Hi /diy/nosaurs, for a course at school, I have some questions

You do know /an/ would be the place to look for stuff like this.

I have plants that can tolerate me forgetting them for several weeks, and then they just get one brown stalk which reminds me.
Anything needing watering several times a week dies quickly.
I've tried a few automatic watering solutions, but they are all unconvenient or ugly.
I have no idea about nutrition, maybe that would be an issue too if I actually watered the plants.

I would have more plants if they survived. I have them for decoration.

>>1062746
thx for the suggestion, I forgot that board, haven't visited 4chan for a few months. But I'm also looking for people that have no plants because they have too many issues with them, so just visiting places that are guaranteed to have people with plants would provide a biased sample

>>1062748

maybe you are interested in these plants then

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tillandsia

no roots, no watering, etc truly a little wonder of nature

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>>1062760
I have a 3yo lemon tree, grandma has about 20 of them. The beginning of this summer I noticed some of the old leaves had dried at the end, so I asked her about it and she said they needed more water. So now I'm watering it once a week and I sprinkle water over it daily.

Pic is of the old leaves

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>>1062792
I did not mean to reply, sorry.

The other problem I had and probably still have is the premature falling of the fruits. I had 5 of them and the biggest one grew to become several cm in length. Probably is water related, too.

Pic is of the new branches, which started growing this summer. There are chicken feces inside the soil, which slowly release vital substances into it with every watering.

My other plants are Succulents, so I have no problems with them.

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I have a couple, but where I can be away from home for 6-8 weeks at a time I had to come up with a better watering solution.

I bought some of those expanding water beads, let them expand and then mixed them into the soil when I was re-potting the plants. it helps to aerate the soil and slowly releases moisture over time. Now I water the plants once every 2 months, fertilize once a year and they have doubled in size this summer.

My biggest issue is light as my place has tiny windows that get maybe an hour of direct sunlight every day.

OP, you should visit the homegrowmen thread on /out/ for some advice too, they know their shit.

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>>1062745
>1. What are some struggles that you have with keeping plants, for example diseases, nutrient deficiencies, the plants not getting water when you're on holiday or you forgetting to water them?

All of the above. The worst was getting an infestation of brown scale (a type of mite) that pretty much killed the vigor of the plants and led to a slow decline in their general health and eventual death. Couple that with general depression and depression caused by not being able to do anything for them and I pretty much lost the majority of them. A Phalenopsis that I had for 8 years, which I nursed back to life after buying it just died on me. Feels bad.

>2. Would you get more plants if you had less of these struggles?

Yes

>3. What is your reason for having houseplants?

Makes me happy and I enjoyed taking care of them, looking at them and watching the different life/flowering cycles of different species of plants.

Pic related, plants at their prime.

not enough sun
yes
unlike people you never have to tell them to stop badly trying to sing along with some pop trash in the wrong key

>>1062745
>1. What are some struggles that you have with keeping plants, for example diseases, nutrient deficiencies, the plants not getting water when you're on holiday or you forgetting to water them?
I only water mine and rarely fertilize. I'd like to check soil chemistry but can't muster the energy to do so.
>2. Would you get more plants if you had less of these struggles?
No.
>3. What is your reason for having houseplants?
My family has always had house plants. I have an avacado tree that I've been growing for 5+ years indoors. That's my only plant grown from seed; the rest were bought in stores 20+ years ago.

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>1. What are some struggles that you have with keeping plants, for example diseases, nutrient deficiencies, the plants not getting water when you're on holiday or you forgetting to water them?

Forgetting to water them, mostly. I have two ferns that look lovely but are always losing their leaves, making a mess of everything. I have a ficus that once lost half of its leaves while I was on holiday and a friend was supposed to water it. In summer I can just leave it outside though, so that's easy. I've had mold on a couple of plants before.

>2. Would you get more plants if you had less of these struggles?

Definitely. I like plants.

>3. What is your reason for having houseplants?

They look cosy and homely. Supposedly make for cleaner air too.