A Guide to Picking the Right Houseplant for your Home
Winter can feel like a long season. Between feeling stuck indoors and counting down the days until the weather warms enough for new growth outside, we often find ourselves itching for some new growth at home. While houseplants are typically slow to grow in the wintertime, it’s still a good time to add new plants to your home collection!
But how do you choose the right houseplant for your home? Here are some things to consider as you shop around for the right plant:
How Much Care & Maintenance Are You Up For?
One of the things we love so much about houseplants is the variety and range of care needs. If you don’t have a lot of experience caring for plants or if you have a history of losing indoor plants to over or under watering, you might want to consider one of the easy-to-care-for favorites.
Easy Care Plants:
Snake Plants can tolerate a range of conditions, and are one of our favorites for gifting since most plant owners are able to keep Snake Plants alive and thriving (even in less than ideal conditions).
Spider Plants are great for newbies and plant parents looking for low-maintenance options. They are easy to keep alive, and their “spider babies” can easily be propagated for growing indoor gardens.
Pothos plants can easily thrive and grow into beautiful trailing vines. They can handle under watering and tend to do well in low-light conditions.
ZZ Plants are another popular favorite that can handle a variety of light and water conditions. They’re one of our favorites!
How Much Natural Light is There?
The amount of natural light your plants can get will depend on the layout of your home and windows. Pay attention to which windows receive the most sunlight, and consider whether you can place your new plants in areas with more light. If there is a lot of bright indirect light, you might be able to consider more needy plants.
Example of plants that need bright indirect light:
Fiddle Leaf Figs are very popular and beautiful, but will need the bright indirect sunlight (like that from a south-facing window) to truly thrive
Monstera deliciosa plants are another popular and common option, but to achieve the beautiful fenestration and growth that monsteras are known for, you’ll need strong indirect light.
Succulents are famously easy to care for, but while they can survive severe drought, they’ll look their best with lots of light.
Crotons are colorful and bright, making them distinct from a lot of other popular houseplants. They are tropical plants that require bright indirect light for healthy growth.
Don’t have great natural light in your home? Consider purchasing grow lights, which can easily be found on Amazon!
How Much Space Do You Have?
You can purchase houseplants in a range of sizes, but some plants have the potential to grow rather large over time. Think about how much space you have and what you might do to accommodate a plant as it grows. For example, if you choose to plant a pothos, you will want to have space for trailing vines (unless you prefer to trim or propagate larger vines). Montseras grow famously large in the right conditions, and you’ll need to purchase a moss pole to help guide the growth in the right direction.
Could the plant pose a threat to your pets?
Some houseplants can be toxic to pets. While most are not life threatening, it’s good to educate yourself about the risks of some plants. Reference this list for plants that can be toxic to dogs, and consider alternatives if your pup commonly gets into trouble at home.
Ready to pick out a new houseplant?
We have a variety of houseplants available in the greenhouse and florist throughout the year! Plus, now through February 4, houseplants are 50% off! Stop in to visit us. We’d be happy to talk to you about the options and provide guidance on plant care.
