Your Guide to Houseplants
A primer on a few trendy options for your home, including where to put them and how to care for them.
How many times have your walked into a house and thought “too many plants”? We’re guessing very rarely, if at all. Plants bring a natural vibrancy, often clearing the air and adding a fresh aroma. Here are a few houseplants that have become popular, along with instructions for placement and care.
Leafy Plants
Calathea Beauty Star (Calathea Ornata)
A small-to-medium sized plant with bold, green striped leaves, this plant adds a flash of vivid colour. Best kept near a window, perhaps in a kitchen or living room, with medium light. It’s a good plant for beginners and pet friendly. It usually needs water weekly but allow the soil to become almost completely dry between watering. If the leaves curl, it’s thirsty.
Split-Leaf Philodendron (Monstera Deliciosa)
This is a large plant whose distinctive cut leaves are typically featured in iconic 1970s photographs. It is the most expensive plant on our list, often about $50 just for the plant, so you’ll want to show it off in a room with lots of space, like a living room or the foyer. It requires indirect light. Water the soil whenever it starts to dry out, wipe the dust off the leaves, and keep it away from pets. You can also cut the tops off and replant it if you wish to have more than one.
Dwarf Meyer Lemon Tree (Citrus X Meyeri)
Might seem a little unconventional to grow a lemon tree indoors, but these medium-sized plants can thrive as long as they have lots of sunlight and are watered regularly. Their fruit is a hybrid of lemons and mandarins so when they bloom, they fill the room with citrus fragrance. This is often most welcome in the kitchen, provided that’s usually the room that gets the most sun.
Ivies
Devil’s Ivy (Epipremnum Aureum)
The beautiful green leaves often have white or yellow marbling which gives this plant its other name: The Marble Queen Pothos. Hang it from the ceiling or drape it across your table and it will continue to grow, especially if it’s in a brightly lit area. But keep it out of direct sunlight. Also, best to keep pets away from it and ensure the soil remains dry. If the leaves are turning black, you’re overwatering it; and if they turn yellow, you’re underwatering it.
Succulents
Snake Plant (Sansevieria Trifasciata)
Stiff and spikey, the snake plant is experiencing a kind of resurgence in contemporary interiors, according to Architectural Digest. These hardy plants can go for a month or more without water so let the soil dry out before watering. They typically do well in bright, indirect light but can adapt to low light. They also purify the air so they work great in bathrooms, bedrooms or home offices.
Ferns & Palms
Asparagus Fern (Asparagus Plumosus)
This isn’t technically a fern but this small-to-medium indoor plant does have soft and delicate fronds, which can be pruned back to give it a wispy, almost ghostly, look. But if left untended it will grow, making it a good option for a kitchen or home office. Unlike many of the other plants on this list, it does well in full sunlight and needs a little extra water. Best to keep the soil lightly moist.
Corn Plant (Dracaena Fragrans Massangeana)
Another air-purifying plant. In fact, according to Greatist, this one made the list compiled for NASA’s clean air study. This medium-to-large plant has bright yellow stripes on its leaves and loves bright indirect light, including from fluorescent sources, making it a good choice for a living room or home office. Water once the soil starts to dry out at the top but be careful not to overwater or the tips will turn brown.
