House plants

[Mikey D]

My other half has been given a couple of spider plants , I don't fancy there chances , she can look after a cactus IE water it once every few months.....
Anyway is there any specific compost to use and pots do they need a drain hole and saucer
I seem to remember baby bio to feed them. ?
Oh I have some Westland compost with added John innes will this do ,? Or will I need some specific overpriced stuff
Cheers guys

 

[cocker]

They seem to thrive on neglect . Ours have managed to survive despite the infrequent watering and no plant food .
They're the only house plants to ever last in our house !

 

[brightspark]

use soil and compost mixed, the pots need drain holes with chippings for drainage in the bottom keep lightly watered give em fertiliser feed every month

 

[Greeves246]

Far, far more house plants have died from overwatering than under watering.

 

[brightspark]

Far, far more house plants have died from overwatering than under watering.

yep i just poke my finger in the soil every week to see if its just moist, if left to our lass everything dies

 

[Jackimus]

Spider plants can thrive in circumstances that the SAS would run crying from. You really don't need to worry about them as long as they get water and sun once in a full blue moon.

 

[Kram]

use soil and compost mixed, the pots need drain holes with chippings for drainage in the bottom keep lightly watered give em fertiliser feed every month

There are several flies that lay eggs in soil only to hatch and find themselves indoors and rather irritating.
I imagine you can buy indoor grade, treated soil but I have never lookdd fornit inangarden centre.

 

[frank horton]

u should add a little rough sand to the above soil mix...
we have em gfrowing outside in raised bed....
always cutting it back and giving it away...

 

[Mikey D]

Cheers Gents ,
I've Got some sharp sand @frank horton
@Kram we don't need no flies , have enough of them in the summer , so it's off to the Pensioners favourite place to buy some" special no fly eggs super treated soil " at £74 a kilo .

@Jackimus that good to know that they are neglect tolerant , shall we say .
And @brightspark are you talking spider plants when you say about sticking fingers in and finding it moist
Someone please insert pic of Kenneth williams here please

Thanks for All your replies guys ,

House plant experts on a welding forum , great stuff !

 

[RichardM]

There are several flies that lay eggs in soil only to hatch and find themselves indoors and rather irritating.
I imagine you can buy indoor grade, treated soil but I have never lookdd fornit inangarden centre.

Would microwaving the soil kill the eggs? I used to do it with feathers for fly tying.

 

[Greeves246]

Putting it in the freezer for a few days will do it. I freeze all my birds seed since having a load of pantry moth hatching from some sunflower seed.

 

[MoreWellie]

They seem to thrive on neglect

Agreed, one we were given lasted years with no feed, no change of pot/soil. Had to wait until we moved house before I managed to throw it away by which time the pot area looked awful but the bits hanging down a fireplace looked quite healthy which is why it had survived so long

 

[Kram]

Try both, belts and braces.

Nemasys nematodes are said to work as well. See this

Steinernema carpocapsae - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Turbo]

Spider plants thrive in a damp room like bathrooms.

 

[knighty]

freezer would be better than microwave to get rid of fly eggs

heat would kill all the bacteria etc. in the soil etc.... which I think you need, idk not a plant person

 

[hotponyshoes]

50⁰c will kill most things off pretty quickly.
35-40⁰c will do it within an hour or two.

Soil is a decent insulator so a bucket in a freezer would want to be left a good while to chill the centre right down.
Trays of it in the oven for a few minutes each would be quick enough.

Or don't bother. Wrap the pot in clingfilm then empty out the dead files once they have hatched.