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Biophilic

(4,902 posts)
Tue Nov 19, 2024, 07:47 PM Nov 19

Who remembers the potted plant craze of the 70s?

I was just reading a book and a description sent me reeling back 50 years. A time when potted and hanging plants were everywhere. I obviously found them comforting and soothing since that is the emotion the memories pulled up. What happened to that time?

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Who remembers the potted plant craze of the 70s? (Original Post) Biophilic Nov 19 OP
they ran away with the macrame owls nt msongs Nov 19 #1
Yes, I used to make macrame holders for my plants. debm55 Nov 19 #3
Oh, I forgot about those. Our apartment was a jungle of macrame hangers and plants everywhere. Biophilic Nov 19 #4
Pothos, spider plants mostly. Now much more variety Demovictory9 Nov 19 #2
I'm surrounded by plants still. n/t Harker Nov 19 #5
I'm a bit jealous. I have a couple inside but most are outside. Probably why I don't sleep as well these days. Biophilic Nov 19 #7
It seems that you might enjoy a renaissance of potting. n/t Harker Nov 19 #13
Same here. greatauntoftriplets Nov 19 #9
Nice... Harker Nov 19 #11
Thought the craze was pot plants. Sneederbunk Nov 19 #6
They were there too. Sort of tucked in between other plants. Biophilic Nov 19 #8
I just threw out a dead plant the other day badhair77 Nov 19 #10
They just don't know the bliss of living in a jungle. Biophilic Nov 19 #12
I'm still living in a jungle -my whole south side is all windows womanofthehills Nov 20 #18
Ooooo, bougainvillea & hibiscus! 🥰🥰 electric_blue68 Nov 20 #19
Yeah, I bought a beautiful pony tail palm (what was I thinking?) and I came downstairs catbyte Nov 19 #14
Oh, yeah, been there, trying to keep plants kitty safe. Biophilic Nov 19 #15
My Mom had houseplants my whole life Marthe48 Nov 19 #16
Many a porch was taken over by hanging plants yorkster Nov 19 #17
Never had hanging plants, but a bunch on my bureau.... electric_blue68 Nov 20 #20
I'm not old enough to have been around Luciferous Nov 20 #21

Biophilic

(4,902 posts)
4. Oh, I forgot about those. Our apartment was a jungle of macrame hangers and plants everywhere.
Tue Nov 19, 2024, 07:56 PM
Nov 19

I loved it. So many clever hangers. 🤣

Biophilic

(4,902 posts)
7. I'm a bit jealous. I have a couple inside but most are outside. Probably why I don't sleep as well these days.
Tue Nov 19, 2024, 07:58 PM
Nov 19

Biophilic

(4,902 posts)
8. They were there too. Sort of tucked in between other plants.
Tue Nov 19, 2024, 08:05 PM
Nov 19

Except for my father’s garden. He decided to plant some pot for my mom as she had a lot of pain and a cranky disposition. You have to remember he was a prestigious university professor in an upscale neighborhood. He planted them out front where there was sunshine among his tomatoes. They were very happy plants. Grew about 6 feet and flourished. Remember this was pot of the 70s but still it was pretty good. Well good enough that my shrink at the time took large bundles in payment. Oh yeah, those were some weird but good times.

badhair77

(4,645 posts)
10. I just threw out a dead plant the other day
Tue Nov 19, 2024, 08:18 PM
Nov 19

and realized none of my nieces and great-nieces have any potted plants in their homes. I thought maybe it was generational.

Biophilic

(4,902 posts)
12. They just don't know the bliss of living in a jungle.
Tue Nov 19, 2024, 08:41 PM
Nov 19

Well, it was always a well manicured jungle. Today I’d probably water liberally and hope for the best. Strangely I had much more energy 50 years ago.

womanofthehills

(9,307 posts)
18. I'm still living in a jungle -my whole south side is all windows
Wed Nov 20, 2024, 12:01 AM
Nov 20

For solar gain - I have four Madagascar palms that reach the ceiling plus about 10 other types of large cactus, plus 3 hibiscus in bloom and 1 bougainvillea in bloom. Some my cactus are over 30 yrs old. For food, I have 3 black cherry tomatoes and mini greens . Also, a few Indica pot plants thrown in too. I’ve always had house plants since my hippy days.

My grandmother was a huge gardener and her glassed in porch was loaded with plants (my mother never had a plant) - I think my house reminds me of her.

catbyte

(35,894 posts)
14. Yeah, I bought a beautiful pony tail palm (what was I thinking?) and I came downstairs
Tue Nov 19, 2024, 09:00 PM
Nov 19

the next morning to find it had gotten a buzz cut by my cats. They must've had a blast. The beautiful fronds, almost 2 feet long were gnawed down to nothing. I think the longest frond was about 3 inches long. It looked like it had joined the Marines.

End of real plants.

Biophilic

(4,902 posts)
15. Oh, yeah, been there, trying to keep plants kitty safe.
Tue Nov 19, 2024, 09:06 PM
Nov 19

We even tried at least one of those anti kitty sprays. Nope. The only thing that worked was out of easy range.

Marthe48

(19,181 posts)
16. My Mom had houseplants my whole life
Tue Nov 19, 2024, 09:59 PM
Nov 19

We called it her jungle. In the spring, we kids would take every pot, from small to giant, out on the front porch, after the last frost. In the fall, we'd bring them all in before the first frost. I'm serious when I say they took up half the living room. At Christmas, we had to get really creative to get them put away while the tree was up. The house was not uniformly heated and if we weren't careful about putting the plants away, they could get too cold and die. She also had a bunch of grungy cups on the window sill in the kitchen. They were full of leaves and cuttings she was trying to root, or dying plants she was trying to revive, so sometimes, it got crowded after Christmas. lol The year she lost 3 rubber trees and an avocado tree she started from a seed was tough.
I still have plants she grew in that era. I had a split leaf philodendren Mom had in the 1960s. I divided it 3 times and transplanted it to bigger pots 2 or 3 times. It was as tall as I am, and over 6 feet across. The last few years I had it, I couldn't get it in and out without a lot of effort. I ended up donating it to a plant sanctuary in Rutland, Ohio in 2019. A nice young lady came and picked it up, absolutely thrilled to get it. I still have a snake plant my Mom gave me over 50 years ago, right after I got married, and a Norfolk pine that she got in a little Christmas arrangement in 2001 and brought with her when she moved back to Oh. from Colorado. It is over 6 feet high now.
Anyway, to answer your question, I sure do remember!

yorkster

(2,475 posts)
17. Many a porch was taken over by hanging plants
Tue Nov 19, 2024, 10:07 PM
Nov 19

in macrame hangers. You couldn't see the houses through all the knotted greenery.

electric_blue68

(18,445 posts)
20. Never had hanging plants, but a bunch on my bureau....
Wed Nov 20, 2024, 03:35 AM
Nov 20

Had a big coleus for a while earlier on.

Then these: 2 "asparagus" plants, maybe a spider, or two, and a stalky, cane angel wing begonia in a big pot on a roller. It was ?2 ft high+ from the top of the soil. Maybe 2 stalks, sometimes 3 with long horizontals. Bloomed 2 to 3 times a year. White, to palish pink, to red-pink!

It lasted nearly 25 yrs! I gave a whole bunch of cuttings away. 😄 🥰

But then it kinda stopped. I happened to get to a big plant show on the summer or so. Found a booth with serious begonia fans. Seemed that around that length of time (if i remember) they told me that often happened. I had to cut it back next ?Feb to like 3" to 4" inches! 😱
But I did it. Then it started up again. 👍🩷

I have to figure what I could put on my relatively new wide windowsill. The sun varies a lot during the year. A spider plant might do for a start. 🤔

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