Saturday, April 25, 2009

Philly or Bust!

We do not have many inside plants here in my Georgia home. The reason would be those two little fluff balls you see in the above picture. They love to nibble on everything so what few plants we do have in the house, must be placed high away from little paws.

One plant which does find a spot in my home while up high is my prized Philodendron plants. I purchased one when we first moved into the house and have since produced more plants by clippings placed in water to root.

Our Master Gardener here at In the Garden, Tina, stopped by for a visit just before Christmas last year. That is when I found out that the Phillys I have in the house are not Phillys but Pothos instead!
I have never heard of Pothos in my life until this news to my ears! Tina had such a giggle out of me calling them Philodendrons. She had to convince me as I was not buying the joke she was playing on me. Or was it a joke? No joke but a mistake that I am sure many of us make. I did a search on the Internet and found one place which says the Golden Pothos is the Scientific name for the Philodendron. I searched more and became totally confused as many seem to refer to the Philly as a Pothos and vise versa. Too much confusion for me that I gave up on the research. I do know that I love this plant. It fills in bare spots on the front porch during the summer months. It brightens the tops of a few cabinets inside and hang in the sun room during the winter months. Anyone can grow them as they are so easy to care for.

I will call this a Pothos from now on since this little bit of knowledge from Tina. I wonder if I should go PHILLY OR BUST, Or just stay, In the Garden...
You can stop giggling now Tina :-)

26 comments:

  1. We call that Money Plant here and it's believed to bring good luck so you can see even those least interested in gardening or have a Red Thumb would have this in a pot in their homes. I love it's beautiful foliage.

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  2. Names can be so confusing. Like Chandramouli said, we call it Money Plant here. I must say your plant looks very healthy. Love the variegated foliage..

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  3. Enjoy the weekend!!! Kessi :)

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  4. it s the same at my house, only some cactus and that plant you have there :-)) it s funny, have a nice weekend Kathrin aus Bremen

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  5. Personally, I'd love a trip to Philadelphia! Do you know, that's the first place in my life that I ate Middle Eastern food, even though I'd lived within 30 miles of Dearborn, MI (which has the largest Middle Eastern population outside of the Middle East and awesome restaurants to boot) for 30 years! HA! (Oh, I'm sorry. I had to go this route int he comment as I have no knowledge or opinion about phothos versus philly, plantwise!)

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  6. Kitties are probably the real reason I gave up on house plants years ago - I've always attributed it to being able to satisfy my plant jones having my own place and my own garden. I now realize it was the kitties all the time! As my daughters moved out on their own they took the kitties with them. Now there's just George, and that's why I'm able to overwinter my tender plants indoors now.

    The kitties not only ate the plants, they also liked using the soil as a litter box.

    In the old days I too had phillies. . . er, pathos cascading down from the kitchen cabinets!

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  7. I have one of those 'monsters' as well. I keep giving it a hair cut. Hoping one of my kids will want a house plant when they move out...and I will jump at the chance to give them the pothos! It is sure a hardy house plant, no matter the name. I say you call it Fred.

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  8. Both of your kids are so cute, did you get catnip herb for them?

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  9. Good Morning Everyone,
    Cute girls--I assume at their favorite place.
    Great pics of the plant. I've always heard it called Pothos--whether variegated or regular. I had some Golden Pothos at one time. Can't remember what happened to it.
    Have a great day in the garden all.

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  10. Good Morning everyone! Our Spring Break vacation is finally over so now we will get back to our daily life and in the garden...

    Chamdramouli, Monkey Plant. How perfect as we call our one cat Monkey since she acts like one often with her climbing skills. I am happy to know they are a plant for Good Luck! A house with Good Luck is nice to live in...

    Kanak, Monkey Plant is a nice name and the Good Luck Aspect is wonderful as well. It is a very healthy plant and keeps producing new plants each year…

    Kessi, Thanks We do hope to enjoy the weekend. We have been so busy running around with our Spring Vacation and now time to slow down a bit. You have a nice weekend as well and enjoy the out-doors...

    Kathrin, Yep, the plants we must give up for our cats! But love the cats a bit more then plants so the cats get the house while the outside gets the plants and not my cats.A good Trade off. Have a good weekend yourself in this glorious weather. I assume it is now warmer in Germany as well as here...

    Monica, Thanks for the little Mid-eastern history today. I had no idea that was a big population area for Middle Easterner’s. Now I have learned my new thing for the day! I have yet to make a trip to Philly but hopefully one day I will get up there, I hear there is a big bell to look at. :-) And I can indulge in some yummy foods while there as well...

    Garden Girl, Yep the kitties only allow us to have a few indoor plants. Mine have never used them as a litter box but my Monkey Girl (Cheetah) would curl up in a large pot and try to nap, that is until I would run her out of the plant. Then I had a dirty girl to clean dirt off. lol. I decided it was not worth the stress of indoor plants so now we only have the Pothos and located up high. The kitties will even try to eat the fake plants in the house. Crazy girls...

    Janet, At first I thought you were calling the cats monsters. tee hee. We do call them that at times when they get into trouble lol and they do get their hair cut also! I like the idea of just naming the pothos Fred...

    Vuejardin, Thanks on my two cuties. Yes, I have catnip growing in the garden now. It returned last year I assume from self seeding or maybe a perennial plant in GA. I cannot grow it inside or the cats will eat it all then throw it up as a mess for me to clean up. Yuck, so they get a little nip from the garden now and then...

    Lola, you are correct, the girls love that window and one other by their tall pole (Cat tree), Those two windows have a cat at them at some point during the day. We call this watching TV as they are like us sitting in front of the TV. They will sit at the windows for hours enjoying the outdoor life. As I type now, Cheetah is sitting in the window over the desk sniffing the great outdoors! She likes to keep her mommy company in the morning hours. Hope you are enjoying all this wonderful sunny warm weather! We were on the boat Thursday and it was wonderful. Today, we plan more yard work as our house guest have departed. House is so quiet now. Sigh...

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  11. Skeeter, I've called these philodendrons for years, too. I thought pothos were more variegated and didn't vine as much...but then what do I know. I would listen to Tina:)

    I have very few houseplants any more, but moving them up high wouldn't help. Toby doesn't seem to bother them unless they're in his way on a high shelf that he's decided to perch on. Then they are knocked down. And, like Garden Girl, I finally gave up on ficus trees after the cats killed a third one by mistaking it for a litter box and a jungle gym.

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  12. I call it Pothos too. Mostly I call it unkillable! You should how huge the leaves get if it grow UP instead of down or horizonal. Ooooh! that just gave me an idea for my Green Thumb Sunday post tomorow! Vickie

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  13. Cute post. Love the cat picture!

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  14. I bought one of these this past winter and the tag had pothos, the stores had them on there own trellis at a outragous price! I found a beeeny one and it's now 8 inches. I told JOAT's we needed it for the shadowy, dark spot over our corner hutch, it's doing wonderfully there! Can not die! Is what I say.

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  15. Cute post Skeeter. Every once in a while Tina can also be wrong about something. Just ask her what the sex of her parakeets are.

    Glad you finally got a day to enjoy your boat.

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  16. Nope-still giggling! But it seems it is a regional thing with what you call this plant. Your research proved the wide differences in plant name. That was too funny! No joke. And I am not even a houseplant person. You can call it whatever you like Skeeter! Welcome back! Hope you had a great time-the weather has been splendid.

    Good morning!

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  17. Now Mom, I have finally adjusted to calling my keets 'girls'. We've come to understanding. And no wonder yours are so much bigger than mine. And I am wrong-all the time. Good thing no one pays me for this little blog here heh? Or for my opinion. I might be fired rather quickly with being wrong. Then again, I might get big bucks for being wrong-or at least controversial! But hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained. You live only once.

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  18. I call it Pothos because when you go into a nursery and ask for philodendron, they take you to the darker leafed variety.
    Brenda

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  19. I have one of those and I don't think I've ever called it anything :) It is tough and holds up to me forgetting to water it too.

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  20. I don't keep houseplants for the same reason Skeeter. My dogs & cat enjoy taste testing everything that is green. Putting up high keeps the dogs out of them but the cat still has free access. Glad Tina was able to help with the id on this great plant. I do love the Pothos, it is a easy houseplant. It was the first plant I ever had indoors. :)

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  21. These are super easy to grow! I saw some at a local nursery for sale a while back and they must have gotten them from the jungle. They were HUGE! I mean the leaves were like dinner plates. It was crazy. I wished I had a picture. Anyhow they are fun to grow!!!!
    CiNdEeS' GaRdEn

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  22. My cats wanted me to add that they never eat my houseplants, nor do they dig in the soil. This is true! :)

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  23. No matter what we call them...I still can't have them in the house! Although, I have one plant the cat leaves alone...A giant split leaf philly! Why that one...we'll never know! Have a great weekend~~btw, cute kitties. gail

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  24. Rose, Ah, the plants in the house must get sacrificed for our loving fur babies. I can see why they would use a plant as a litter box. Just like outside where they once went....

    Vickie, I am finding some calling it Pothos and some Phillys so darn confusing for us all I think. lol. Glad you got an idea for Green Thumb Sunday!

    Dot, thanks, we do love our little fur balls!

    Dawn, this is so correct about them not dying. I have one that I keep year round in the dining room with very little light and it is thriving like the rest of them! A great no kill plant in the house for sure...

    Jean, you are too funny about the birds. tee hee. I will be sure to ask Tina about that one for a little giggle myself. Ah, the boat was pure heaven! So relaxing and just a great cruise around the lake. I fell asleep during one part of the cruise, it was that relaxing. We spotted the Osprey by both nest and it appeared babies in one of the nest, so we will keep our eye out for them...

    Tina, I will be sure to ask you about the parakeets some time. lol. It was funny when you let me in on the Pothos info. I will never forget the feel on my face when you let me in on the fact that i dont have phillys. It was so funny to me as I have been calling them Phillys all my life! I think I will take Janets advice and call them Fred. :-) We were in the yard today burning our brush pile. Must get what we can burn by May 1 before the burn ban sets in. We had so many limbs piled up from all the high winds lately. Wind was blowing like crazy while in Tennessee, Alabama, Virginia and now Georgia so windy all over the south...

    Brenda, I cant even remember where I got this Pothos. Probably Wal-mart or Lowes but I saw one recently at Wal-mart and the tag read Pothos. I guess it was on the tag when I bought the plant but did not look at it because I knew it was a Philly. Ha, joke on me as it was not...

    Catherine, They are tough plants. They dont mind a lack of water or even when we over water a bit. They are low or bright light lovers. All around great houseplant...

    Raquel, I have had a Philly, ops, I mean a Pothos everywhere I have lived! I love them as a great indoor plant and also a great one for the porch as well. The kitties cannot get to these plants although they do try at times....

    Cindee, They are a great and easy to care for houseplant or porch plant! I cannot imagine one with leaves as big as dinner plates! Wow, would like to see that and I do wish you had snapped a pic of it for us to see. I wonder if it were some sort of exotic variety as I did not know they could grow leaves that large...

    Monica, my cats would say that also as the plant fairy must chew on them during the night. My two are such nibblers...

    Gail, My kitties say thanks to saying they are cuties. :-) I do love my little fur balls. They are good in most ways but with plants in the house, not so good. They will do what they can to nibble on them. The thing that bugs me is when they nibble on the artificial stuff also! Drives me crazy but I guess they are just being cats! :-) Was a great day today and I wish I could say we were out on our boat but burning limbs instead. Arg, more tomorrow then hopefully, next weekend some more play on the lake. We got so behind during our Spring Vacation but now about to catch up....

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  25. It is one of those plants that is known to improve indoor air quality.

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  26. Mothernature, Maybe that is why we dont get sick often in our house. :-) I love them as they brighten up a blah space as well...

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