The addition of potted plants in your home will provide decoration and a healthy atmosphere. The sight of healthy plants provides a mental lift, and many indoor plants also help clean the air. However, there are some challenges when growing potted plants.
Selecting the right sized pot for a plan requires some research. Providing the right soil nutrients and level of moisture can also be difficult, especially for beginners. Placing your plant in an area where it will receive enough sunlight without burnt leaves or overheated soil takes some practice, as well as research into your particular plant species. In addition to these necessary plant-care tasks, you also need an eye for design to place your house plants. These are enough to confuse many gardening enthusiasts.
By simply choosing different plant species, you can reduce the challenges involved. This variety will also increase the beauty of your house plant collection.
First, choose a few plants which require little water and no fertilizer. This will allow you to keep several plants with minimal effort. For example, a Spider Plant needs almost no attention. Once you have several easy to care for plants, then you can add other beautiful species which will require a little more care.
Selecting a pot can be very tricky, as it has to be the right kind and size of pot for good growth of your plant. However, since it will be going in your home, color, shape, size, and material are also important. In addition, the plant going in the pot can vary in size, leaves, color, and other attributes. All of these choices become an exercise in interior decorating.
When filling a bright, open corner, often the best choice is a large plant. For example, a medium-sized pot on a large stand filled with a Sansevieria can be an attractive choice. On the other hand, you could also choose a palm with smaller plants arranged beneath it.
Most indoor potted plants will require repotting every few years. Some bonsai, if properly cared for, can remain the same pot for many years, but most houseplants, like an indoor palm, will outgrow a pot. If you have many plants, this can be a very substantial task. To stagger this project, buy plants at varying stages of growth, so that they will not need repotting at the same time. If you carefully select your plants, some will need repotting just before Spring, while others can wait for new pots until Fall.
Varying the species also has other advantages in decoration. For example, if you select different types of flowering plants, you can have at least one blooming flowering plant for much of the year. There are not many flowering plants that bloom all year. Many flower in early Spring, while others flower in mid-summer and some wait until the Fall. If you choose a selection with varying blooming seasons, you will have blooming flowers for six to eight months in most climates.
By mixing species, you will have a beautiful indoor garden requiring little care.