Best houseplant with edible use? Your favorites

9 years ago

The title could also be: "edible plant most tolerant of houseplant type culture?"
I used to grow everything from curry leaf to citrus to passion fruit in my sunroom, but have slowly tossed everything edible because of either insect pests (mostly scale) or poor production (many things never fruited at all). Now i am stuck with your typical boring house plants... Only thing that provides fruit this way is garambullo cactus.
Anyone have any other winners for indoors (and outdoors in summer) culture?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

Lodewijkp
9 years ago
Gynostemma pentaphyllum is VERY reliable indoors, it is grown in shade or light shade ( it does NOT like sunlight ) and is a very vigorious grower once it is established. i have a few years of experience growing this one indoors and it never dissapointed, it is also really easy to propagate because every stem that touches the ground roots. if you cannot get a plant from the indoor gardening section use a cutting ( or use a rootpiece ) a give it a good wash and root it with rooting hormone. i took a cutting from a plant growing outside and gave it a good wash, it rooted and i had it in a different room untill i was sure it wouldn't carry pests and moved it to the main room after a while.

Kumquat are reliable and portulaca species have edible leaves -P. grandiflora is reliable indoors - others often attract pests ( portulaca oleracea is a pest magnet ). Aloe vera is pretty reliable. Alot of people are having succes with lemon grass but you have to grow them out of seeds - you cannot use plants from the outdoor garden centre section because they usually carry pests.... they must be grown out of seed or bought from the indoor section.

the problem is that most fruits and herbs need ALOT of sun. i usually grow medicinal herbs like aloe, kanna, lemon grass and that kind of stuff.

most fruit species and herbs are very dissapointing indoors , rosemary needs too much light especially in winter and fruit plants often take a long time and the crop can dissapointing. if you want pest resistent plants go for citrus, succulents and cacti.. stuff with thick glossy leaves. most things that are recommended in mainstream media are pest magnets.

some turmeric species, ginger species and pepper ( piper) can be grown indoors also. Cardamom ( ellataria ) is reliable indoors but i don't know if it produces a worthwhile crop. coffee arabica ( pretty pest resistent ) sometimes produces a crop but it is unreliable .Stevia can be grown indoors but the taste is not that good when grown indoors.

i read somewhere that certain Mahonia species can be grown indoors but i have no experience with this.

certain bamboo species may produce edible shoots.

Remember to keep space between plants.. certain species are too prone to mites or aphids and once a weak plant attracted them they may infect strong plants that normally do not attract pests.

This post was edited by Lodewijkp on Fri, Aug 22, 14 at 16:24
chervil2
9 years ago
Lemongrass grows easily from fresh shoots purchased from the Asian markets. I place them in a glass of water until long roots appear and then pot in soil. A bay tree can be nice if you have the right growing conditions. Scented geraniums grow well indoors and can be used for culinary use
Related Discussions
Showy as well as edible: What are your favorites?
Q
Comments (9)
My apple tree is gorgeous. It's been around for twenty years and it's thrived. In the spring it suddenly explodes into bloom, and life, making everything look exciting and new. In the summer, the apples show little light green contrast with the dark green leaves, making the tree look shimmer and in depth. And in the fall the red and green molted apples hang heavy like chistmas balls, showing against the browning leaves, promising new life. And in the winter, the well pruned branches are stark and grey, but pointed upwards, looking slightly sinister, as the apple tree sleeps. Fruit trees are beautiful, but you have to be patient. They don't pay off immediately. You have to wait for them to grow into it. They are so beautiful once they are good and healthy and strong. I was spoiled--my fruit tree was already here when I arrived. But I am planting a pear tree, and I'm willing to be patient. *smiles* I always thought my ground cherries were pretty, with their little bell-like flowers, being shielded by huge leaves.
...See More
Your favorite, easy, edible fruits/nuts for Wisconsin?
Q
Comments (24)
A mulberry that didn't survive? Wow. Was it a red one? Those are naturalized here. Are there mulberries in wild areas or neighbors' yards around you? Maybe you have a microclimate that's unfavorable, or perhaps you just had a dud. As for the blueberries, do you find you need to acidify the soil every year, or just upon the initial planting? I'm considering planting them near a cedar tree, hoping the droppings will provide some acidification, though I'm not entirely confident about the science of that. I know pine acidifies- not sure about cedars, though they seem they should. Theresa 2, can you remind us what dioecious means? Athenainwi- what variety of plum do you have that you have to bag? I was hoping for something a bit more self-sufficient, but still reasonably edible. Found it interesting that you use nylons. I wonder if cotton or muslin would work too. It's popular to use plastic bags, which doesn't at all appeal to me at all, for several reasons.
...See More
What are your 3 favorite houseplants?
Q
Comments (39)
Update on Bman's Etna: Well, this proves that this plant is/was a chimera. It bloomed a few days ago, and behold: The 2 genotypes 'unmeshed'(?) themselves, producing 2 separate phenotypes on what may be a single plant, or at least they seem to be conjoined. (I hope I'm using those terms correctly!) Anyway, I'll find another, bc the mixed color was really attractive! --Rr
...See More
What is your favorite soil to use when repotting for spring?
Q
Comments (4)
Hi, Kayla. Don't be to quick to accept the idea that because something doesn't appear to be broke, it couldn't use fixing. That stale old argument posits that the status quo is acceptable and should not be improved, which is ridiculous when you consider what it suggests. And, I think it is not at all helpful to suggest you disregard what someone else thinks, just because you might think things are going reasonably well - especially if you think that person might have the ability to help you. Now, if you're completely happy with the results you're getting and have no interest in hearing suggestions or exploring ways to get more from the growing experience - no problem. On the other hand, I've been around helping/teaching other growers long enough that I can tell with a good deal of certainty that you can make some very significant strides along the path to green thumb status by engaging and keeping an open mind. I rarely suggest you disregard anyone's advice unless that advice has the potential to limit your growing experience, and this is one of those occasions. If you're going to disregard advice, let me suggest that with you start with those offering advice that limits your ability to advance your understanding and your skill set. Something to think about: I've experimented with container soils for more than 30 years. One of the things I've found is, you can grow a plant that looks perfectly healthy in soil A, but soil B can produce a plant that is larger, more compact, and glows with a level of vitality absent to plant A. What this illustrates is, a poor or mediocre soil can deny a plant the lion's share of it's potential without the grower even knowing it w/o a basis for comparison. Root congestion can rob a plant of MORE than 100% of its growth potential, and most growers might not even consider tight roots as a potential problem. Learning by trial and error (getting bit on the butt by your mistakes) is a painfully slow way to learn. My suggestion would be to keep your ears open. Ask lots of questions, and listen to growers who tell you why things do or don't work, and why they offer the advice they give. I'll leave you to consider what I said. If you have interest in exploring how to get more from the growing experience and think I might be able to help. Just ask. Then, you'll be able to decide if the suggestions/advice are worth implementing. The quickest way to proficiency isn't by trial and error. Learn all you can, then use the time you'd spend on trial and error to validate what you already know. Good luck - I hope I get to talk to you again. Al
...See More
edlincoln
9 years ago
Honestly, basil. You'll never get enough fruit to be worth it from any houseplant, but you may be able to get enough fresh herbs. Rosemary can also be pruned into a pretty faux Christmas Tree.

Best houseplant with edible use? Your favorites

Comments (3)

Lodewijkp

chervil2

Related Discussions

edlincoln

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US