Happy, hardy houseplants

Greenhorns needn’t fret over these tough, adaptable, good-looking varieties

The Dieffenbachia plant is among those that can sicken a pet if the leaves are chewed.
The Dieffenbachia plant is among those that can sicken a pet if the leaves are chewed.

So you've heard all the good things about the benefits of houseplants -- increased oxygen and humidity levels, improved air quality, stress reduction, improved aesthetics -- and you think you'd like to finally ditch your dusty silk plants and give their real counterparts a try.

Well, yeah, but then those same doubts that kept you from investing in houseplants the last time come flooding your mind again: Remember that nice plant you took home after the last family funeral ... and how it needed its own funeral a week or so later? Who will water the poor dears? Do you realize how little light comes into this place?

Don't listen to those negative thoughts. Just take yourself back to Houseplants 101: knowing which plants are the best for beginners. These are going to be the easiest to care for -- they're "usually tolerant of a wide range of light, and they're not overly picky about water," says Janet Carson, associate professor for the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service and state coordinator for the Arkansas Master Gardener program.

And, they're visually pleasing -- a big plus for one's home interior.

Edwina Crockett, an interior designer with Tom Chandler and Associates and former plant shop owner, notes that from an aesthetic standpoint, houseplants help "soften" a surface, such as the top of a chest.

"Often we will put a medium size plant on the floor to hide outlets and cords," she says. "They're good for that." They're also good for enhancing bare spaces in a room. For instance, if you've got all the furniture you need in a room but that one corner still seems bare, Crockett will

put a potted tree in that corner. That gives the height, the softness and also fills up the space. "A lot of times, that's a lot cheaper than a really nice piece of art," she says. "The only thing left to fill up a bare spot might be something live and green."

Here are a few easy-care plant suggestions from Carson and a few other experts.

• Acquire an Aglaonema, commonly known as a Chinese evergreen plant. Why? "Many to choose from -- and very tolerant of dry or wet conditions and low light," Carson says.

• Slip yourself a Sansevieria trifasciata plant, which is made up of a series of long, stiff, variegated leaves and known as snake plant, Saint George's sword or (perhaps unfairly) mother-in-law's tongue. Carson describes this plant as "tough as nails." In other words, hard to kill as a snake. Steely as a dragon-killing sword. A "long, lashing shape," according to one website. Just like a ... well.

• Fill your abode with philodendrons. These are also tough, and also many varieties, such as the familiar, climbing heart-leaf philodendron, or the nonclimbing lacy tree philodendron. Sharon Reed of Cantrell Gardens Nursery and Landscape in Little Rock, suggests the pothos plant, mistaken for some as ivy but actually a philodendron.

• Drag in a Dracaena. Robin Connell, president of Plantation Services, an indoor plant maintenance company, likes to start clients off with dracaenas. "That's going to be your corn plants [Dracaena fragrans "Massangeana"] and anything related," she says. "Most of them are going to have some sort of a stalk." She cites other plants in this family including the Janet Craig, the marginata and the warneckii, all of which have low to medium light requirements, and low water needs.

• Zip a ZZ plant inside your home. The Zamioculcas zamiifolia, or ZZ plant, is favored by Connell because it needs such low amounts of water and light that you can "stick it in a closet essentially." She may water hers every six weeks. "It's [got] kind of a funky look ... it's kind of fun to play with," she says.

• Make peace via a peace lily. The Spathiphyllum, aka the peace lily -- a plant often given as a gift -- is actually good to have for beginners who tend to over-water their plants. Peace lilies love quite a bit of water ... and when they're thirsty, their owners will know it; they droop considerably. "They are drama queens," Connell says.

• Palm a parlor palm plant off on yourself. This plant, the Chamaedorea elegans, is a favorite of Reed's. "They do not like sun whatsoever," she says. "If you put them in too much sun, they will burn. ... " They're so easy to grow indoors."

• Bring home a bromeliad for a beautiful, exotic look and long-lasting color. Houseplants in the Bromeliaceae family -- of which pineapples and even Spanish moss are members -- "do really well because they've already bloomed and done their thing by the time we get them," Reed says. "They hold a bloom really well." According to information at gardening.about.com, bromeliad blooms can last three months or more.

• Bag a bird's nest fern, or Asplenium nidus, which "I am finding out [does] really well ... indoors with average light," Reed says.

Other plants Reed suggests: rubber trees, known as Ficus elastica; salome plants; and African violets (Saintpaulias), which people think are tough to care for but are fine if placed in a west or north window.

Want to get started with plants that showcase the fall season well? Croton plants, with their vibrant oranges and yellows and greens, make "good fall foliage for indoors," Reed says, adding that florist mums (chrysanthemums) also make for good fall color.

HomeStyle on 08/30/2014

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