Name the plant!

[Mimsy]

In response to a suggestion in my spider mite thread I took some picture of Bonnie, my unidentified plant. I think it might be some kind of philodenron, the leaves have that shape, and it trails like the philodendron does. Also, it acts just like one. Since I'm not sure though, I thought I'd ask the genius geeks here on MGs what kind of plant this is.

Here you go... I set it outside in the sun in the hopes that would show the color of the leaves better. And no, I do not water it with beer. It's there for size comparison, silly.

[TeeCee]

Hi Mimsy, it looks to me like a variegated philodendron. Still a philodendron, just a variegated coloring in the leaf. I had both kinds in the past...

Yours has nice size to it, and lots of growth.

[Mimsy]

That's what I thought. Thanks for verifying it!

I bought Bonnie big and healthy, but she's grown bigger since. She's starting to send out those long trailing arms now, and growing lots of new leaves.

[TeeCee]

Hi Mimsy, maybe Bonnie would like to be re-potted? With all that growth, she may just need more room for her roots! I have a reg. Philly, and I do re-pot once in a while... Oh, they would make such a nice pair!

[bigtrucks]

Hey Mimsy TeeCee is right on the nose.It is a type of variegated phil. Here are some pics of different varieties of variegated Phily's.http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/...51580824pFIqEs http://gardening.about.com/od/specif...s/p/Pothos.htm
I'm kinda of partial to the pink,but can't have any around the home as my son found out the hard way they are deadly for they to him. Was in the hospital all day and night having tons of test done before they found that he was highly allergic to any kind of philodendron.
Don't know if this helps. Just a little info on them.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/95713/
They sure look pretty. You've done a great job with them. You could also separate them and put in some hanging pots. Just an idea

[Mimsy]

Hm, I did not know they were poisonous. Good thing they live up on top of my kitchen cabinets, where the cat can't get to them!

And thank you for the nice compliments on the plant, but I really can't take credit for it since I've only had it for a couple of weeks. it was big and healthy when I bought it and all I've done with it is water it whenever the soil in the pots gets dry. And I give it coffee grounds of course. I do that to all of them since it's summer now, and that's supposedly when they try their hardest to grow big, and need extra nutrients.

[tonyhale]

Nice plant, If you water it outside, drops of water stay on the leaves these act as a lens in bright sunlight and burn the leaves.
Naming plants is simple, I apply this method if I don't know exactly what plant it is, it becomes a cross between a Magnolia and a Geranium thereby ending up as a Ganollia,

[BILLMCC66]

I have a variation of the same plant but this does not trail it grows straight up.

[Mimsy]

That's a beautiful plant, Bill! I assume all the yellow things are flowers?

Tony, I never water them outside in the sun. I live in a mountain desert climate, so I actually never put them out in the sun during the summer at all, because I'm afraid they'll burn. I mist the ones with spider mites out in my backyard in the morning, because that's less messy than doing it in the kitchen, and then immediately bring them back inside, but that's about it.

I bought a large spider plant to replace the one that died from drowning, and it's huge and in a teeny-tiny pot, so I will need to repot that one soon. I'll probably buy some potting soil and repot the Petra as well while I'm at it, since I'm worried about what else got into the soil while she was out in the garbage. I didn't want to repot her while she was all weak and sick from the spider mites, but she seems to have recovered enough to survive being moved now.

Bonnie looks big, but the root clump is still small enough to fit comfortably in the pot, so I'm undecided on that one... on one hand, a larger pot would look better, on the other, everything I have been reading about plants says to not repot them unless you have to, so I'm trying to make up my mind on that one.

[joey off the street]

Originally Posted by Mimsy

Bonnie looks big, but the root clump is still small enough to fit comfortably in the pot, so I'm undecided on that one... on one hand, a larger pot would look better, on the other, everything I have been reading about plants says to not repot them unless you have to, so I'm trying to make up my mind on that one.

I don't mean to be a pedant, but I'm sure you do realise the dangers of a plant becoming pot bound? TeeCee is right. Moving Bonnie into a bigger pot could be a good idea and be of benefit to her.

[Mimsy]

Originally Posted by joey off the street

I don't mean to be a pedant, but I'm sure you do realise the dangers of a plant becoming pot bound? TeeCee is right. Moving Bonnie into a bigger pot could be a good idea and be of benefit to her.

I'm not sure what "pot bound" means (see my reference to language barriers in another thread) but I have one plant whose roots have stared to grow out through the draining holes at the bottom of the pot, which is why I'm making plans to buy potting soil and a bigger pot and move that one. And yes, that's my new spider plant. Poor thing, why the grower of thatplant left it like that is beyond me.

[joey off the street]

Originally Posted by Mimsy

I'm not sure what "pot bound" means (see my reference to language barriers in another thread) but I have one plant whose roots have stared to grow out through the draining holes at the bottom of the pot, which is why I'm making plans to buy potting soil and a bigger pot and move that one. And yes, that's my new spider plant. Poor thing, why the grower of thatplant left it like that is beyond me.

Yeah, that's pot bound. Basically, all it means is the roots become so dense and compacted together as they outgrow the pot, they can't absorb water or nutrients.
I'm thinking pot bound is a universal term. It's called 'English'.

[TeeCee]

Hi Mimsy, I still think Bonnie needs to be re-potted.. "Pot-bound" is when the poor little roots don't have any place left to go, so they just encircle themselves, and the plant will eventually die...

Bonnie would love to be re-potted into a nice larger pot.. Give her little roots room to grow, and thus grow bigger! Plants love to be re-potted, and I have a Hoya I have to do too... Pot-bound, for sure... No room for the roots to grow.... Just take your time, she will grow big and beautiful for you!

[Mimsy]

Originally Posted by joey off the street

I'm thinking pot bound is a universal term. It's called 'English'.

Actually, I think it's called "jargon", and that means that to those of us who have English as a second language, it's a bit hard to figure out

TeeCee, once Bonnie gets fully settled and healthy , I plan to lift her out of the pot to check on the roots. If they are too cramped for space I fully intend to repot her, but if not, I will probably leave her where she is at for another few months, then check again.

[joey off the street]

Originally Posted by Mimsy

Actually, I think it's called "jargon", and that means that to those of us who have English as a second language, it's a bit hard to figure out

Give over! You probably speak better English than I do!

[TeeCee]

Hi Mimsy, that does sound like a good idea... Poor Bonnie has been thru a lot...

I just finished re-potting my Hoya... That was a chore, but I am glad I did... Her little roots had no place left to go! Now, she should be happy and grow to the ceiling, and maybe even bloom for me this summer! I do miss those fragrant flowers!

My other Hoya is growing slower, so she won't need re-potting for a while yet.

[lego126]

When i worked at a nursery, we use to call it "pot lock" or "root bound". It means that the roota can't get any bigger in the current sized pot, hence the term, "pot lock". It kinda' reminds me of some type of Variegated glacier ivy. However,, most of the time,, Variegated leaves, have the ligher coloring on the outside egdes of the leaves. So tonyhale's comments about water and the sun might hold true. Wether they are in the sun or not when they are watered, water on the leaves could be causeing the "burns". We use to get people returning plants all the time, cause of this unheard of phenom after a person would buy Otto Lukens. Even too much water directly in the dirt could cause the burns. However it looks to be a healty plant to say the least.

But... I still think it is some Variegated Ivy species.

[BILLMCC66]

Here is an idea for Bonnie Mimsy, these are 2 separate plants that are in the living room they are also trailers but i just put a round piece of wood wrapped in sacking and tied the plants to it then trimmed the longer strands off and it will grow as high as you want,
The last photo is the flower head on the plant i posted yesterday.
i just give them water once a week and they thrive indoors but our apartment has huge windows so they get plenty of light.

[Mimsy]

Originally Posted by BILLMCC66

Here is an idea for Bonnie Mimsy, these are 2 separate plants that are in the living room they are also trailers but i just put a round piece of wood wrapped in sacking and tied the plants to it then trimmed the longer strands off and it will grow as high as you want

Interesting, interesting... I'd be very tempted to do that if I didn't have a cat who likes grazing from my plants. Since I now know that philodendrons are poisonous I am determined to keep them out of her reach, and I will probably not get more of them, so they get to stay on the cabinets and grow their long trailing arms

[TeeCee]

Hi Mimsy, I also have a cat, but keep my "Philly" in a hanging basket that hangs from the ceiling... then, I train the trails to go around and around the top of the basket, [between the basket and the ceiling] and that works like a charm... Everybody is happy!