioned in my last post, I acquired all of my Thai Aglaonemas online, specifically though eBay auctions. Over the past eleven years, I've found these to be an excellent source of unusual houseplants that I would be unlikely to find locally, or that are hard to find through conventional mail-order retailers. So I thought I'd post some tips for buying houseplants through online auctions. I am using eBay as my example, because that is what I have experience with. This should not be construed as an official endorsement of that site. All photographs in this post, most of which I have shared before, are of eBay acquisitions.

Peperomia incana. Purchased 1999/2000 in a four-inch pot. This is probably the oldest eBay acquisition that I still have, though my Aspidistra elatior is a contender. I've purchased quite a few plants from various sellers over the years, several of which I no longer have. This has nothing to do with the source of the plants, but rather with the vicissitudes of life and plant care.

1. Check out the sellers. Look to see what else they are offering besides the plant you are interested in. I prefer to buy from those sellers who specialize in plants. These folks will generally be able to answer questions about what they are selling, and will know how to package and ship plants safely. Also check their feedback. Don't just glance at the numbers; take a look at their feedback page. Someone with a few negatives in their past may have since gotten their act together; someone who has been a good seller in the past may be letting things slip. There are a few plant sellers who do business at an extremely high volume, and have mixed feedback. Some of these have a number of negatives because, well, some people have really high expectations and are hard to please. Other large operations are a bit careless, but expect their high volume of sales to even things out.

Begonia 'Cracklin Rosie' purchased as a small plant in 2003.

Aloe linneata x greenii acquired in 2005 or 2006.

2. Speaking of those expectations: Don't get carried away with yours. Mail-order plants from most sources, auctions or not, tend to be small. The best way not to be disappointed is look for listings which show a photograph of the actual plant for sale. Even better is when there is a ruler or some other size indicator in the picture. Some people who sell a lot of a certain plant use a stock photo. That is fine, but make sure that they indicate that the plant in the photo is not the one up for sale, and that they describe the size and condition of the plant you will receive in some detail.

Aglaonema 'Cory' purchased in the past year.

3. Keep in mind what types of plants are likely to ship well, and those that won't. For example, I wouldn't buy a Sedum morganianum by mail order of any sort; the leaves have a tendency to fall off even with gentle handling, and one is likely to end up with a pot of bare stems and a box full of leaves. But remember, even a plant that ships well may look a little worse for wear after being in a box for a few days, but will bounce back.

Sansevieria kirkii var. pulchra 'Coppertone' also from 2009.

4. Do not get caught up in a bidding frenzy. Keep in mind what you would pay if you found the plant in a store, and don't go over that amount. While I do participate in auctions, I am especially fond of eBay's "Buy-it-Now" feature, where you can purchase the item at a preset price, without competing with others. Of course savvy sellers put the most sought-after items in regular auctions, hoping to get a higher price than they might have originally set.

Epipremnum 'N' Joy' yet another 2009 acquisition.

It occurred to me as I was writing that each of these tips can work for standard mail order sites as well, even the feedback part. There are sites like GardenWatchdog where one can check up on a mail-order operation's reputation.