By: Claire Kraemer
When I first came to Holy Cross, my room was bare and boring. It lacked something lively, because I certainly wasn’t going to be once the work started flowing in. I needed to spruce things up a bit. What better way than with some plants? Of course, as soon as I told my parents this, they decided to pass on the plant they’d had at the time to me, and here’s why: it was dying. They wanted to see if I could truly care for it and if so, they would get me nicer ones. Luckily, the plant they gave to me was a Dracaena tree, which is gorgeous and requires very little water. Unfortunately though, it is MASSIVE. It takes up a whole corner of my dorm! However, since I’ve nursed it back to health I don’t mind it anymore. Here’s the thing though, would I recommend a Dracaena as a beginner plant? Yes. But for a college student? Absolutely not. So what plants do I recommend that are both vertically challenged and require an unbelievably small amount of water?
Succulents, Zebra Cacti, Lucky Bamboo, and Zygo Cacti are amazing starter plants. However, if you’re up to the challenge of watering a plant everyday and you want something with a little more pizazz, then you could get a Chia Pet. All these that I’ve just mentioned are cute, easy, and just make everything feel a bit nicer in your room. You can find them at either Trader Joe’s or Lowes, or pretty much any other store with a plant section. You can even buy these online! Most of the time they already come in a pot that will be good for their whole life. However, if you do need one, or just want a different one, you can find pots easily whether it be online or in some store like Target. As far as the plants’ water consumption, every 8-10 days is fine. For the succulents, you want the dirt to be bone dry before you go watering it again. Depending on how big your plant is, a few tablespoons to about ¼ cup of water is good, you don’t have to go by that though, if you want to make sure you’re doing the utmost best for your plant, you can always research it some more!
Every time I go shopping with my friends now, we ALWAYS make sure to check out the plants. It’s actually concerning how much time we spend debating about which ones to get or which ones we think will live longer than others, etc. In the end though, we’re always happy with our choices. Here’s another upside to having plants in your room, you feel better. As soon as I saw my friends pick where to place their succulents and cacti around their spaces, I noticed how excited they were. They take great care of them and always make a point of showing them to incoming visitors, however I’m pleased to say that their guests usually notice them first!. People’s reactions to the plants have never let us down; they’re impressed, and as they should be, because those plants are too pretty and welcoming to just simply be glanced at.