The best way to care for indoor, low-light plants is to ensure that you’re working with the correct plants for those conditions. Every plant has an optimal amount of light, nutrients, water and other factors that will make it thrive. However, most homeowners aren’t botanists, and they don’t have time to be either. They want houseplants that don’t require much from them in terms of care. In short, they want real plants that don’t require very much more attention than non-living, plastic wannabe replicas.

A Guide to Caring for Indoor Plants @homelifeabroad.com

Here are some  tips for caring for indoor plants:

Read up on the plants you are going to grow

Start out with a common search online and then hone in on plants that seem to resonate with your energies. For me, when I am researching plants, some seem to “speak” to me more clearly than others. There’s a load of subconscious consideration that occurs when deciding on which plants to grow. Your plants can last years, decades, even lifetimes – if you take the time to get to know what they need and then give it to them consistently.

Go to a gardening center

I do not mean the “gardening center” at a big home improvement center. I mean a professional gardening center, with staff that knows about plants! These places are like geek centers, for plant nerds. I love going to a well-established garden center and “stealing” all of their excellent information. It cuts through so much of what you will read about online, especially in forums. There are always so many conflicting opinions online that it’s tough to make sense of them all. But when you talk to someone, in person, who understands exactly how a given plant grows, and what it needs, then the entire situation comes clearly into your understanding.

Spend for the success

If you are going to begin growing a plant, indoors or out, then spend what you need to in order to make the venture a success. Get the good potting mix. Buy a container suitable for growing the type of plant you aim to. Consider buying a reverse osmosis filtering system for your water. Have what you are going to need throughout the life span of your plants handy. Buying and caring for a low-light houseplant is not a very expensive undertaking, so go all out!

Some of the easiest and hardiest low-light plants for growing indoors include:

  • English Ivy
  • Philodendron
  • Norfolk Island Pine
  • Chinese Evergreen
  • Grape Ivy
  • Peperomia
  • Fiddleleaf Fig Tree
  • Spider Plant

And of course, there are loads more too. Most of these plants will do just fine with low light, like sitting in front of a window. In fact, too much light will quickly kill many delicate house plants. However, some house plants can also be extra tough and durable, like the Snake Plant with its rigid, bladed leaves.

keep-calm-and-water-on-5

In most cases, you can judge when to add water by just touching the surface of the soil or another growing medium as may be the case. In general, if the surface of the medium is slightly moist and a bit cool, then you’re in good shape; no water needed yet. But remember, you don’t want to wait until the growing medium crusts over to water the plant. And then again, you don’t want to keep your plants overly saturated as this may rot their roots.

Also be sure to follow other common sense planting guidelines, like ensuring adequate drainage and ventilation. Plants are living organisms, a lot like us humans. They need air, water, and nutrients. They need some sunlight. They need attention. They need a bit of your love and they will serve you with their beauty throughout your life.

June 24, 2014
25 Comments