All about Houseplants
It is no secret that I have become a total plant lady. I would live in a greenhouse if I could. I love how they bring life, texture and an interesting element to our home but most importantly I love what they do for our air quality.
Maybe a year or so ago I found out that the air quality in our homes can be compared to a huge traffic jam with the amount of chemicals and bad things floating around in our air. I don’t know about you but Im a total homebody. I love to be home so I spend a lot of time here and of course my kids are here a large chunk of the day too. That really scared me. To think that, especially during that winter months, we are breathing crappy air! I was also burning candles ALL day long multiple days a week which was adding to the amount of chemicals in our air. yikes. So I set off to learn more about house plants and the different kinds and varieties that actually serve more of a purpose than just being cute to look at. Don’t get me wrong I wanted cute but I wanted cute hardworking.
Pothos:
I started buying pothos. Pothos are easy to care for and hard to kill they are pretty much happy anywhere. I have put them in a darker area with no window and they thrive and I have put them in a room full of windows and they love it just the same. I usually water these once a week but they are forgiving if you forget. I literally have these everywhere but my fav place is in my daughters room in a hanging pot!!
Birds Nest Fern:
This plant is on the testier side and not one that I would recommend to someone who prefers easy to care for plants. It like shade but will tolerate some indirect light. Does not do well with drafts and prefers humid areas (hello bathroom). It likes its soil moist and really is more of a life bringer to a darker space. Although all plants help with air quality this isn’t a super hard working one but it is cute! Mine is a little crispy at the moment because I left him in our entry way which is very drafty..oops.
ZZ plant:
I love the foliage of the zz plant. Its so fun and whimsy! It is super easy to care for and likes its soil to dry out in-between watering. A little fun fact about the zz plant is water gets stores in its leaves so if you do happen to miss a watering..or two its forgiving. Little watering is this guys jam. If I had to pick one plant to recommend to someone who is a new house plant lady – this is it! It tolerates any light condition although it will really thrive in a room full of windows and is just super easy to care for. It is also an amazing air purifier so great for any room you spend a large amount of time in.
Aloe:
Easy to care for and likes indirect light. Water well when the soil is dry. These cuties bring all sorts of benefits primarily in their gel.
Snake Plant:
The mother of all air purifiers. Their lack of big leaf foliage makes you think that they wouldn’t be a super hard working plant but they are. These are a must for bedrooms because of their amazing purifying effects and their ability to produce o2 at night. They filter out formaldehyde which is a carcinogen (Cancer causing) and I have read studies that they even rid mold and mildew spores from you air. They are easy to care for as well and need indirect sun and water lightly when soil is dry.
Flamingo Flower:
I bought this not really knowing what it was but really loving these big beautiful leaves. I actually need to repot mine because it has gotten HUGE but mine hasn’t flowered yet. It loves indirect light and well drained moist soil. It isn’t an air purifier but it sure is pretty to look at.
Fiddle Fig:
These are a fav. Maybe because they are a challenge? Im not sure but I love them. They are BIG, def a statement once they get growing. Fiddles are testy little things though. They don’t like to be moved, they like to dry out between watering and prefer their roots to be tight. so when you do replant (which I need to do to this big one) you should only use a pot two inches or so bigger. I made the mistake of putting mine outside last summer and scorched its leaves. we are still recovering from that as you can tell but my large fiddle has grown several new leaves over the winter months which I wasn’t expecting. I think its maybe because it loves my coffee mixture as fertilizer.
Swiss Cheese (Monstera):
I have been dying to get one of these and I finally found a reasonably priced one from a local greenhouse. I have only had it for a month. It likes bright light and water when the soil dries out. I had no idea that these are climbers in their natural habit of the rainforest! crazy.
Rabbits Foot Fern:
Can adapt to full sun or full shade. I have ours on our laundry closent shelves that is dark. It has done great the past 5 months or so. I love its wispy foliage.
Mother in law plant:
These are amazing air purifiers! I have had ours in our bedroom for the last year or so and it has grow SO MUCH. It loves indirect light and a good water after its soil is dry to the touch. This plant is easy and forgiving. There are several times over the summer we would leave for a week or more and it would be happy.
Philodendron (bipinnatifidum)
This guy has pretty much doubled from when I initially got him. They are a great air purifier and love bright indirect light and water when the soil is dry. I think he loves coffee too (check the end of post for my coffee fertilizer mixture).
Angle Vine:
These are SO fun! They make great topiaries. They love indirect light and I water mine multiple times a week. When the vines get a little wild they are happy with a haircut.
Chinese Money plant
This is my husbands favorite plant…not because its a “money” plant but because he loves its round leaves. I have already gotten three baby plants out of this guy. He loves indirect light and moist soil.
To water my plants I always use luke warm water. Not sure if this is a “thing” but its something I have always done since getting houseplants and I haven’t killed one yet.
I also fertilize with coffee and have done this for not quite a year. You just mix 8 cups luke warm water to one cup cold coffee. Do this every few months but not to much because coffee is acidic and can make your soil acidic which can make you plant unhappy.
I hope this was helpful to all of you wanting to know more about houseplants, how they can work to make your air quality better and how to care for them. They are a great addition to any home but its important to note that some houseplants CAN be poison to kids and animals so make sure you do you research before bringing a new plant into you home.
ali
Here are some of my FAV big stores to get houseplants:
Lowes
Home Depot
Here are some of my FAV local houseplant sources:
Jonkers Gardens (I have shopped here for years and most of our outdoor plants are from here too).
