You Grow Girl™

As an assignment this week in Hort 1A, we were asked to list our top ten favorite plants with botanic names, common names, origin, type info, comments and reasons for picking each plant.

Of course, asking a plant addict like myself to pick only ten plants is impossible.

I have ten favorite herbs or salvias or succulents or cacti or veggies or trees or houseplants or ... I think you get the idea. And so after much writing and rewriting I think I've narrowed the list down as follows. Keep in mind I may change my mind next week.

Common name: Saddleleaf philodendron
Botanic name: Philodendron selloum
Plant family: ARACEAE
Origin: Brazil
Type: Broadleaf evergreen semi-shrub
Comments: Fast-growing, large container plant with glossy leaves and a sturdy, self-supporting trunk. Will need much more space than most houseplants and a rich, well-draining soil.
Personal Reasons: My mother had one of these plants growing in a huge pot as a specimen in our living room when I was a child. She named the plant Fred and passionately stood by her claim that playing ABBA records made it grow faster. The plant was so huge we often decorated it for Christmas.

Common name:
Snake plant
Botanic name: Sansevieria trifasciata
Plant family: AGAVACEAE
Origin: arid Africa and S. Asia
Type: Perennial monocot
Comments: Thick, rigidly upright patterned leaves that grow from large rhizomes forming 2-ft.-wide rosettes. Withstands dry air and neglect.
Personal Reasons: This was the first office plant that ever survived my desk. In fact, the plant outlived the dot-com where I worked.

Common name:
Rosemary
Botanic name: Rosemarinus officinalis
Plant family: LAMIACEAE
Origin: Mediterranean coast
Type: Broadleaf evergreen shrub
Comments: Tough and versatile, this plant withstands poor alkaline soil and infrequent watering. Often used in cooking and aromatherapy. Scent has been known to give mild relief for headaches and can be used as a moth-repellent. Try around gardens as a deer-proof border.
Personal Reasons: I refuse to cook potatoes without this herb.

Common name: Living Rock
Botanic name: Lithops werneri
Plant family: AIZOACEAE
Origin: South Africa
Type: Succulent perennial
Comments: Shaped like inverted cones 2-4 in. in height, tops resemble stones with mottled patterns. They bloom in winter and go dormant in the summer.
Personal Reasons: I love plants like these that look as though they're from another planet. The fact that they often resemble tiny brains is an added bonus.

Common name: Red Clusterberry
Botanic name: Cotoneaster lacteus
Plant family: ROSACEAE
Origin: China, Himalayas, north India
Type: Broadleaf evergreen shrub
Comments: Graceful arching habit to 8 ft. or taller, with white flowers in clusters that later produce long-lasting red fruit. Best as an informal hedge or screen. Spectacular as fall colors emerge.
Personal Reasons: I'm a sucker for fall color and these red berries stand out magnificently against the green background of the never-ending redwoods.

Common name: Giant Sequoia
Botanic name: Sequoiadendron giganteum
Plant family: TAXODIACEAE
Origin: Sierra Nevada
Type: Conifer
Comments: Old specimens reach a towering 325 ft. and have the most massive trunk in diameter (30 ft.).
Personal Reasons: This is the tree that reminds me that there are bigger things in this world than myself. They should rename it the Humbling Tree.

Common name: Big Leaf Maple
Botanic name: Acer macrophyllum
Plant family: ACERACEAE
Origin: S. Alaska - Calif. foothills
Type: Deciduous tree
Comments: Dense shade tree with large leaves that turn medium green to yellow in the fall. Resistant to oak root fungus.
Personal Reasons: Satisfying crunch of leaves underfoot while strolling through a park.

Common name: Pothos/Devil's Ivy
Botanic name: Epipremnum pinnatum
Plant family: ARACEAE
Origin: Solomon Islands
Type: Broadleaf evergreen vine
Comments: Oval, pointed leathery dark green leaves sometimes marbled with yellow. Commonly used as an attractive trailer in pots and window boxes.
Personal Reasons: This is the easiest houseplant I've ever propagated. In fact, all throughout the year I take cuttings, stick them in tiki mugs full of water and ignore them as they form roots.

Common name: Sundew
Botanic name: Drosera spatulata
Plant family: DROSERACEAE
Origin: bogs of New Zealand, Australia
Type: Carnivorous perennial
Comments: Carnivorous plant with small spoon-shaped leaves that grow in a flat rosette form. Intriguing plant traps white flies and gnats on its sticky dew.
Personal Reasons: As one of the easiest carnivorous plants to grow, I'm elated that it eats my number one pest problem in the house: whiteflies. I plan on getting more of them instead of using the sticky yellow flypaper.

Common name: Venus Flytrap
Botanic name: Dionaea muscipula
Plant family: DROSERACEAE
Origin: bogs of North and South Carolina
Type:Carnivorous perennial
Comments: Famous plant known for its jaw-like traps. Venus Flytraps are carnivorous plants that lure, capture and digest insects. If the prey attracted by the sweet odor touches the trigger hairs inside the trap, it will snap shut catching its victim. Adds a new dimension of activity to the terrarium.
Personal Reasons: I could sit and watch this plant trap its prey for hours. I've been known to leave the front door open on purpose during the summer just to lure in more food. I blame the musical Little Shop of Horrors for my fascination with these plants.

So which plants would make your top ten list?