Suggestions for my living room

Huh, I've always thought of it as the reverse. It's a common boulevard tree here, but has only recently started to move indoors....

 

Here in Florida, we're convinced that Schefflera arboricola is a cute little shrub (and very easy to propagate), while the more tree-sized Schefflera actinophylla from Australia or thereabouts is a pest, and generally is no longer sold.

 

Hello, I just wanted to update and say that we are going to wait a few weeks because we had a sudden cold snap and it just doesn't seem right to move any plants right now. We did, however, buy two small prayer plants just before then on a whim. They seem to be settling in fairly well, however I suspect they were over-watered at the shop. I expected to have to top up the water often, but it has been a good few days now (I can't remember, but perhaps four?) and the soil is still moist. A few of the leaves are shrivelled and darkened at the edges. Could this be a sign of over-watering? The other thing that makes me suspicious of this is that the woman told us (after we bought our plants) that she probably killed a large umbrella plant in her shop by watering it too much. So we might not go there again... I think the light our plants is getting is good. It's across the room from our south-facing windows, but as it is winter, it is never direct light reaching them.

 

Here's a Schefflera arboricola bonsai at the Heathcote Botanical Garden in Fort Pierce, Florida

I've never figured out overwatering problems with house plants, but did lose an outdoor potted plant recently due to lack of drainage and ponding.

 

Beaucarnea recurvata takes a little patience. I have three that I bought 10 years ago when they were 5" tall. I take meticulous care of them. The tallest has reached 10". a gain of 5" in 10 years or 1/2" per year. At that rate it will take 110 years or so to reach 5'. I would not recommend this plant to anyone who does not have that much time.

 

Try flowering plants too like Saintpaulia and Streptocarpus. If you want vines you can add Thunbergia alata and Clerodendrum thomsoniae which produce spectacular blooms.