Houseplants: Nature For The Indoors

As the sun is only weeks away from its lowest travel in our northern skies, it seems rather natural for our horticultural interest to turn indoors. Much of the greenery is gone outdoors, and those of us who thrive on a living link to nature depend on our indoor plants, our houseplants, to provide that cold season connection. But what are the best plants to have indoors, what should you look for, what should you avoid and where, oh where, should you buy them?I think the most perfect houseplants should provide year-round interest by giving us at least green foliage (lush may be too much to ask for)—or, even better, colorful foliage. The next level of fantasy is flowers. It’s wonderful to have flowers on houseplants especially during the winter, but be careful what you wish for, because some of the nicest houseplants have the most boring and even odoriferous flowers. These plants should grow in moderate light and at least tolerate the dry air of most homes. And of course all of these plants should be easy to care for, meaning disease- and insect-free. Well, dream on. But there are some wonderful candidates, and some outright losers.

Before we get to the what, let’s talk about the where, as in where to buy them. The absolute worst place to buy these plants is the place that has them out on the sidewalk in the middle of November when it’s 45 degrees. The second worst place is the supermarket that gets them delivered from who knows where in unheated trucks, leaves them in the coldest and draftiest spot in the store and whose managers hope they get bought before they show any of the symptoms of frostbite. Close behind are the big box stores that contract with growers for thousands of a kind of plants that might be grown in the Carolinas, Florida or even Canada and are trucked up, probably warehoused for a couple of days, then distributed … so it can be nearly a week from nursery to store … in a box. Ah, but they’re so inexpensive. Try to resist. But I know … that $15 orchid in full bloom is hard to pass up.

The best place to buy the best plants is your local garden center. From Moriches to Springs there are dozens of them, many with greenhouses, and while you pay a premium for buying local I’ll bet you these plants have a survival rate that’s tenfold better than plants bought at other retail outlets. In many cases the plants come directly from growers, and they are often hardened off or have lived in the local greenhouse for several weeks before you get them. In many cases your local garden center can also order specific plants if you’re looking for a certain variety or size.

Orchids are way up near the top of my list. For 20 bucks and up, you can find flowering orchids that make great houseplants, requiring no direct sunlight and minimal care so long as you can give them some humidity and understand their needs. The easy ones like the Phalaenopsis can re-bloom every year and sometimes twice a year. The flowers will last for as long as three months, but their trade-off for being easy is that the simple-to-care-for ones are generally not scented. They can be indoors from early October until May, then outside for the summer if kept shaded. A warning though: Their ease of care is a trick, as they are absolutely addictive.

For foliage I don’t think you can beat the ficus family. Included in this group is the weeping fig or Ficus benjamina, which has several variations in stature and foliage color. They can be bought in pots as small as 4 inches, but when given the chance will grow into quite formidable plants. They are easily pruned if they get out of control, and they thrive in bright to moderate light. They are somewhat deciduous, though, and will drop their foliage once a year, but not all at once—and don’t not panic when the leaves drop, it’s natural unless you’ve overwatered the plant and it’s in the process of dying. It’s not a big drinker and is used to periods of drought, where in the wild it will start to drop leaves. It will also drop leaves when you suddenly change its location, but invariably they grow back. It’s a light feeder and if you buy a clean plant it will rarely have insect or disease problems.

A close relative is the Ficus decora or Ficus elastica (rubber tree or rubber plant), which has very large leaves and grows on strong, upright stems. Depending on the variety, the foliage can be a bright glossy green to a very dark, almost black maroon or red, while other varieties are variegated white and green.

For the very brightly lit spots in your abode don’t overlook the succulent jade plant. You can find this plant in 4-inch pots for just a few bucks or as a mature specimen for several hundred dollars. It will grow anywhere that you have bright light but when it is light-starved it becomes gnarly and stretched, though it will hang on for years and years. Most folks don’t realize that unlike the standard foliage plants like the ficus which have insignificant flowers, the jade is a true flowering plant that few see in its full glory. Being native to the Southern Hemisphere, it is genetically programmed to flower during our winter and if properly cared for (good light, easy on the water and very diluted feeding every few weeks) it will burst into a display of starry white flowers between January and March. It needs to be a mature plant though, so be patient … three to five years old.

The jade is also a great plant to work with if you’ve got kids. It’s fascinating and easy to propagate using a single leaf placed on damp sand or with a short stem cutting struck in moist sand. Do this in bright light, but not in direct sun. When using a leaf you must always keep the top of the leaf facing upward. Turn it over and nothing will happen. If the sand remains warm, in two to four weeks a new plant will sprout from the stem end of the leaf. As the new plant sets its own roots, it can be severed from the leaf—and you’ve got yourself a new jade plant.

Another plant for the brightly lit areas of your home are the asparagus ferns. They are easy to care for, come in three different forms, need little in the way of watering, and love being tight in the pot, so don’t over-plant them. These plants will also reward you with tiny starry white flowers that are followed by bright red berries. When the berries or fruits mature, the hard black seed in the center can be dried, planted in another pot during the summer and in a few weeks … yup, new plants.

On to a flowering plant—we have the much maligned African violet. Here’s a plant that grows in relatively low light, is as easy to kill as it is to grow, and with a small collection of 10 to 12 plants you can always have most of them in flower. If there is a trick to growing these plants it’s in holding back on the water. I think most of the failures in African violets are from rotting when they are over-cared for. So, the care is relatively simple. Keep them out of direct sunlight, feed them regularly when in flower (weekly, but with diluted fertilizer for African violets), and as the flowers fade pinch the stems off.

The secret to watering this plant without killing it is to water from the bottom. How’s that? You keep the pot in a saucer and fill the saucer, not the pot. Let the pot soak up the water for about 15 minutes, then remove any standing water. Don’t water again until the soil dries. It’s that simple. Keep water and fertilizer off the foliage, as that will cause the leaves to spot, and as leaves begin to fade, pinch them off.

You can buy African violets in various colors and flower types and pay anywhere from $5 to $12 for a plant. Even the ones from the supermarket will probably do well as long as they haven’t been left out in the cold. They thrive under fluorescent light, such as under a kitchen counter light, and they are another plant that’s really easy and fascinating to propagate … from leaves. When flowering slows down, give them a rest for a month or two, then they’ll start all over again.

Next week, houseplants that look really great, will really tempt you, but pass these losers up … they’ll break your heart. Keep growing.’’’