houseplant checkup

First the ones that are doing great- I'm very pleased with my plain spider plant. It's done so much better since I've been careful to water it only when needed- not on a weekly schedule like I used to, but hefting the pot. When it's lightweight, I give it a good long drink. About once every ten or twelve days.

I cut off its one baby to give to a friend, and now it's sprouting two runners that will flower!

The striped one I got from the swap, is starting to standing more upright

My crown of thorns dropped its flowers. To be expected. Some of the leaves have slightly paler patches, looking a bit variegated- I need to find out of this is normal, or sign of something wrong. It does have new leaves growing! that's a good sign.

Madagascar palm next to it is looking so much better, by the way. Full of foliage now! It had just needed more sun.

Actually, that ails a lot of my plants. I have to be strict with myself and stop acquiring new houseplants, there's no place left to put them, and many as is, don't quite get enough light (lots of my african violets are kinda leggy). My angelwing begonia case in point. It grows straight up with the gorgeous leaves held out perpendicular. Not at all like I see it in photos. I still love it anyways- but I know my conditions for it are not ideal. 

I'm guessing now it might be called 'torch' 

the younger one by that name has narrower leaves, but coloring and speckles look the same. Here from two angles:

The other two are doing better- my 'richmondensis' has lots of new, healthy-looking leaves, 

and the 'frosty' one has a few. I'm not as fond of it now, though. Plants that are too pale or yellowish in pattern tend to look sickly to me. (I feel the same way about albino fishes, btw).

Of the other newer plants, the ficus (rubber plant) is okay, it has new growth but pretty slow, and the 'friendship' pilea is looking nice.

but calathea is still struggling.

And I have a few newer ones, now, too, though I'm half regretting it. My husband was out on an errand and found somebody selling starter houseplants at a stand. He sent pictures on his phone to see if I wanted any. Some were plants I have been wanting so I said yes! and "pick me out some nice-looking ones". This is what he brought home: 

They are monstera adonsanii, pilea peperomioides, and the last is labeled "Wandering Dude Bolivian." I'm curious about that label- yeah, I'm pretty sure it's a tradescantia- wandering jew 'bolivian' but the seller found the original common name problematic so called it dude instead. Hm, my husband doesn't like to hear me call the plant wandering jew either, so I've been referring to mine as tradescantia zebrina now instead.

As for conditions- well, I wish I'd had better photos because I would not have paid five dollars apiece for these plants. Pilea looks fine but the wandering dude is leggy and sparse, and this has got to be the saddest monstera plant I've ever seen. They're all in too-heavy, waterlogged soil. 

I suspected when I saw the pics off my husband's phone, that this was the same person who was selling plants from his house. Same varieties, pot size/shape, soil type. Yep, I knew it from the labels when he brought them home. With the earlier plants I didn't mind- the price was $2 per and I was willing to take a chance on them (have lost one already and might have to toss the other calathea). In Feb seller said they were cheap because had been kept in "a bad environment" and he was clearing out stock. So I'm surprised the plants are still being sold in rather poor condition, at a higher price now!