Article Excerpt
Tasteful placement of indoor plants elevates your space to new heights. Check out some of our favorites.
If you don’t have much of a green thumb, maybe you haven’t heard of these specific types of indoor plants before. With a little bit of patience and maintenance, these can boost the look of any room in your home. Indoor plants make a more calming atmosphere, and add splashes of life and color wherever you place them!
Succulents
Aloe vera is the most well-known of the succulents. They add a modern touch to bathrooms, and can actually be used therapeutically. But Crassula Ovatas, or “money plants” make nice additions to your work-from-home desk for their small size, too. They feature flat, waxy, green leaves sprouting from small branches. They’ll only grow to about a foot tall.
Ever heard of a Living Rock succulent? They’re also called Lithrops. These strange little plants only grow a couple of centimeters above the soil and sprout in all sorts of bright colors.
Succulents need lots of light. But be careful not to let them burn on a windowsill. After watering, succulents need to completely drain. A porous compost is the way to go for these.
Bonsai trees
“Bonsai” means “tree in a pot” in Japanese. They’re actually regular trees like you have in your backyard. You just have to go through the process of dwarfing them. No two bonsai are alike. You can pick a wide range of outdoor trees to shrink, and then shape them how you like. Lots of creative potential!
Growing bonsai requires patience and several steps. But they’re some of the coolest house plants ever. Check out Bonsai Empire’s short how-to video on using a bonsai kit to get started.
Cactus
Indoor cacti tend to require less light than you may think. You definitely don’t have to live in a desert to keep them healthy. Bunny ear and easter cactus both only require partial sunlight. They can bloom pink, white, blue, and yellow flowers. Easter cactus needs watering once a week, and Bunny Ear cactus needs watering every three to four weeks.
An easter cacti blooms through March and April - and sometimes through May if you’re lucky. Keep them away from cool drafts and fertilize them right after their blooms are finished. They’re fairly simply to maintain. Just make sure their soil is free-draining.
Fiddle-leaf Figs
Fiddle-leaf figs look perfect standing tall in living rooms and sunrooms. A potted fig can get as tall as ten feet, even when kept indoors. They’re finicky plants, as they don’t like too much or little sun, the soil can’t be too wet or dry, and you may even want a humidifier to keep moisture at the right levels.
Fiddle-leaf figs can serve as a major focal point in any space, dressing up everything around them.
Japanese Painted Fern
Athyrium niponicum, better known as the Japanese Painted Fern, is a beautiful sprawling fern with a silver/purple tint. Unlike some of the other plants on this list, these need consistently moist, rich soil. Morning sun and then shade for the rest of the days make these plants very happy.
Shown above is a “Burgundy Lace” Japanese Painted fern. They’re the most vivid of the other types: Pictum and Wildwood Twist. They stand out as something really different, whether outside or inside. Mixing one or two painted ferns within a group of several other green ferns looks like a piece of art.
