Lots of people think coffee and tea are "tonics", but they would be wrong. Forum discussions frequently center on the question of adding dilute coffee/tea or grounds to plants as a 'tonic', but Arabica (coffee) and Camellia (tea) are known for their toxic alkaloid (caffeine) content and their allelopathic affect on plants as well as autotoxic (poison to their own seedlings) effects on future generations. Caffeine interferes with root development by impairing protein metabolism. This affects activity of an important bio-compound (PPO) and lignification (the process of becoming woody), crucial steps for root formation. We also know that the tannins in both coffee and tea are known allelopaths (growth inhibitors). There are ongoing experiments to develop herbicides using extracts from both coffee and tea that cause me to want to say they might serve better as a nonselective herbicide than as a tonic. I would not use either (stale coffee or tea) by applying directly to my plants - especially containerized plants; nor would I add tea bags/coffee grounds to my container soils. When you ask a plant to live under saturated soil conditions, it complies by forming an airy light root tissue called aerenchyma instead of the parenchyma we usually find when roots are grown in a healthy, well-aerated medium. Problems arise when the plant is put in a position where it's required to go back and forth from 'soggy when the soil is full of water' to well-aerated conditions as the soil is allowed to dry down to the point it again becomes well-aerated. 1 tissue type will serve you well under 1 set of conditions, but poorly when asked to play a dual role. That fact is where growers who expect the plant to do well when transitioning back and forth because, "..... after all, the plant DOES grow well in the riparian settings where it naturally occurs." Overlooked is the fact that Mother Nature doesn't ask in situ plants to adjust to soggy conditions one day and dry the next. A heavy soil in a pan of water that keeps the bottom several inches of soil continually saturated will work, as will a well aerated soil you can keep damp but not soggy - one that can be used to provide a continually damp but well-aerated home for a happy root system, but a heavy soil that goes from soggy for days to almost dry and then back again, will work poorly; this, because the plant isn't programmed with the ability to transition back and forth between both sets of conditions. Al

I've had good luck with the larger cultivars of peace lily, personally -- I've had one for a few years, and it's been pretty reasonable. The smaller ones seem to have more issues with dry air. Palms and I aren't really speaking to each other anymore, and I wouldn't really recommend them, but it's not impossible. Lady palms (Rhapis excelsa) are supposed to be nice. If you're set on a big plant for both spots, there are some larger Aglaonemas (Chinese evergreen) that are very nice, and Ags are generally tolerant of everything except cold and full sun. I have a large Dieffenbachia that's been with me a while too, which I am very fond of: they're less patient than Aglaonemas, and need a bit more watering, but even so. The Dracaenas -- D. fragrans (corn plant) and D. deremensis ('Warneckii,' 'Lemon-Lime,' 'Janet Craig') are all very tolerant of neglect and dry air, and some get to be big. Overwatering is a concern. More or less the same thing goes for snake plants (Sansevieria trifasciata). I'm also a big fan of the long-leaf fig (Ficus binnendijkii), which I have found to be just fine with almost everything I've tried to do with it. Yucca elephantipes and Zamioculcas zamiifolia can both deal with pretty long periods of neglect, though both are slow growers (ZZ more so than Yucca) and will rot if overwatered. The Yucca might prefer more light than you have in those spots, but they're very adaptable. Bird of paradise (Strelitzia nicolae, S. reginae) are a lot easier than they're given credit for, and I have mine (all four of them) in a west window. Watering is trickier with small plants than with large. Probably not the best choice, but if you like them, it could work out. Rubber plant (Ficus elastica) and fiddle-leaf fig (Ficus lyrata) are both nice plants. A little moody, perhaps, but pretty tolerant of neglect and dry air, and both are great-looking if they're well taken care of. Schefflera actinophylla (umbrella tree) is also probably possible, but I'm hesitant to recommend those because they're so easily devoured by spider mites, especially in dry air.

I put mine in a 10" black nursery pot inside a decorative tera cota pot behind my above ground ponds little waterfall and in full shade. That was years ago and i wondered why it always looked so good no matter the watering. And dark green.Other than snails-easy care. Well, I was doing some spring cleaning on the pond and moved some rock...and what do I see? the potted cat palm-at least 20" above the ponds edge,had followed the wet rock down to the pool and sent large roots into the pond!..like a jungle Ficus,only a palm!...not sure if or when I will get around to re potting it as it takes care of itself-lol.

Hello from Ft. Lauderdale, I am the go-to guy in my nursery for ideas, answers to questions, etc. I sell hundreds of both palms each month, and can tell you the basic visual difference. Cat palms are considered understory palms (in nature, grows under the canopy of taller plants) so are conditioned to like shadier areas during the heat of the day. They like LOTS of water, can actually take being overwatered, but no drought. They grow to about 7 or 8 ft. tall in the ground, often shorter in a pot. The stems of a cat palm are rather bulbous towards the bottom as compared to the pencil-thin and pencil-shaped stems of the areca palm. The cat palm has relatively few stems, perhaps a dozen in a 10 inch pot, the areca many, many usually thinner stems. The areca will grow to 18 to 20 ft. tall in the ground with the stems growing correspondently thicker, and by necessity is fine in full sun, and to perhaps 10 or 12 ft. in a large pot. The cat palm will therefore take more shade for a longer time (indoors, for example) as long as adequate food and water are applied. Cat palms can tolerate full sun, but will usually get an overall yellowish appearance in the leaves from too much sun, which will green up again when the hot summer weather turns cooler.