Green Dorm Living

[Jaybar]

For most of BG, like me, you are going back to college. Now I will be living in a dorm this year, and I wanted to know if anyone has some tips for making your dorm "greener".

I was planning on putting a couple plants in there that require minimal care. I found this website that offers a few ideas. I'm not necessarily looking for plants that don't require a lot of care though. Does the collective hive-mind of BG know of some good hanging plants?

I also basically live in a studio space which I spend a good 8-16hrs a day working. The place gets an amazing amount of natural daylight. I would like a plant there, one that thrives in direct/indirect light. Any suggestions?

Other than plants, I've been wondering what other options there are to spruce up the dorm while sticking to sustainable and green products.

[Byrthnoth]

I have mint, basil, cilantro, and cuban oregano growing in an improvised window box in my apartment now. As far as upkeep, I dump about a cup of water across the box once a day and make giant noises then eat them when I want.

Mint - You pretty much have to get a plant/cutting. Almost no one grows mint from seeds, although I did it. I've had some issues with aphids, but only on my mint plant for some reason. Ever the lazy plant owner, I turned my mint plant into mojitos and got another one instead of trying to fight off the infestation and making my mint plant inedible. Fuck aphids. Likes water quite a bit, going to like a little more direct sun.

Cilantro - I think I grew it from seeds, but I honestly can't remember. I can't taste cilantro, so this one is mostly my girlfriend's responsibility.

Basil - Loves water, gets woody and tall after a while and you'll need to re-plant. Grows very fast, easy to grow from seeds.

Oregano - I got a cutting from a friend that grew into a big bush, then when I went to replant cuttings of my own somehow I ended up with like three small oregano plants that are perfectly happy to stay that way. They've been planted happily for two months and only grown about a centimeter. idk~!

I haven't been able to grow Rosemary very well. I don't think my apartment gets enough sunlight for it. One of the seeds I planted came up, but it has been about three inches tall for the last month with just a few needles. Rosemary smells great and is actually really pretty if you let it flower (though you're not advised to if you want to harvest it).

[Overburn]

I'm sure you can find somebody in the dorm growing stuff already. Try asking them.

[Kerberoz]

I'm sure you can find somebody in the dorm growing stuff already. Try asking them.

Yep.

[Jaybar]

Yea, you won't find the above in my dorm. You'll have to trust me on this one.

[BaneTheBrawler]

I keep a small cactus on my desk. Right below my offhand monitor, but raised above the surface/mousepad area so I don't bump it while I'm gaming. It's easy to take care of; every now and then, I'll realize it's been a while since I watered it, and I'll do so.

By small, I mean really really small. It's maybe 4 inches tall, 2 inches circumference. and that's after a major growth spurt. It's badass, though. No idea what kind of cactus it is. My mom is a Master Gardener, and has all kinds of plants all over the house. I found this little guy stacked in a planter I brought inside for the winter. I claimed him as my own, and now he guards my wiimote.

[Jaybar]

Was thinking of a cactus as well but I live in a very humid environment during the year except winter and late fall. Not sure if that would affect its growth or not. Any recommendations on wall crawlers? Kinda vine-like I guess (similar to the one in the link). If you haven't noticed, I'm not a horticulturist.

[BaneTheBrawler]

Crawling plants are tricky. If you get one, you should have it in a hanging pot, otherwise it will get tangled up and all over the place. You should make sure to get one that stays active year round, otherwise it will be a lot of work.

Cacti don't like humidity, but ferns do. Ferns are always cool, too.

[Psion]

Some of the most common houseplants you find are also some of the hardiest, if a tad boring sometimes. Snake plant (aka mother-in-law's tongue, aka bowstring plant) is almost impossible to kill, and makes a nice vertical accent for certain areas. For hanging plants, pothos vine and spider plant are common and easy to care for, but not terribly exciting to look at. You could also get a slightly more interesting succulent, called string of pearls, i think? And if you want a REALLY good topic starter vine, get a nepentes vine, aka a pitcher plant. You might have to place a special order at the nursery, but it's well worth it. The one I got had bright red pitchers that can easily reach up to 20 inches or so, and it loves humidity. All of these plants are both tolerant to drought, and love indirect sunlight.

For direct sun, it's rather tricky, because if it's right in front of a window, the window can act as a magnifier and burn most plants to a crisp. It's usually best to either let the plant get direct sunlight from across a room, or put a sheer curtain in front of the window to diffuse the light and heat. If you get tons of sunlight in one spot though for most of the day, for say 8 hours or more, and the spot is warm all year round, you can even grow an citrus tree in the area, one grafted onto ultra dwarf rootstock (so it only gets 6 feet tall or so max, with periodic trimming) Nothing like homegrown lemons or oranges for cooking or snacking!

If you want a slight challange, you can even grow a coffee tree indoors, though they get a bit bigger than a citrus tree, i think up to 10-12 feet. Very, very beautiful small trees for indoors, and prefer a bit of shade, but not everyone has the space for that.

If I were you, I'd ask a local nursery about indoor plants, though, especially about unusual ones. Everyone grows the same old pothos vines and spider plants, but there's actually a very large amount of beautiful vines and shrubs for indoors. And if you get that much light you can even grow plants that typically grow outdoors as well, provided you are careful where you put them. Again, most plants will fry if they're directly in front of a window (the things can focus the light sometimes, and they also give off a lot of heat, so only put the most heat and light loving of plants there!), so make sure to give them the sun indirectly.

Actually, you could even, if you want a fun project, grow a moonflower vine indoors. You'd probably want a trellis for it, or some strings strung up for it to twine around, but the larger, bigger cousin to the morning glory is well worth it when it blooms at night. The scent is... heavenly, a spicy scent that is very similar to easter lily. If they can even survive in the dark cave of my room, they will thrive in a sunlit area like yours. (don't worry, the vines are twining only and won't damage the walls, as they have no aerial roots or suckers) In fact, they are kind of unusual in that you don't want to give them too much fertilizer, or they won't bloom. They actually prefer soils that are somewhat poor. Only problem is you have to start them from seeds, as due to their nature, they would take over a greenhouse in weeks in such an ideal condition. No seriously, I tried it once in horticulture class :D. The seeds busted through the cell packs, sent roots through nearby cell packs, and grew 2 feet down through gravel into the soil underneath. I had to skip the 4 inch pots and transplant them directly to 1 gallon containers, lol.

And if you prefer a different scent, try growing sweet peas. There's a few varieties that are specifically designed for hanging containers. They need lots of sun as well, but they do not like heat, and like regular watering, so keep that in mind. They give off a delicious clean and sweet scent, and make excellent cut flowers as well. Go for heirloom varieties for the best scent, as modern cultivars are very pretty, but not usually very scented.

[Zalius]

fuck a cactus. seriously. cacti do not belong in human living environments unless you're going for an incognito organic weapon. do you know what the fuck happens when you leave a cacti lying around? you get STABBED. its punishment for being a fucking retard and putting sharp needled plants in a place where you freely move about.

aloe plants = smart, shit's useful. jasmine smells bomb. everyone loves exotic berries. having plants for the sake of having plants is a waste of manpower. get some shit that you're going to use.

[Qalbert]

one of my roommates had one of these:
http://crabappleherbs.com/blog/wp-co...aneroplant.JPG

[aduidarnenye]

The only plants that I have been unable to kill are cacti. If you've not got a proven greenthumb go with a cactus or two. They are nigh on indestructable.

I live in a very humid environment as well and my cacti seem fine. I mean, they never complain at least.

[BaneTheBrawler]

fuck a cactus. seriously. cacti do not belong in human living environments unless you're going for an incognito organic weapon. do you know what the fuck happens when you leave a cacti lying around? you get STABBED. its punishment for being a fucking retard and putting sharp needled plants in a place where you freely move about.

That's what's so awesome about my cactus. It's so tiny, it fits in places where my hands won't bump it, and the needles are so small, they barely hurt. It's smaller than a 20 oz bottle of Gatorade. Also, easy to take care of.

[Jaybar]

Thanks for all the advice, especially Psion. Going to have to research some of those vines. A heavenly scent would definitely mask the man-odor that I'm expecting. Or perhaps it would combine to create some kind of hybrid ultra smell. Like a pheromone injected spice.

[Psion]

Lol, you're welcome. If you want an excellent book on various plants, go for the Western/Eastern Garden book, by Sunset publications. (If you live in the west or east coast of US, go for your specific one. Wouldn't be surprised if there's central and others too.) It's slightly pricy, though fairly cheap for its size, and very much worth it's weight in paper for plant info, with basic gardening tips, information on various zones, and detailed information on thousands of various plants, along with a detailed colored sketch of each. At least, they were sketches on my old version, I wouldn't be surprised if there's photos for the newest one. It gives information on plant max heights, the sun they like, how much water, and even lists common cultivars and their information as well. Some of the most common plants, such as roses, gardenias, and so on, even have several pages dedicated entirely to various cultivars and colored photos of them. They also mention quirky plant needs, such as soaking moonflower and morning glory seeds overnight in water to get them started, for instance. (I find you can start a lot of the hard shelled seeds like those very easily by putting them between layers of constantly moist paper towels till they start to swell and poke a root out, then you can transfer them to pots.)

Other highly scented flowers that you might like are gardenias, which love indirect bright light and humid climates, madagascar/star/pink jasmine, which have different scents and colors, the night blooming bush nicotiana, and yes, there's even a night blooming and sweet scented cactus as well, though it looks ugly as sin when not in bloom from what I hear. XD In fact, night blooming flowers are often especially fragrant, due to the nature of their pollinators. Citrus blossoms are also fragrant too, so there's that citrus tree again, lol. I know eureka lemon is a great choice for cooking with (myer lemon is easy to care for, but it's really just a mutant mandarin, not a real lemon), and you can even find unusual types such as blood oranges that have deep red flesh and juice, and my favorite, pink lemonade lemon, which has leaves with white borders, and unusual green and yellow striped lemons that ripen to normal yellow, with pink flesh inside. (they're deliciously sour! But if you want actual pink lemonade, you mix lemon juice with blood orange juice. )

And with any plant, you gotta watch out for pests. Be especially careful when you get plants from a nursery, make sure to check for infestations (The western garden book has pictures of common pests as well, and most nurserys have a copy you can look through), and go for plants that are healthy. Try to avoid ones that have pure yellow leaves (often a sign of overwatering, or poor drainage), yellow leaves with green veins (chlorosis, plant needs nitrogen and perhaps iron, often a problem with clay soils) and keep an eye out for common diseases like powdery mildew (powdery white substance on leaves, not to be confused with translucent white splotches you might see on leaves, that look like the streaks you see on glass from a dishwasher. That's just water deposits and/or fertilizer applied to the leaves, lol) and rust, which looks like mottled orange, black, and brown splotches on leaves, with orange dots underneath the leaves.

Once a disease or pest gets on one plant and you bring it home, it's pretty much gauranteed to try and spread to your others if it can, though certain plants are resistant or immune to certain types of pests and diseases, while especially vulnerable to others. Roses, for instance, are very prone to rust or powdery mildew, along with aphids, though certain varieties such as iceberg roses are resistant and less likely to get them. And if you have pets, pay attention to any potential poisons as well. Moonflower vine, the one I mentioned, is toxic, though not generally deadly unless you decided to make a large salad out of it perhaps. If pets are a concern, avoid plants such as drachanea family, and avoid euphorbia family members, other than pointsettias, which are the impotent redheaded stepchild of that family and aren't going to do anymore than give you an upset tummy if that. Drachanea plants, such as dumbcane, tend to be very nasty and paralyze vocal cords and the like, if not worse, though lucky bamboo is fairly mild compared to others. And while poinsettias are safe, the rest of the euphorbia family... well... lets just say DO NOT EAT PENCIL TREES. Those things are so toxic even contact with the sap is caustic, and it can even kill someone if you eat too much of it.

Basically, just keep in mind a few things with plants: how much light an area gets, how hot and cold it gets along with humidity, how much space you got for that area, and any hazards the plant may have, whether it's spines from a cactus, sharp leaves from a palm tree, or any potential toxins you have to watch out for. Once you've decided those limits, you can work from there on what type of look you want for that space, if you want flowers/foliage/scent, if you want a plant that can take abuse or know you can handle more delicate and often more beautiful plants, and so on.

[greenhills]

Moonflower vine, the one I mentioned, is toxic, though not generally deadly unless you decided to make a large salad out of it perhaps.

or if you are a person with sensitive skin, beware. this plant, the seedpods especially, gives me a terrible rash when i handle them. if you are a contact dermatitis type of person, try not to take on too many plants with strong oils or whatnot all at once so you can be sure what is causing what.

[Psion]

Oh, heh, I had forgotten that some people get itchy touching them, though it's pretty uncommon. They don't bother me at all when I handle them, but i suppose not everyone is blessed with as healthy a skin as mine. ;3

But yes, toxic plants often do make people with delicate, sensitive skin get a bit itchy when touched, though it varies by plant and person. Most normal people won't have to worry about that though, unless it's a plant with caustic sap, like euphorbia plants.

[greenhills]

Oh, heh, I had forgotten that some people get itchy touching them, though it's pretty uncommon. They don't bother me at all when I handle them, but i suppose not everyone is blessed with as healthy a skin as mine. ;3

But yes, toxic plants often do make people with delicate, sensitive skin get a bit itchy when touched, though it varies by plant and person. Most normal people won't have to worry about that though, unless it's a plant with caustic sap, like euphorbia plants.

hey now! i have perfectly normal skin, it just doesn't like some of the nightshades . i find it to be a perfectly acceptable trade off since i can handle the toxicodendrons all day long and rarely even notice.