Choosing House Plants - 4 Easy to Care for Plants

House plants are amazing! They are versatile and can change any space with a little pop of life. If you look through home design magazines or even online sites like Pinterest, you will see photos of rooms with house plants. Big leaves of tropical plants are all the range right now, but are they the kind you want to invest in? Knowing how much time and energy it takes to care for certain plants is important.

There are health benefits of having house plants throughout your home, office, or classroom. As a former classroom teacher, I had plants in several places in my room. They helped the moods of children and me along with giving back clean air to breathe during those months of colds and sickness.

Sometimes house plants are perfect as gifts. House warming and new babies are two of my favorite times to give a house plant. I had a plant given at my son’s baby shower at school. It started off as a little tiny plant in a hand-painted pot and it grew to be a beautiful vining plant that my crazy dog chewed down to the stem. While it didn’t survive that chewing, I got to enjoy it for almost 17 years.

One thing to consider when buying house plants is time and effort. A high maintenance plant may not be what you or someone else may want, especially if you are starting out as a beginner with house plants. These plants can be anywhere from super simple to care for or as difficult in keeping them alive.

When buying plants, I tend to steer clear of orchids, violets, and peace lilies. I’ve had them all several times, and they quickly died on me after following all the steps on caring for them.

4 Easy to Care for House Plants

Pothos  – my most favorite house plant of all time. Depending on how many “little” plants are in the pot, they can become a little bushy when they start vining. The Pothos is perfect for hanging baskets and even placing them on a desk or a shelf to drape down. They prefer to stay on the drier side so check before you water. They also like indirect light.

Snake Plant aka The Mother in Law Tongue  – It only requires watering once or twice a month and loves lower light. If left in the sunlight, it will burn.

Spider Plant  – are perfect for hanging baskets. A mature plant will grow spiderettes or pups that can be clipped and placed in soil to grow another plant. They like indirect light and should only be watered when the soil is completely dry.

Succulents and Cacti  – All cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti.

 Succulents are what I call the little juicy plants. Succulent means juicy. Aloe Vera and Hen and Chicks are two types of succulents. Cacti have little areoles which spines, hair and even flowers that grow from them. Succulents and Cacti need very little watering. Look at them, they should be plump with water. If they begin to wrinkle or pucker, give them a little water. It is better to underwater than to over water them. They love light so find them a nice sunny place to live.

If you are considering buying a house plant for a gift, remember the recipient may not have all the time needed in caring for a plant. One of the four listed above would be perfect as a gift.