hi i love houseplants, but when i buy them in supermarkets they never give them names, can any one help me in identifying them please. i have children and a kitten and need to know if any are toxic. thanks.
the first 3 are Dracena fragrans, 4th Ficus benjamina -'Variegata'?, 5th Jasmine of some kind...officianale?, 6th dracena marginata, 7th Dracena fragrans variegated form (pretty sure), 8th Schefflera I think digitata - a variegated form, and the last an Aloe...as in a relative of Aloe vera, not sure of species right now. None are toxic to my knowledge, but dont chew on them! Dracena fragrans likes shade and is commonly known as the Corn Palm tho its not a palm at all pot the tall one on and feed in the spring.
That's a nice looking aloe! I have been looking for one like that. It looks similar to a partridge breast aloe, or tiger aloe. Looking at some photos online, you might be able to tell if that's right or not.
The mold may be caused by damp soil combined with decaying organic matter. You might try reducing the amount of water you give it during the winter months at least. I have been using neem oil on just about everything lately. It seems to take care of bugs and mold. I used rabbit manure in my rose pots and had some mold on them from that. I sprayed the top of the soil with the neem oil and the mold disappeared. Needless to say I bury the rabbit manure deeper in the soil and don't leave it on the surface anymore.
hello katsen,
You're right : Heptapleurum Arboricola is corect. The name brahea22 gave it to your plant is also corect (she said in her post 4 days ago Schefflera). Schefflera arboricola = Heptapleurum Arboricola.
Brahea 22 a She?! Will have to make my posts more macho in future! Do you know if Heptapleurum Arboricola is a new name, an old one or just a confusing concurrent one? I have not heard of it before - does it apply to all scheffleras? Did you find a name for the variegated cultivar? - my copy of Tropica got lost in a move and I'm sorely missing it here, thats why I was wrong on the D. sanderiana - sorry! There seems to be another Genus name for a schefflera - Brassia, as in Schefflera/Brassia actinophylla (a gorgeous houseplant with large leaves - easy to grow and available you might want to try Katsen) although this is usually listed as a synonym. Very confusing when so many different names appear in one Genus, especially as we are starting to grow Scheffleras impressa, delavayii, taiwaniana outside in gardens now in the UK and other almost hardy Arailiaceae like Firmiana become choices in planting design of gardens.
Katsen, do you know why the growth on the Dracena fragrans in photos 1 and 2 is so sparse and yellow? Have you positioned it in full sun? The pot looks quite small but Dracenas seem to not be to fussy about being in the same pot for years. As a house plant they seem to prefer shade - even deep shade, but I have seen them as 6m tall hedges in Costa Rica in full sun where the scent from the flowers is strong enough to make you drunk in the evenings!
Does anyone know what the Aloe is in the last photo?
I posted a question on a new thread but got no responses yet so I'll ask here - does anyone know where I can find plants of Chamaeodorea costaricana for sale in the UK?
hi the plant in pic 1 and 2 i got from a lady who thought it was dying, i have re potted it as it was filling the pot with its roots. and its in my living room now. hoping its going to be ok.
brahea22, please allow me to appologize for my mistake... names ending with "ea" looks feminine, in my native language... I am deeply sorry for the inconvenience.
As for Heptaplurum arboricola, this is a synonyn of Schefflera arboricola (wikipedia portal may help you to clarify this)
I also have a variegated Scheflera (Heptapleurum) but I never looked for a specific name for his variegated foliage. Mine is very small/pygmy spp... and is not demanding on daily care (http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g2...7/PIC_0085.jpg) .
PS. katse, first dracena, need some cutting back... the folliage growing on top only doesn't look extremely good. If you cut the stalk, leaving only 6-8 cm above the soil, new leafs will apear from there... The top with teh foliage uou can put it in sam water in order to repot it after it will produce some roots.
Last edited by Valentina30; December 12th, 2007 at 07:43 AM.
Reason: complete info
In response to Brahea22's questions:
(Do you know if Heptapleurum Arboricola is a new name, an old one or just a confusing concurrent one? I have not heard of it before - does it apply to all scheffleras?)
Heptapleurum arboricola is the oldest name for this plant. However Schefflera is the older genus name and most authorities include this species in the genus Schefflera so consider the name a synonym of Schefflera arboricola. Schefflera is a large genus (1100 or so species) and some have suggested it should be broken up. In that case, the genus Heptapleurum might be resurrected for some of the species. But I haven't yet seen anything like that. So in the meantime, you can put all Heptapleurums under the genus name Schefflera but you cannot put all Scheffleras in the genus Heptapleurum.
(Did you find a name for the variegated cultivar?) 'Charlotte' is the only white variegated Schefflera I know of. Most are yellow.
(Does anyone know what the Aloe is in the last photo?) It looks like Aloe variegata to me, the Partridge breast aloe as someone earlier suggested.
The common names, Partridge Breast & tiger Aloe have also been referred to as "Aloe variegata" Scintific name.
Katson,
You might be able to to downsize the pot in the spring so you don't have as much wet soil, maybe add some perlite for even better drainage.
