I'll always be fond of African violets because I grew up with them. My mom and grandmother had tons of them.

I also particularly like my weeping fig even if she is a demanding diva. Such a lovely plant.

I have a pothos I rescued from my last job - it had been abandoned in my cubicle when I moved in. I adopted it and started caring for it and it's flourishing now. I brought it home with me before I left and it's now living happily on a bookcase.

I also have a little nameless moth orchid I adore - I bought it thinking it was a yellow one, only to find out the yellow spike of flowers belonged to a leafless orchid in its death throes and the leaves belonged to a healthy orchid crammed into the same pot. I rescued the healthy one, potted it up and was rewarded about a year later with a spike of dainty fuschia blooms.

Then there's the aspidistra I rescued after some three-year-old toddler from - well, you know - knocked it over while rampaging around the greenhouse. It's just dropped several leaves, but it's growing some to replace them.

Hi, and welcome!

That is SO not a fair question! LOL I can only list favorite plant families:
1.)Aroids
2.)Sansevieria
3.)Begonias
4.)Jungle Cacti

For very sentimental reasons, the following are my favorites:
1.) Dragon Wing Begonia(red)
2.) Syngonium Podophyllum
3.)Amaryllis 'Voodoo'
4.)Philodendron Scandens
5.)Schlumbergera Truncata 'Dark Marie'

I'm out of space to put plants, BUT that doesn't deter me from buying new ones somehow.:)

My absolute favorites are my snake plants and spider plant. I know they are common and easy to grow, but they are so pretty and mean a lot to me. I have a few bromeliads I adore, large Dracaena marginata, a variegated Hoya and a few Aglaonemas I would never give away. So I guess I cant pick a favorite.

Jen

This is a tough one. I have so many different plants that I like for different reasons. But I do favour my Desert Rose, which took years to finally find locally. I also love my Ponytail Palm and my Sago Palm; two plants that also took a long time to bring home. My Bromeliads are always at the top of my list of favourties together with every single Aroid. I guess I could go on and on... It's so hard to pick favourites when there are so many...

My favorites constantly change. Right now I'm really loving my dieffenbachias and my hoyas. A couple of months ago I was really into my sanseverias and pothos. Before then I was mad about my peperomia obtusifolia. Before that I was crazy about the jades and aloes. I had a brief love affair with peace lilies sometime during the spring.

I don't think I'll ever have a true favorite, because nothing is my favorite for more than 3 or 4 months. I just love them all.

My favourite plant changes every week, but most of the time my jade plant, my ZZ plant and my baby Sansevieria come out on top.

At the moment, however, my favourite plant is one that was given to me this morning, by my neighbours who are moving abroad: it's a 6ft tall Ficus binnendijkii. It's a little overwhelming, because I know zip about this particular plant, and because I have never before owned a plant that is bigger than I am. But it's beautiful.

Right now my favorite plant is my goldfish plant (nematanthus). It is in almost constant bloom, has such shiny, dark green foliage and it just brightens my day. I have it on my kitchen window sill, and it makes my kitchen chores much more pleasant.

I am also very fond of my spider plant - it was a spindly $1.49 half-dead thing on the bargain rack at the grocery store. It just needed some TLC, and looks like a new plant now.

Carl, does your new Chlorophytum have orange coloring in the center?
If so, this plant does better in good light..when I had mine in front of a west window, the orange was deeper and it bloomed from the center (like a bromiliad) Now that it's set back from the window, the orange isn't as bright, and hasn't flowered in 2 yrs.

Favorite plant? Oh boy, that's a tough one for sure. The last month I've purchased over 25 baby succulents. 15 from Walmart, some from Ebay, and other nurseries.

I can't chose one, but my largest collections, which must mean something are Philos, citrus, Gardenias, and Hibiscus. Toni

My favorites change constantly. I think right now my favorites are 2 Aglaonemas, and a new Jade. I want to love Deffenbachias so bad, they are so pretty, but I have now killed 6, so I am giving up on that venture for awhile:(
Oh I love my ZZ Plant and my Bird of Paradise, well I also love my Philodenderons, but I have been having to fight to keep all of them healthy looking for some odd reason all of a sudden so I may get fed up on them soon (not, I just think I might) and my Dracaenas, I love ALL of em, they do really well for me, I could go on and on, guess my favorites might change, but I still love all of them:)

Micke, what happens to your Deff's? Their soil really needs to dry between waterings, otherwise they get root rot, especially if placed in a cool location. Perhaps you should start w/a baby, (7-8") tall..see how it works. Make sure pots have drainage holes, and only water when soil is dry. Mist daily, they love humidity.
Philos change w/the temps..Ironically, even though they dote on natural heat, for some reason my Philos did great in the front plant room, (semi-unheated) sitting on a ceramic floor yr round. Now they're in a heated LR, and though they're doing OKAY, they're not growing as well as they did in the other room..which had a ton of sun.
So, don't give up. Be patient.
BTW, I looked at your plants on the Conversation forum, and they are truly beautiful..I was going to leave a comment but something came up here and never returned to that forum. Toni

First and foremost, I love all my hoyas dearly, and even if they were the only plants I had, I would still have a pretty diverse group. Second would be ceropegia woodii, my rosary vines, third would be my Prayer Plant, and last but not least, my ric rac aka fishbone cactus.

I actually had to pick sixteen and pit them against one another, like it was a basketball tournament (and even the picking sixteen was hard) in order to narrow it down to four. And then I wasn't actually happy with how that turned out, particularly, so I ran it a couple more times, so I didn't manage to narrow it down to four after all. In the end, only one plant showed up in all three Final Four lists:

***Yucca elephantipes. They're easy, I have sentimental attachments because a Yucca is currently the plant I've had the longest, and I have a few variegated ones that I think are very pretty. They're like a Dracaena that's watched a lot of really hip, edgy television.

Runners-up (appeared on two lists):

***Anthurium x (flamingo flower) -- mostly because I got a couple for the foliage, not really expecting them to do any more than that, and one of the two plants has reflowered this summer without me trying to get it to. The first bloom appeared on June 30 and is only beginning to die now; two more flowers appeared a couple weeks ago and haven't even opened yet. It's always nice to be pleasantly surprised that way.
***Dieffenbachia maculata (?) -- because I like Dieffenbachias, I especially like *big* Dieffenbachias, and I really, *really* like them when they don't die. The plant in question has been with me about a year and a half.
***Dracaena deremensis 'Lemon-Lime' -- good growth, especially over the last year. Never any pest problems, and it still looks like it just came from the greenhouse. In fact, it's in *better* shape than most of the Dracaenas in the greenhouse at work, which have gotten too hot and scorched a bit.
***Strelitzia nicolae (white? bird of paradise) -- again with liking big, unproblematic plants. Everybody thinks that bird of paradise should be hard to grow inside, but I've done everything wrong by mine -- only a west window for sun, with an air conditioning vent blowing on it almost all day long -- and it thinks I'm the best Plant Dad ever.

Honorable mention (appeared on one list):

Ficus binnendijkii (long-leaf fig) -- was doing well, with almost no leaf drop, when I brought it home last winter. Grew pretty steadily, nothing dramatic. Then I repotted it in spring, and it has gotten . . . well, "rampant" would not be a wrong word. Other Ficus species and I haven't really been right for one another, but F. binnendijkii and I are in love. Plus -- bonus! -- it doesn't mind if I see other plants. . . .

I love Sean, my spider plant that is 32 years old (named after a boy I had a crush on at the time) I rooted him from my stepmother's plant while visiting and carried him home on an airplane in a paper cup. He has survived many moves, a tumultuous relationship with his namesake, and now a climate and house with little sun.

Toni, I am not real sure what I am doing wrong with them, they look really good for about 6 months and then the leaves just die on them, the ones I had that just did that went outside and I actually have new growth on the stems, but what am I going to do with them this Winter? I actually set them out to do away with them, kind of forgot about it, next time I looked at them they had little tiny leaves on them.
I keep trying to tell myself that I could grow a big one, I always come to my senses before I walk out of the store with it thank goodness. You know I never misted them, maybe that would help.
thank you for the nice comment on my plants:)

Like several of you, I have too many favorites to choose, but I guess, as of an order I got today, that chiritas must be right up there. Already had a bunch, and got six more from Lyndon Lyon today. I'm kind of a gesnerinut--the other plants in that order were an aeschynanthus, a trailing AV, and a kohleria--but I'm also a begoniac, and pretty passionate about my aroids. But the aroids are almost all outside. And by the way, I want to thank two people on this forum--one on this thread--who mentioned Ficus binnendijkii. I'd had it for years, always liked it, thought I'd murdered it any number of times--but it always comes back from the roots even when I leave it outside. I just knew it as Ficus allii, which I guess is a variety or something?

You know, often I buy something thinking I'll really like it, and it's too fussy, or I get one bloom a year, or it has to be watered five times a day. Then there are the ones that I get as a present or by accident and wind up staying.

My wife once got me an Odontoglossum for our anniversary. I thought an orchid would be too much trouble, but actually it's no trouble at all. I water it once a week, and in exchange it blooms twice a year, for a month each time, really spectacular.

I was glad someone mentioned Nematanthus. I've got one of those, too. Dependable and very attractive and long-lived. Plus, you can just cut off a shoot, stick it in compost, and it'll root. Can't beat that.

And I've got an Aglaonema "Silver Queen" that's been sitting on my wife's nightstand for eight years. When I got it, I thought it was okay for shade. But it doesn't complain, sulk, brown, wilt or anything. I haven't repotted it since shortly after I bought it. Now it's developed a nice trunk. And this year it's actually flowering! Not that the flowers are that spectacular or anything, but I'm taking it as a sign that it's really happy where it is.

greenelbows1:

I've seen Ficus binnendijkii called F. binnendijkii 'Alii,' F. alii, F. binnendijkii, and F. maclellandii. As far as I've been able to determine, they're all synonyms, though it's possible that "Alii" is a cultivar.

micke:

It may actually be the case that you could grow a big Dieff more easily than a little one. Some of the smaller cultivars are easier than others (I especially like D. 'Sterling'), but the bigger ones seem easier still, for me. The one I mentioned upthread was actually the plant that convinced me I might be able to grow Dieffenbachias after all (before that, things hadn't gone well). Plants in bigger pots are a little more self-maintaining, in my experience -- they're already more established, and if you forget to water for a while, odds are that they still have some water in the center of the root ball, so they're more tolerant of neglect.

D. 'Sterling':
http://mgonline.com/dieffenbachia_sterling.jpg
http://mrec.ifas.ufl.edu/foliage/breeding/photos/Dieffenbachia-Sterling.jpg

I looked and looked for a picture of the big one of mine and couldn't find much that seemed close. This one shows the pattern on the leaves (the back leaf in the picture; I don't know what they have in front), but not the size of the plant. My plant's leaves are about 12-15 inches long and 6-7 inches wide, the plant itself is about 4 feet tall, and the stem is about two inches across.

http://www.garden.org/subchannels/health/houseplants?q=show&id=1854

mr_subjunctive:

Is ficus binnendijkii also the same thing as ficus longfolia?

Hi all,

This is an easy one. lol African violets and many of their gesneriad cousins. That doesn't mean I don't like other plants. We have 50 other plants besides African violet in our house, but my heart is definitely into gesneriads and especially violets.

Larry

Larry, do you have any or know of a nursery I can buy a pure white leaf AV? I've been searching several yrs..My dh bought one at our local grocery store, kept it going for two or three yrs, even though many ppl said this was impossible..he had to leave town and the AV dried too much and died..This plant didn't have variegated leaves, nope, just pure white w/purple/pink flowers..I don't care what color flowers are, I'm mainly interested in the white leaves..Thanks, Toni

Good luck finding that Toni, I'd suspect you won't for the exact reason you said folks thought it impossible. A plant w/ all white leaves only won't survive as it can't produce any chlorophyll w/out any green in its leaves. I wonder if the one you used to have was some kind of a graft?

As to favorites:

Balfour Aralia (a/k/a Aralia Balforiana marginata)
*** this may be my favorite plant of all time ***

Hoya (Carnosa) Krimson Queen

Hoyas: lacunosa & curtisii

Ficus deltoides (mistletoe fig)

Sans. sucotrana & Sans. moonshine

londongirl:

Yes. Add F. longifolia and F. longifolia 'Alii' to the list, since they turned up in a web search too.

mr_subjunctive:
that is a pretty one (Sterling) I don't think I have ever seen one like that. I also want 'Tropic Snow' and Amoena, the other one I don't have a i.d on, it is white with green edging, really heavy leaved (this one has been at Lowes for a month, I admire and touch it every time I go there)
I have 'Camillia' right now, well it has a few leaves on it, doesn't look like it used too that is for sure:( Maybe I just need to go get that one at Lowes at least to try and see if it will do okay, I don't think anyone else wants it as it has a crooked trunk, poor thing needs a home (see I am sitting here talking myself into getting it)

I second Balfour Aralia, and also Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia Milii).

Ficus Alii is a beautiful plant - congrats to all who care for one in their home - I would love to have a large one someday, and I'm sure someday I will!

Today on August 31:
1. cane begonias
2. syngonium varieties
3. hoyas (large waxy leaves)
4. sans (tall varieties)
5. jades
6. dracaena marginata

S

Hi Toni,

Oh yes, the elusive all white leafed African violet. I have heard of several people knowing someone who used to have one, but it died several years ago. Although it doesn't make sense to me that an all white African violet could survive, I am one to never say never. I have heard of too many people say that they have seen one exist.

All of that said, I know of no registered African violet that is all white. If you or others have seen one then it was probably a mutation of a variegated violet. I'm afraid that you will not be able to find one except by chance.

Larry

Susan, I just love the way you worded your response:) These things change throughout the year, don't they? LOL
I'm going on my yearly Fall shopping spree now. I just bought 4 Sans from Grigsby and 1 from the Huntington Gardens. If Mr. Smoley will respond to my questions, I'll buy some from him too! He's got an awesome collection of Sans. Oh, and I just got some from someone who is moving back to England next weekend! Unfortunately, they can't take any plant material over there. Bummer.:(

Hi y'all.

Boy oh boy, to pick a favourite is difficult. As someone eluded to earlier, favourites change according to the year. Right now this very minute my favourites are coleus, only because they've done so well outside, are so easy to winter over, add colour within the home and don't seem to bring along any 6/8 legged buddies (our summer will be ending pretty quick here). I run out of room for my plants from time to time, and then the least favourites (which at one time might have been one of the top '5' favourites) gets gifted away. One that took up too much space for me was a grape ivy (cissus rhombifolia) so I made cuttings and put it in an outdoor pot in the shade with the intention it's time outside this summer would be it's last 'hoopla', and it did so well and looks so pretty in the pot that I've now taken more cuttings to root and keep inside through the winter with the intention of having it outside (like the coleus) again next summer. I do think I prefer plants that do double duty, indoors for the winter (and looking pretty good), and then outdoors for summer to compliment my pots.

~ k ~

For me, every plant has its moment with me. I'm just ending a lucky bamboo ( dracaena sanderiana )phase. when I repotted it in soil, it grew about 6 in. in 2.5 months! WOW!!! I'm trying to find something else to love for a month or so. Moth Orchids, maybe?

You know, up until yesterday I would have said syngoniums (arrowhead plants) were about my least favorite, but then I saw a little one with pink-veined leaves that looks almost exactly like one of my caladiums that's about to go dormant. So now I have a new one I like.

Payegsgirl;

I'd had a syngonium several years back and it got too big for my space, so the first person to visit that admired it received the offer to take it home with them, and they did.
Well, darn it but I missed it so bad that last year I went out and got another like the first, green with the white blotching - I think that's the standard one? - then a few weeks later I'm in Wal*Mart and they've got some with pinkish/purplish veining AND the plants were labelled! It was called 'Pink Illusion', and seems to grow slower, more compact and upright (so far) than the other.

~k~

my loves are:
var pothos from grandparents and dad's funeral
chinese evergreen from hubby (who knows I want a live plant in lou of flowers) when I was hospitalized
var dumb cane from hubby when I was hospitalized years later (he didn't plan it that way, but they compliment each other perfectly)
they are family

everyone else, they are new favorites, right now I love every plant I have, and that's a llllloooonnnngggg list, subject to be added to as my eye sees something new. :) CJ

Mine are my 2 adenium obesums (desert rose), fockea edulis, fockea crispa,my jades (one green-two variegated), my hobbit jade, pachypodium.lamerii (madagascar palm)
I have a different folliage plants but these stay on the top of my list.

I have to honestly say that I truly have come to love all of my babies. If I had to choose, I would have to start with my Beef Stake Begonia, followed by my Hoyas Rubra, that takes me to my Pothas'. I'm in love. Thanks Garden Web. I do all of my research with you guys, before I make a purchase.

Thanks, NANA_1999

A couple of favorites I missed that you all reminded me. Variegated Jades, I can't grow Jades worth a darn here in NYC, I've tried this & failed a number of times now. Currently, I have 2 small ones I recently couldn't resist. They're fine so far, I look forward to see how they'll fare in winter.

Oh, my Euph. milii morathii (or marlothii, I always confuse 'em). Green & lt green splotched varieg. leaves w/ coral colored blooms, frequent bloomer, maybe 9 months of the year -- how can one not love that!

Also, Hoya obovata, some of the most handsome leaves one could hope to see!

oh no.... not sure what the Ficus binnendijkii looked like, and several people have/love them, I googled it and they are gorgeous!!!! I have to have one...
I don't recall seeing this plant very often at all..either in our large local greenhouse, or at the stores. I must look, though.
Gotta love this forum!

Sherry

Hi everyone. I just joined this great forum and have gotten some very good tips from you guys by reading a lot of the posts about certain houseplants that I have. So thanks a lot for the great tips and advice provided! As far as my favorite houseplants, it's really hard to pick one or two since I've got quite a few. But, the ones that mean the most to me are : 1) Aglaonema (Chinese Evergreen) 'Crete' - I picked this one up at a local garden center fairly recently and it's supposedly new cultivar. It may be one of the most beautiful foliage plants I've seen. It's green leaves are bordered in a beautiful bright red and splashed with the red color also. Just exquisite! I keep it by my fireplace in the den and it loves it's shady spot.

2. My Polyscias plants are also among my most favorites. I have a 3 foot tall Parsley Aralia that is amazing. It's in a beautiful oriental-looking pot in my game room/Japanese garden. I also have 2 medium sized Ming Aralias that I love, one of which I found at Home Depot a few weeks ago, the other I got from a really nice houseplant store in a town nearby. The one I found at HD was the last one and a bit scraggly looking but is putting on some nice new growth. It has four main trunks so I'm sure with proper care, next spring it will explode with foliage *fingers crossed*. I also have a small, variegated Balfour that is very beautiful. It may be in my top 3 or 4 plants. Surprisingly, I found that one at a grocery store (again the last one!) Then I have 2 small variegated Parsley Aralias that are very nice and bushy. I absolutely love Aralias, even if they are a little temperamental.
   3) Another favorite of mine is a large 7 foot tall Amate Schefflera in my den. It fills one corner with it's huge umbrella leaves and looks awesome. I've always loved Scheffs. I have 2 Amates and about 4 Arboricolas!
   4) My last favorite plant (out of 4) would have to be this Jade that I've had for quite some time but it's shape is what I love so much about it. It has one trunk that splits into two that drape down on each side and curve back up. It's very Bonsai-like. I love it.
   I'll try to include some pics if anyone is interested. Glad to be able to join this forum! Cheers! -Chris