Do you know the safest plant to grow indoors?
It is the Norfolk Island pine foliage plant. This plant is a bright grass-green plant with branches appearing in regular whorls, making a very decent, pretty and symmetrical plant. It is one of the most popular house plants and a great, very formal looking plant for house decoration.
Growing plants outside the house is common and easy, but growing them indoors is not so common and a different ball game altogether. With their constant presence in the house and care and supervision required to grow them, they are almost are like children of the house.
Some houseplants can go days without any water. For e.g., Aroid family of plants which include Philodendrons, Pothos, Chinese Evergreens, and the Peace Lilies, which are well adapted to the low light conditions of most homes and offices. This Aroid family has a wide variety of foliage forms and leaf variegation patterns. Most of them are quite easy to grow, requiring evenly moist soil and moderate light levels.
Houseplants are preferred for the following reasons:
- They do not need water everyday.
- They do not need too much direct sunlight
- They do not need fertilizer often
- They do not need to be trimmed often
You can in fact have your plants match your lifestyle. These styles include,
- Contemporary style - plants having slender shapes and clearer lines
- Victorian in style - plants having feminine, frilly ferns.
- Southwestern style - plants belonging to cactus family.
- Southseas style - plants having a casual and informal look like palm trees
Types of Houseplants that can adorn various living areas within the house:
Patio and Decking area - There are 4 categories that can be grown in the patio area. They may be thrillers, fillers, spillers, and accents.
Thrillers are usually upright and add height to the plant. They also add flair and can be either foliage or flowering plants. Some of the thrillers are Salvia, Variegated Grasses, Dwarf cannas, Rose mallow, Snapdragons, Coleus, Smoke bush or Butterfly iris.
Fillers are those with fine texture foliage or small flowers. They fill in the combination in the arrangement. Some examples of fillers are: Dusty miller, Blue daisy, Scented geraniums, Pansy, Flowering Tobacco, Ageratum and Verbena.
The spillers soften the edges of the planters in the patio. They provide fullness to the container and may spill over, onto the adjacent pot, like Bacopas, Licorice plant, Ornament sweet potato, Greater periwinkle, Fan flower, Ivy or Dianthus.
The contrast or accent plant adds an extra feature to combinations and often feature very bold foliage. Leaves may be variegated and large flowers like Petunias, Marigolds, Cosmos, or Heliotrope.
Living room - A stimulating room, can have the more spiky or spiny plants, like snake plants, palms, aloe, and yuccas. They can be placed along the corners of the room.
Bedroom - Bedrooms are relaxing rooms where jade plant, rubber tree, schefflera, or peperomia suits better. They can be placed opposite the beds or to the sides where there is a chance of looking at them more frequently.
Restroom - In a corner of the room, colored foliage plants can be placed.
Balcony - In the balcony, hanging or trailing plants can be grown in for hiding, draping over, or otherwise softening sharp corners.
