The houseplant craze is spreading like wildfire, producing increasingly more new plant dad and mom. I really like having a buyer stroll into the greenhouse enthusiastic about shopping for their very first plant child. A lot of them are keen to confess “I don’t know something about crops!” to which I often reply by asking: what kind of sunshine do you’ve gotten in your house, and the way a lot care are you prepared and in a position to spend money on your plant?
The primary query is probably a very powerful as a result of gentle supply is one factor you may’t change (until you purchase a develop gentle) and due to this fact dictates which crops you may efficiently develop in your house.
Houseplants are generally divided into three classes that point out the quantity of sunshine they want to develop: low gentle, medium gentle, and excessive gentle. These classes are generally subjective and onerous to outline so I’ll let Florida Nursery, Growers and Panorama Affiliation (FNGLA) do it for me.
- Excessive gentle areas are inside 4 toes of enormous south, east, and west dealing with home windows.
- Medium gentle places are in a vary of 4 to eight toes from south and east home windows, and west home windows that don’t obtain direct solar.
- Low gentle areas are greater than eight toes from home windows as within the heart of a room, a hallway or an inside wall. Northern exposures typically fall into this class, even when shut to the window. Many places that obtain solely synthetic gentle are additionally low gentle conditions.
These descriptions will be additional sophisticated by timber or different obstructions which may flip an different clever sunny window into a dim one. When unsure concerning the brightness of your room, it is a protected wager to go together with any of the next favorites: Aglaonema, Sansevieria, ZZ plant, Pothos, Neanthe Bella Palm, and Dracaena.
Dracaena
Neanthe Bella Palm
Pothos
ZZ Plant
Sansevieria
Agleonema
Are you prepared for a shock? All of those beforehand talked about crops are additionally low upkeep! Meaning they aren’t finicky when it comes to water or humidity. Every of those crops need to have their potting medium dry out between waterings and could be a good starter plant.
Now let’s change over to the other facet of the houseplant spectrum and talk about what you are able to do in case you have a fabulously shiny Florida room with flooring to ceiling home windows: something you need. In case you are fortunate sufficient to have such a good setup, you principally can have your decide of the litter when it comes to houseplants. However nonetheless I need to ask, “How a lot upkeep time would you like to make investments?” Would you like to go straight for a majestic fiddle leaf fig? (Sure, you do.) Simply know it’s going to have to be babied and you will want to watch your watering like a hawk. I’m not one for prime upkeep plant infants and have discovered nice success with Spider crops, Hoyas, numerous Ficus timber, and Philodendron hybrids.
Spider Plant
Philodendron
Hoya
I even got here to consider orchids as low upkeep as soon as I understood how they develop in nature and due to this fact in what circumstances they thrive.
So, earlier than you bounce head-first into the houseplant world, my recommendation is to take into consideration these items in order that you’ll have a constructive and profitable expertise. Once you’re prepared or after getting questions, come on in! We’re keen to enable you to select some new crops.
Written by Savannah Atwell – Assistant Greenhouse Supervisor at Tallahassee Nurseries
