Easy-Care House Plants
Bring lush greenery to your living space with these easy-care house plants. They're a breeze to start and require little maintenance, needing little more than a regular watering.
These common house plants, from the most popular orchids that are sold in big-box stores, to the tough and durable ficus can enhance your indoor garden design. Additionally, they cleanse your air.
1. Areca Palm
Palms are frequently utilized as house plants since they add a tropical feel to homes and are easy to grow. The Areca Palm (Dypsis lutescens, formerly Chrysalidocarpus lutescens) is native to Madagascar and is found in the wild in soils that are slightly acidic with rocky or sandy topsoil. Also called the golden cane palm, bamboo palm or butterfly palm, it has smooth silver-green trunk and fronds with feathery frogs that look like butterflies.
Areca Palms are excellent for bringing humidity into your home. potted house plants are also effective air purifiers, which remove pollutants and toxins from the air. The vast surface area of the fronds permits them to naturally provide more oxygen than plants with smaller leaves.
These plants do well in the majority of conditions, but thrive in warm temperatures and constant humidity similar to that found in the tropics. They can be grown outside in USDA hardiness zone 10 and higher. They reach as high as 30 feet at maturity.
To grow the plant, gently separate four or five stems using a sharp knife. Place the fronds in the pot and add a mixture of coarse sand as well as regular potting soil and a 2:1 ratio. Make sure to water thoroughly. Let the soil drain before watering it again. In general palms prefer to be kept moist at all times however they are tolerant of some dryness when the plants are established.
2. Spider Plant
Spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum) can be planted in hanging baskets or pots. They are beautiful when mature and are positioned somewhere high where their long shoots adorned with'babies' of plants can be admired. They are also great for displaying in conservatories, or other places where the baby plants can be exhibited freely.
This is a very adaptable plant that can thrive in low light, however, bright indirect sunlight will enhance the colour and growth of the leaves. It is a very adaptable plant and can tolerate some harsh direct sunlight in summer however, not during the midday hours when it can burn the leaves. Watering is fairly simple since the plant doesn't need a lot, but it is essential to avoid overwatering, so you should feel the soil and only water when it feels dry. It is recommended to reduce the amount of water you give during the Winter months to prevent the plant drying out too quickly.
They also aid in reducing allergies by removing pollen mold spores, dust mites as well as pet dander and other airborne pollutants. They also reduce allergic reactions by eliminating dust, pollen mites and pet dander. This makes the spider plant an ideal option for people suffering from chronic hay fever or asthma. It's also a nontoxic plant, so it is suitable for pets and children!
3. Fiddle Leaf Fig
Known for its dramatic wavy green leaves, the fiddle leaf fig (ficus lyrata) is a well-loved option for bringing the lush, jungle-like look to a home. A plant of this height can be the center of attention in a room and is a great match for white or light neutral walls. Fiddle leaf figs work well in contemporary or farmhouse designs, where their size and shape add to the overall design.
It is a tropical flower that requires bright, filtered lighting to thrive and look at its best. Direct sunlight can damage the leaves in color and cause them to burn. Fiddle leaf figs have the ability to be trained into a bush or a tree shape. A bush shape is the most common, however pruning can be used to encourage branching for an appearance that resembles a tree.
Fiddle leaf figs are found in rainforests and thrive in humid, warm conditions similar to greenhouses. To help mimic this environment at home, misting the plant every week is suggested. Repotting the plant every two weeks can help with its growth and well-being.
This houseplant is relatively easy to maintain, however it requires constant attention and affection in the form of food water, sun and. It is difficult to keep up with, particularly when life interferes. This is why it is best to choose an area for your plant that you will commit to and keep at the same location.
4. Rubber Plant
Ficus elastica is also referred to as Rubber Plant or Rubber Fig. It's an ornamental and popular houseplant. It has beautiful shiny green leaves and is believed to cleanse the air in your home by removing harmful substances like formaldehyde and other harmful substances from the atmosphere.
It is a very easy-to-care for plant that is forgiving when it comes to light levels and other environmental conditions at home. However, it can be quite sensitive and will shed its leaves when conditions are not right. For instance, a lower leaf growth could indicate improper light levels which can be solved by moving the plant closer to a window or using an indoor grow lamp.
This is a great plant for those who are just beginning to learn how to take care of plants. It is also among the easiest house plants to propagate. It is possible to propagate rubber plants by cutting the stem and packing some damp moss on the top. Once it starts to root you can remove the moss and plant it in a new pot of ficus pots. It is important to keep your soil moist, but not too wet. Also, you should wipe the leaves down regularly. This will stop fungus and help the plant absorb more sunlight. You can use a mister to spray the plant if you like, but just be aware that wet leaves could cause stains on carpets and furniture.
5. English Ivy
The English Ivy, Hedera helix, is a perennial vine and is used as a houseplant since it is green all year. It can also be used to cover walls and trees, and it is a good privacy screen. If you don't want a plant that can spread across your home there are a lot of less-invasive ivy lookalikes to consider, such as pothos and philodendron.
Keep in mind that English Ivy, if it grows too heavy, can choke out the trunk of the tree. This will reduce the health of the wood as well as increase the risk of fungus decay and disease. It can also damage the bark of tree trunks that are mature in windy weather, since it pulls them apart and sticks to them.
However, the plant is attractive in its own way. There are many different cultivars of the plant including the various shades of green and variegated varieties that have white, yellow, gray, and cream. Some of these include 'Itsy Bitsy' with tiny leaves that look like ivy Congesta, which has two-sided, heart-shaped, or triangular leaf lobes 'Diana' and 'Fluffy Ruffles and 'Fluffy Ruffles', which have birds' feet-shaped leaves that have narrow lobes; 'Curlilocks' as well as 'Gold Child' with large curly leaves that have a ripple or wavier; and 'Silvery Variety and 'Glacier' which have silvery variegations.
Ivy plants prefer cool, indirect lighting as well as well-drained soil. Keep the foliage safe from drafts, heating vents and excessive watering. Misting the plants often can prevent dryness and keeps away spider mites. If the pests do show up, treat them like you would with other common houseplant bugs such as aphids and mealybugs. Neem oil and insecticidal soap are good solutions for these pests.
6. Kalanchoe
The kalanchoe tree (KAL- n-KOH-t ) is an easy flowering succulent that flowers with minimal attention. The long time of reblooming makes it a favorite among florists and home plant lovers, who use it to create centerpieces and dish gardens. It also makes a great gift since it reblooms for a number of years after the initial display.
Like many flowering plants, they love bright light and good drainage. Let the soil completely dry between waterings to avoid water-borne blemishes. Never let kalanchoes sit in water that is stagnant since this can lead to root rot. When watering, use only pots and potting mixes that drain quickly, and be careful not to overwater a plant like a kalanchoe.
Try exposing kalanchoes to lower levels of light, which mimic shorter days, similar to how you would with a poinsettia or Thanksgiving Cactus. Try this for a month and you'll see it start to bloom again.
Like many flowering plants they require a regular fertilizer, preferably with a balanced water-soluble formula. Most potting mixes include some nutrients. However, it is recommended to feed your plant each month from spring through autumn. Pour any excess moisture into a saucer placed beneath the pot. It is recommended to mist a kalanchoe using water instead of spraying it directly, because getting the leaves wet could result in a fungal illness known as Rhizoctonia solani or Fusarium root rot.