I know they're cute and cuddly but I really don't like Ivy. Aside from not liking plants with very little/many leaves, I also don't like how how mites like them! Any time I've had them in the past I've had to constantly battle with spider mites. They seem to be a favourite food for that pest! Sorry Ivy lovers! Forgive me! I know they're adorable plants....just not for me!

Nature do you have any ivy? If so what type? I've a 12-13 yr old Algerian ivy and a mix that's about 4 yrs old. I found by misting w/2 drops of soapy water, mites just don't visit. I also keep both pots in cool rooms in winter..humidity is fairly high, too. I use a humidifier in winter, 2 indoor fountains, and daily spraying..plus try hosing in sink..and NO buggies..Toni

My least favorite, hmmm...I dont have one! Seriously. If I dont like a plant I get after a few months I give it to someone or take it to the nursing home I work at. I've had plenty I disliked, I dont have time to baby the fussbuckets : )

Jen

MMMM

There's this NASTY opuntia cactus I got recently........Cute plant, but HORRIBLE stickers.....so fine you can't see them, but you sure can tell when you get some in you.

BTW, I've seen those tiny hair-like spines called "globbins." Does anyone know if that's correct?

Thanks

Tim

I don't have any ivy at all anymore. I haven't had any for about two years now but you're right Toni - a little fussing would probably spare me the headache of Ivy & mites and a cooler location would be a bonus. The problem is that I don't have a cooler location for it. Right now we're renting where we live and the landlord takes care of the heating. It's always warm in my house in the winter; not terribly warm but beyond what would discourage spider mites. A little over two years ago, I was responsible for the heating and each room was individually controlled. That in itself was a blessing! I could lower and raise heat in each room as I saw fit. Our plans are to eventually buy a home. That's when it'll be much different for a lot of things. Until then things are what they are...

Sago Palms! I love the fact that these were around when dinosaurs where living it up once apon a time, but those fronds really hurt your bare legs if you brush up against them, plus the new fronds can grow freakishly long if not given high light (having the room issue) and look weird! And some of the single leaves/fronds will yellow spoiling the whole look while others stay green. I won't buy another!
They are cute when small though.

Billy Rae

I rather enjoy the challenge of a somewhat difficult plant, and my least favorites tend to be the really easy ones that you see everywhere you go-- i.e. many other people's favorites. It's not that I can't appreciate the beauty of a well-grown "mall plant", but I think of them as analogous to art you'd find in a hotel room, pleasant, but not memorable.
Right at the moment, though, my very least favorite is bona fide ugly. It's a large Euphorbia tirucalli that I've had for ages. It has blown over in the wind a number of times, and parts have broken so it's lopsided. There are scars from sunburn and mechanical damage. When I bring it in for the winter, it takes up a lot more space than it deserves. Why do I keep it? Good question! (because it's "memorable"??? lol!) I doubt anyone would want to take it. I know none of my friends would, and it'd cost too much to ship it to some plant nut in other parts. Every fall I'm tempted to just leave it out to freeze, but then anthropomorphic sentimentality kicks in, and I take it back in for another winter.

Oooh, this question is much easier to answer! LOL Okay, I have a few that I've sworn to NEVER buy again.

Hindu Rope Hoya(can't get the watering right on this one. Too little and they shrivel up and turn yellow. Too much, they do the same darned thing!) I can water any other plant appropriately, but I can't figure out why I fail with this one! Plus, the twists and turns of the leaves are the ultimate mealy hideout. NO THANKS!!!!

Calathea- These little guys are gorgeous, but you know, they require a degree of humidity that I just can't provide. When I get that terrarium started, I'll buy one for it. Sounds like a winter project. Hmmmm:))))

Ferns(most)- I just cannot give them the humidity they require. I could, but don't have the time to devote the effort. I've tried the Boston- too fussy. I've tried the Dallas- was told it wasn't nearly as fussy as the Boston- that was a lie. LOL I've tried some other smaller varieties and they croaked fairly quickly. I still have one that I've had since last September. It's a variegated leatherleaf fern. She's a little trooper, so I'm trying to do right by her.:) The button ferns are an absolute joke- gorgeous, but FUSSY! Even Eleanors couldn't revive my little guy. Oh well, (sigh)....

Ficus Benjamina- You move it and it throws a tantrum by defoliating. Thanks, but I don't need that kind of stress in my life! LOL

I think that's it for my list of least favs. Great thread, Toni!

GH

I don't really have a plant that I dislike, per se, but there are some plants that I find disgusting in other people's houses. Some people insist that all plants must have shiny leaves, and proceed to rub them with Vaseline to "prettify" them. AAARGH!!
Bill

I hate Ivy. Not too fond of Monstera deliciosa or most Dracaenas either.

The only plant that I can name at this moment that I would not buy again is an orchid. I recently bought 4 of them at Lowes, my very first time ever buying orchids, and it turned out that they had a fungal infection. If I knew anything about orchids ahead of time I would have noticed right away in the store that they were covered with black speckles. I tried putting them in more light, etc but it was too late. They all started getting big black spots and mold on the leaves so I threw them away yesterday.

I'm not saying I'll never buy another orchid, but I'll definately do some research upfront and only buy from the local orchid society so I'll know exactly what I'm getting.

Pepperomia, especially the variety with the really textured ruffled leaves, Spathiphyllum (sp?)aka Peace Lily, and Corn plants (think they are in the Draceana family)

I have no reason for disliking the above, but I also hate Ficus trees, because they die on me every time, and Crotons, because of the mites.

Anything that bites me!!! >:)

At work I pick up the cacti pots with scissors, while wearing gloves!

I'd have to say cut leaf philodendren. I think they are really ugly.

I agree - this one's much easier!

I found Calathea to be a diva (before I killed it...) and my Stromanthe isn't much easier.

My dracaenas (marginata, variegated sanderiana) are driving me nuts - I can't make them happy and I don't know why, so they're starting to irritate me. Nothing I do gets them to grow - they just sit there with always-browning leaf tips, no matter what.

I'm running out of patience with my ivies also, though I still do like them a lot.

Jude

a dead one ;)

Jude, is it possible your dracaenas are getting too much light? Especially the Sander? They both do well in medium light, so it's best to keep several feet from a south or west window in summer..Unless it's obstructed by trees/curtains, buildings, etc.

LOL, Larry..I think that's everyone's least favorite..Toni

The zebra plant it's way too finicky. It requires a certain level of humidity ""all the time"" or else it will fail,if you live in a place where it is not tropical all the time. You basically will be a slave to this plant. For me, in order for a relationship to work with my plants or for me to really end up loving them, is that they have to give me love in return. This plant is just plain selfish.. will never get this plant again.

Hi,

I'm with greenlarry. It's the last one that died on me. lol

Larry

Old Sansavaria. I swear I tried to drown them, starve them for water and they could go flying across the room and still come out looking straight and pointy. I finally gave it to the poor store. Cacti don't like me. Never saw a cactus I didn't want to overwater.

Nancy

Well, I wouldn't say I hate them, but I do have a love/hate relationship with geraniums (it's just that my climate is too wet and humid for them to optimally perform).

I've never owned any of the following: ZZ plant, a 'snake' plant, Spathiphyllum (sp?)aka Peace Lily, and Corn plants .... just can't see any appeal -- at all

I absolutely detest ivy. It is invasive out here.

greenjude wrote:
My dracaenas (marginata, variegated sanderiana) are driving me nuts - I can't make them happy and I don't know why, so they're starting to irritate me. Nothing I do gets them to grow - they just sit there with always-browning leaf tips, no matter what.

Sounds like overwatering. Pull one out of its pot. I bet the rootball is soaking wet.

Sharp pointed cactus. they prick and i always overwater them.

And Palms. I actually really admire palms but find them so challenging to keep in my home.

I have a love/hate relationship with ferns. I do really enjoy them, but I hate how fussy they are. I can't seem to keep them from looking raunchy (browning fronds, etc) after awhile. Even "easy" ferns like Pteris.

Hummm, well yesterday morning I would have said I hate ficus, because they always drop their leaves in the long dark of a MN winter. A naked ficus is indeed an ugly ficus. Then yesterday evening I fell under the spell of a Ficus "midnight"---and she is the Juliet to my Romeo!

"Hark, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Ficus "midnight" is the sun!" OK, so that's a little corney, but she truly is a beauty. Photos do not do her justice: she has gorgeous bright geen newer foliage against near black older foliage, thick, wavy leaves, and a very slight "weep" to her shape.

Love her I will...until she throws all her leaves at me! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Ficus midnight

I have never been a huge fan of Spathiphyllum (although a well-tended "Spathiphyllum Sensation" truly impresses me since I could never do it). I will never have a "corn plant"/Dracaena Massangeana in my house - although I have appreciated them when I've seen them flourishing in office buildings.

My truly least favorite plants are bromeliads. Guzmanias to be precise. it really turns me off that once they produce those gorgeous inflorescences, they are, essentially, dead. I find it psychologically unrewarding to nurture something that's never going to grow or change at all - only decline.

Well, if the thread's going to be resurrected, I may as well weigh in here.

I don't *hate* any plants, but I think I feel about palms (especially Chamaedorea and Kentia) the way other people feel about corn plants (Dracaena fragrans) -- I can appreciate a happy specimen if I see one somewhere, but they're so common I don't see much point in having one myself. Or something like that. I've had lots of bad experiences with palms before, too, which doesn't help. That said, I do still like lady palms (Rhapis) and fishtail palms (Caryota), though I don't have either right now.

My love/hate relationship is with arrowhead plants (Syngonium): I don't think we're right for one another, they mostly just cause me grief, but since everybody *says* they're not that difficult, I keep trying. [insert scene of me and the Syngonium family hugging on one another while sweeping orchestral music swells in the background, with me saying through my tears, "I wish I knew how to quit you."]

Amaranthus caudatus

Spider plants.

Seriously.

They look like big creepy spiders to me. I can't look at one without cringing. My mother, however, is constantly forgetting this, and every time I visit her she tries to push baby spider plants on me. Drives me nuts.

I love, and hate, Swedish Ivy... it grows so fast that in just a short time it goes from "beauty in a basket" to tough, old, woody thing dropping its leaves everywhere, and too potbound to do much else with but grab a few cuttings to begin anew and pitch the mother plant...

I've answered this one before, but now I have a few. One is Syngonium. They always tend to reach toward the light and I cant get the lighting right for them. Another is Maranta. Needs too high humidity, seems fussy. Peace lilies, just boring to me. Many succulents and I dont get along, but that's my fault. I want to love them too much with water.

Jen

I like ivy, but it doesn't like me. Neither do creeping figs. I had one last two weeks, and another one that lasted all of five days.

As for plants I don't like - any of the "florist" type plants that just flower and drop dead. I like plants that hang around for awhile.

I would say ivy in my house can't keep them alive through the winter
I hate my ponytail palm they do great for a long time then done faster then i can blink
Money tree does great for a bit then drops every leaf just when I am ready to give up and throw it away it comes back
my boyfriends orchids they are space and time sucking hogs
I hate all of the plants that look so beautiful outside growing all summer that cant take our winters and I am tempted to bring and try and save through the winter and yes the brug growing in a pot next to my fence will be coming inside to die in about a month lol

LOL, can't believe this thread popped up again..
Lhmkc, when you grow PT's, do you let soil dry out? The bulbs hold water, so pony tails can go w/o water a long time, otherwise they'll rot. And they prefer good light, direct if possible..
Money Trees do best in small pots..They can attract mites, so check leaves carefully. Soil also needs to dry but not as much as pt's.
I agree, outside plants are beautiful..but most won't grow inside..some annuals will, but they need a good amount of sunlight, cooler air conditions than most homes provide in winter, fresh circulating air and some require humidity.
But there are plenty annuals that do fine like Coleus, Swedish Ivy, and if you're a dare-devil, lol, try Impatiens, Petunia, Fuschia, and a few others..Toni