HA!

So you were on the Today show? You called in? How did that come about? And who was it that gave such sucky succy advice?

That’s a big generalization. It depends on the exact circumstances: the plant, the coffee table, the shelves, the care.

I used coffee as a substitute for cinnamon. It did work, to some extent. But that would be the only related thing. Most of mine are on some old ironing (wooden) board table thing, or on concrete balcony sills(because there are no windows). During the winter they were on my deceased grandfathers workshop table(nothing special, it can be disassembled to a degree to reduce moving difficulty, only just a bit worn). But no, windowsills, regular tables etc. Coffee tables should be short if i recall....

Shelves...though i have shelves, they arent for coffee. They are plain, open straight shelves. I used to use them for winter storage. Now, seedlings, soil, books, shoe boxes, and other junk...

lol, didn't call in. They just had a gardening segment suggesting that. I guess if you had a coffee table right in front of a window... mine isn't anywhere close. Ditto for shelves in our house, mostly for books, except for those shelves/stands specifically for plants of course :-) I just had a vision of some poor succulent stretching out on a coffee table 10 feet away from a window.

It seems to be an ongoing 'decor' thing. I see it lately in apartment makeover & small space YouTube stuff. Folks putting pots of plants, even succulents on shelves against walls w/ seemingly no light source anywhere nearby. I have a couple of Spaths in the middle of my room, but I've got pretty good light, so they're fine.

And Spaths do well in relatively low light. Most succulents, on the other hand, like as much light/sun as you can give them inside, and I don't think any will grow well 10 feet away from any window.

Exactly!

Following that "bad" advice on Today. If it's on there then they must know what they're talking about. Poor plants and unsuspecting people.

I bought my first Adenium obesum on QVC a little under 10 years ago. They made it sound like this plant could be grown easily anywhere and they rarely needed to be watered blah blah blah. That poor plant never had a chance it died that winter. Totally turned to mush. I did get my money back, but they painted this picture of an easy to grow plant because it’s a “desert dweller”. Growing a beautiful Adenium is an art. I should have done my research, but it makes me wonder how many poor Adeniums QVC buyers kill ever year.

sThe succulent decorators use them where ever they can on coffee tables, book cases and in linen closets. While they are alive they are great, when they die, too bad, I can get another. To me this view is horrendous as it treats plants as tchotchkes to be tossed when their time is over.

Kara, I was so tempted by those QVC adeniums when they were offered each spring, but I did not buy. Since I had really never heard of them, something in the back of my mind said, "don't do it." Finally found some at my local cactus/succ nursery, so I have one but it has never bloomed after having it a year and a half. I have hope.

I used to grow a lot of orchids, and It kind of hurts now to see all the beautiful phals for sale at Trader Joe's or Home Depot or wherever, and know that 99% of the ones bought will get tossed in the garbage as soon as they've finished flowering.

Socks and Kara, I find Adeniums kind of finicky, certainly not the easiest to grow, at least here in Connecticut. I think Pachypodiums are easier.

Rob, I’ve seen that too. They make some pretty realistic looking fakes now. Instead of sticking live plants in every little nook and cranny, they should just get artificial.