I bought these plants at our grocery store in France, 1 euro each. Now I am not sure what to do with them, and all ID help would be great! The first plant is about 27cm / 10.7" tall, in a 9cm/3.5" round pot. The largest leaf is about 15cm/6" long. The leaves come zooming out from what seems to be one plant; with the main stem consisting of wrapped leaves. The top of the medium-green leaves have a large white stripe in the center, with hints of a branching pattern moving out from the base; the bottom shows the branching even more. The leaves are kind of thick, and the stem is thick. It sort of reminds me of an alocasia, which is bad because I have about 50 houseplants and that's the only kind I can consistently kill! The second plant looks like a miniature shrubbery. Its about 16cm/6.3" tall, again in a 9cm pot. The 2cm or 3/4"-long leaves are dark green with white outlines and a slightly lighter white stripe down the middle. New leaves are lighter and green only. It seems to grow a bit like rosemary -- stems that either branch off at the base of the soil, or slightly above, and they may become woody with time. Could this be a boxwood? Here are some photos. Looking forward to hearing your ideas!
#1 looks like maybe Dieffenbachia Sterling??? http://mgonline.com/media/Images/d/dieffenbachia_sterling.jpg
dieffenbachia 'sterling' and euonymus japonicus 'microphyllus variegatus' Thanks for the quick responses. Bluewing: I used your advice and searched and found a good photo at Dave's Garden that looks like my plant, so I am going to assume it's a Dieffenbachia 'Sterling' for now. Too bad it turns out to be a skin irritant! Saltcedar: using that name I did a search, and it sure does look like the Euonymus japonicus 'Microphyllus Variegatus' on this site http://www.evergreenplantnursery.com/Variegated-Dwarf-Boxleaf-Euonymus-p/euovdb1.htm. Thanks to both of you for pointing me in the right directions. I am off to repot them & place them where they need to be...
