Giving a touch of green to our houses is something that can even change our mood. If you are a person who spends most of the day house or in the office, some houseplants will make you regain your connection with nature. Offering a little of your time to take care of them and see how they grow day by day will get you out of your daily problems at least for a few moments.
Once you have decided to have some indoor plants, you need to take good care of them. Depending on how new you are to gardening, you may find it helpful to look for hardy plants that don’t take a lot of your time to grow properly.
Within this website we will dedicate the following sections exclusively to dealing with issues related to indoor plants. We will increase the amount of information little by little, so if you do not find what you are looking for you can contact us. 😉
1. What is indoor plants?
Before we start, I find it interesting that we clearly define what we know about houseplants or indoor plants.
Any species of plant that is adapted to growing indoors is known as a houseplant. They are generally tropical species, which in nature grow under the shade of other plants.
When grown indoors, protecting them from the elements, these tropical plants can live almost anywhere in the world. As long as they have the necessary care.
In most cases, indoor plants are grown for aesthetic reasons, although it should not be forgotten that they provide many health benefits. There are many studies that claim that having plants inside the house can improve mood, purify the air, reduce stress, help you concentrate, etc.
2. Where to put plants in house?
The green of the plants at home gives a touch of freshness and positivity to any environment, but it is not about placing plants in any corner without any logic. That is why in this section we will see where to optimally place your indoor plants. So that both you and your plants benefit.
2.1 Orientation of your house
This is a very important detail that we sometimes forget. When a house faces north, the lighting received inside is less than in a house facing south. This will affect the type of houseplants you can grow.
If your house faces north, you should look for indoor plants that need little light for their development. Some examples are: potus, sansevieria, aloe vera, calathea, bromeliad, etc.
On the contrary, if your house faces south, you can look for plants that need more light (poinsettia, hibiscus, bougainvillea, spatifilo, ananas). Obviously you can also look for plants that do not need a lot of light, it will only be a matter of placing them away from windows and balconies.
2.2 Room Features
Each of the rooms that make up our house have well-defined characteristics that make them different from each other. If we know how to take advantage of these characteristics, we can place each plant in the ideal room.
For example, the living room should be the first place where we put the plants. Your visits come here, so creating a natural and welcoming environment at the same time is very good. Look for a good aesthetic design between the plants and the decoration.
On the other hand, in the kitchen it is a good idea to look for some aromatic plants. This will allow you not only to add a touch of green, but will also have these edible plants on hand when you cook.
If you have an office where you spend hours of your time working, try placing a few plants as well. This will help you reduce your stress and increase your concentration.
You can not miss the bathroom, a somewhat forgotten place where few dare to place plants. This is a great place to put some moisture resistant plants (ferns, bamboo, ivy).
2.3 Characteristics of each houseplants
Before placing a plant indoors, you should know what its needs are to grow healthy and strong. How much light does it need, how big can it reach, how resistant it is to changes in temperature, etc.
If the room is small, do not put a plant that will grow a lot in the future. For small rooms look for small plants and for large rooms you can look for somewhat larger plants. Something quite logical and simple, right?
If you have a heating equipment in the room, do not place a plant near it. In general, no plant likes to be near a heat source like that. The same goes for cold equipment such as air conditioners.
Plants that need a few hours of sunlight should always be placed near the window or balcony. If you don’t, you will start to see how little by little its leaves are acquiring a yellowish color. And its stems will grow somewhat deformed and very elongated, seeking the light.
3. Best Houseplants
In the previous section we talked about the existence of small indoor plants and large indoor plants. Knowing how much these types of plants can grow is essential when placing them at home.
That is why I leave you two lists; one with the best small houseplants and one with the best large houseplants. I hope this information is useful for you to find the best plants for your house. 😉
3.1 Best large indoor plants
There is no international treaty for dividing between large or small indoor plants, it is quite subjective. For this case, we will define as large indoor plants those that can exceed one and a half meters in height. With this parameter is that we put together the following list with the best large indoor plants.
A plant like the ones that we will list below will take a leading role in the decoration of any room. Always try to integrate it with a good selection of pots and furniture, if you do it well you can have a very cozy and pleasant space.
- Yucca: this plant is ideal for growing both indoors and outdoors, it needs well-lit environments to grow properly. It is important that you do not overdo it with watering since they suffer a lot if they have a soil with a lot of water
- Philodendron: This is a very popular houseplant that should be placed in a room with lots of light, but no direct sunlight.
- Croton: this plant has very showy leaves and in good conditions it can reach three meters in height. It does not like the intense afternoon sun, so better place it in a window where it receives the morning sun.
- Ficus: it is a plant that, with the necessary care, can live for many years and grow a lot. You should place it in a room that allows it to grow and change its pot frequently.
- Fatsia japonica: it is among the indoor plants with air purifying capacity. It requires little maintenance and its beautiful deep green foliage perfectly decorates any environment.
- Jade: This is a large succulent that is ideal for novice gardeners as it does not need extensive care. It can thrive in low light.
- Dracena: it is one of the most popular and used indoor plants in the world. Put it in a place that has a couple of hours of sunshine a day and it will have enough.
- Fiddle Leaf Fig Plants: Few houseplants have beautiful, showy leaves like this plant. Find a well-lit environment for it to grow properly.
- Monstera: if you think of a jungle, this is one of the plants that first comes to mind, that is why we can say that it is the tropical plant par excellence. If you want to create a green and tropical environment at home, you must have a monstera.
- Bamboo: it adapts very well to indoor growing, although the ideal is to place it in a room that allows it to grow at least 2.50 or 3.00 m in height. You should place it in a place near the windows so that it receives a few hours of sun a day.
3.2 Best small indoor plants
Placing a large indoor plant can be something that is sometimes complicated, not everyone has environments with so much space available at home. If you live in an apartment or a small house, you should opt for plants that are much smaller than those listed in the previous section.
There are hundreds of small plants that are adapted to grow indoors. Any of them can be placed even in the smallest rooms of your house. It will only be a matter of finding the right place for them and giving them the care so that they develop correctly.
In the following list we have selected ten of what we consider the best small plants to decorate interiors.
- Aloe vera: This plant is not only decorative but also has many uses. Having aloe vera on hand is very good for treating minor burns, dermatological allergies, insect bites, acne, etc. Place it in a place with very good lighting and a few hours of direct sunlight.
- Kalanchoe: these succulents with beautiful flowers are an excellent choice for decorating environments. They like to receive the sun several hours a day so it is better to place them in a window. Don’t over water it, only when you see that the top soil in the pot has dried out.
- Lucky bamboo: in recent years this plant has become very popular in interior decoration. It is capable of living whether you plant it in the ground or in the water. If you choose water, be careful to change it three or four times a month.
- Peace lily: its large leaves and flowers are perfect for decorating interior environments. This, along with its ability to grow with almost no natural light, makes it a highly sought after plant.
- Pothos: This is without a doubt one of the most popular small indoor plants. Due to its characteristics similar to that of the vine, it is good to place it in a pot in height, thus being able to drop its stems. Like many on this list, it is very good at purifying ambient air.
- Rubber plant: it has the ability to purify the ambient air, while decorating with its beautiful foliage. They like bright environments but they do not resist direct sun well. As for watering, you should do it when the top layer of the soil is dry.
- Snake plant: it is a plant that does not require great care. It should be placed in environments with good lighting, but that do not receive it directly.
- Spider plant: its long, thin leaves that fall covering the pot make it an excellent choice for a hanging plant. Find a place with indirect lighting and water moderately.
- ZZ plant: grows very well with little water and indirect lighting. For the rest, it is a plant that does not require great care. Its deep and glossy dark green foliage will perfectly decorate any room.
- Pilea: it has some striking leaves of almost circular shape, perfect for decorating your home or office. It must receive the sun indirectly and not be watered excessively.