These zero or low maintenance plants do not require any special fertilizers for growth and flowering. But you can add a handful of compost like cowdung or vermicompost or any compost once 3 to 6 months.
Here’s my list of top 10 low maintenance houseplants for lazy gardeners:
12: Norfolk Island pine: Also known by many as the Christmas Tree. This is a hard to kill plant in tropical climates and needs very little care to survive. It grows well in bright indirect sunlight and also direct sun. It needs watering every other day or even less depending on the climate you live in.
11: Succulents & Cacti: Most people think succulents are hard to maintain and they die even after proper and intensive care. This is the mistake they do. They actually thrive well on neglect. They need very less frequent watering like once or max twice a week. They do well in full sunlight as well as indirect bright light depending on the type of succulent.
10: Spider Plant (or Chlorphytums): This is one of the best starter plant. Spider plants are mostly grown in hanging baskets. But they thrive in any container or any type of soil or potting mix. They grow very well in shady places with indirect bright light. They do not need daily watering. you can water on alternate days or even once or twice a week depending on the climatic conditions.
9: Peace Lily: Peace Lily is one of the most beautiful low-maintenance flowering plants you can add to your home garden. Additionally, the Peace Lily is also a good air purifier plant. This can be grown indoor or outdoors and requires bright indirect sunlight. It has beautiful shiny green leaves with creamy-white hooded flowers. You can water it on alternate days or even lesser depending on the climate.
8: Jade Plant: This is actually a succulent plant which requires very less frequent watering, like once or maximum twice a week even in summer season. This plant requires at least 2 to 3 hours of direct sunlight for proper growth, preferably morning sunlight.
7: ZZ Plant: This is another attractive ornamental plant that requires very little care. It’s a beautiful plant with glossy green leaves and also an air purifier plant. It is a drought tolerant plant and requires very less frequent watering like once or twice a week. It can be grown indoors or outdoors in shady or bright locations. It doesn’t need direct sunlight.
6: Syngonium: This is another beautiful ornamental flowering plant with an attractive foliage. This needs alternate day watering or at least weekly twice watering. It grows in indirect bright locations as well as in direct sun. If kept in direct sun, avoid hot noon sun and water it daily.
5: Snake Plant (sansevieria): These are actually true zero maintenance plants and can survive the worst of the conditions. They require very less watering and even sunlight. They adapt to any conditions and grown in dark locations as well as bright locations and also in direct harsh sunlight. They come in many beautiful varieties and colors.
4: Lucky Bamboo: This is a dracaena species and grown mostly in water. But it grows equally well in soil too. If grown in water, this is a very low maintenance plant and requires changing water once in 10 to 15 days. Its grown indoors and needs very little light.
3: Philodendrons: These are again zero maintenance plants that need very little light to grow. They can be grown indoors or outdoors in shady places. They need less frequent watering like once or twice a week.
2: Aloevera: If you can’t remember the last time you watered your plants, aloe is perfect for you. This is a succulent plant which store water in its thick fleshy leaves and can survive many days without watering. It grows indoors as well as outdoors, but can get leggy if it does not get sufficient direct sunlight.
1: Money Plant or Pothos: This is also called Devil’s ivy, because it’s a hard to kill plant and survives even the worst conditions. Pothos come in a wide variety of beautiful colors and varieties like golden pothos, marble queen, marble prince, neon and so on. They are grow indoors mostly in water as well as outdoors in bright shady locations. You can check a detailed episode on Money plant and secrets to get very large size leaves in pothos, from a link in description below.
The other low maintenance plants that need a mention are: Dieffenbachias, Umbrella tree or schefflera, Plumeria or Champa tree, Dragon tree, Rubber tree, and Pepperomias – but not variegated ones – any variegated plant needs more sunlight exposure because the pigment chlorophyll essential for photosynthesis is lesser in variegated plants.
Now I will tell you two fruit trees I have grown that need no special care except watering, sunlight and occasional handful of compost. The first one and my most favourite tree is Mulberry tree, which can also be grown in containers to bear fruits. The second one is a fig tree. Choose grafted trees if you are growing in large containers.
Plant identification is the key to successful home gardening. If you know the plant by name, you can google it’s care tips and light requirements. Too much light for these plants can result in leaf burn or even death of the plant.
Variegated species are not recommended for low light areas, as the leaves will lose their coloration. As a general rule, variegated foliage requires more sunlight than darker green foliage.
PLEASE WATCH VIDEO BELOW FOR THE LIST:
This video is a complete guide to aloe vera plant care and covers:
- Basic Information On Aloe Vera Plant
- Aloe Vera Plant Benefits
- Important Tips For Growing Aloe Vera Plant
- How Often To Water Aloe Vera
- How Much Sun Does An Aloe Vera Plant Need
- Best Potting Soil For Aloe Vera Plants
- Best Fertilizer For Aloe Vera
- Propagating Aloe Vera Plants
- BASIC INFORMATION ON ALOE VERA: Aloe vera is basically a cactus like succulent plant and this is just one of hundreds of different types of aloe plants and the most common type and commonly called medicinal aloe vera. Aloe vera is a stemless or very short-stemmed plant and can grow upto 100 cm tall. Its either grown as an ornamental plant for it beautiful look or as a medicinal plant to extract aloe vera gel from its fleshy leaves.
- ALOE VERA PLANT BENEFITS: Will not go into details of this topic. To mention a few, Most people are already very familiar with the medicinal and healing properties of aloe vera plants. These days you’ll find aloe vera gel in everything from skin and haircare products, to drinks, supplements, and food products. Another great benefit of growing aloe vera as a houseplant is that it helps to purify the air in our homes. I have discussed about NASA recommended Air purifier plants in a detailed post.
- ALOE VERA PLANT CARE TIPS: There’s really not much to it, and guess what – your aloe vera might just do better if you ignore it, Yes! they thrive on neglect. But, still there are a few things you need to do to keep your aloe vera growing and multiplying at its best. The two most important parts of aloe vera plant care are proper watering and lighting.
- HOW OFTEN TO WATER ALOE VERA? The most common mistake people make when it comes to aloe vera plant care is overwatering. In nature, aloes grow in desert climates where they hardly get any rain. Aloe vera succulent plants hold water in their leaves, so they can go a very long time without water. Overwatering will cause root rot, and eventually cause the stem of the plant to rot, eventually killing the whole plant from the bottom up. Aloe vera plants like to be watered more during the summer than the winter months. It’s best to allow the soil to dry out completely between waterings. The best method to water aloe vera is using the Finger Dip method. Dip one inch of finger into the soil to check moisture. Water it if its completely Dry. And when you water it, do it thoroughly, allowing all of the excess water to run out the bottom drainage holes. So, The Point to remember is Thorough and Infrequent watering is the Rule for Aloe vera and all succulents and cacti.
- HOW MUCH SUN DOES AN ALOE PLANT NEED? The second most important thing about aloe vera plant care is proper lighting. Aloe vera plants will grow their best when given lots of light. Outdoors, aloe vera can be grown anywhere from full sun to partial shade. They tolerate any amount of light. But its better to avoid direct noon sunlight. When it comes to shade and indoors, they generally tend to get leggy if they do not receive adequate light. They also do well under LED grow lights if grown indoors. If you don’t have enough sunlight in your home, then you should definitely get a grow light for your aloe vera. You can check details on these topics on Indoor plants here.
- BEST POTTING MIX FOR ALOE VERA PLANTS: The best soil or potting mix for aloe vera is one that drains very quickly, and doesn’t hold water. You can either use commercially available succulent and cacti mixes or you can prepare your own DIY succulent soil mix. One such recipe I use is:
- Any Good quality Garden Soil – roughly about 30 to 40 Percent.
- Sand: You can use River sand / Construction Sand and not the sea or beach sand for this which is high in sodium chloride that’s salt. The proportion to use is about 30 to 40 Percent. You can also use Coco peat or Peat moss instead of sand for aloe vera but it’s not recommended specially for succulents, because it retains moisture and some succulents have a risk of Rot.
- Gravel chips or pebbles or even Small Marble or granite Chips. This can be roughly about 10 percent.
- Compost: This is actually not required for succulents, because the natural habitats of most succulents and cacti is a desert. But still adding 10 percent of compost like vermicompost/leaf compost/cowdung powder. Also consider adding about 5 – 10 percent of Neem Cake Powder, that really effective in preventing rot from fungus and other harmful pathogens.
- Perlite + charcoal like Wood Charcoal pieces or biochar pieces: These ingredients keep the soil very loose and well aerated. Charcoal also has some antifungal properties as well to prevent root rot. All these mixed to about 10 percent can be added to the recipe.
7. FERTILIZER FOR ALOE VERA: Aloe vera plants don’t really need to be fertilized. But like most plants, they will certainly benefit from being fed once in a while, specially during their active growing season like spring through summer. I recommend using organic plant fertilizer on your aloe vera, rather than the chemical stuff – especially if you plan to harvest and use the gel. Compost like vermicompost or decomposed cow dung – a handful of it once in a month is more than sufficient for aloe vera plants. And this can also help to encourage flowers in aloe vera plants.
8. PROPAGATING ALOE VERA PLANTS: The mother Aloe vera plant will grow
offsets (a.k.a aloe vera pups) around the base of the plant, and these babies
can be carefully removed from the mother plant and potted up on their own to
create a new plant. It’s as easy as that! But how do you encourage production
of more babies or offsets from mother plant? Simple trick or solution to this
is using a wide container for growing the future mother plant. Plant this at
the center of this containers and you should see a lot of offsets coming soon. Aloe
vera roots do not grow too deep and hence shallow wider containers are
preferred when you are repotting.
You can also grow aloe vera from seeds. The mature aloe plant produces
flowering once in a while. This mother plant produces once in a year. But your
need to provide full sunlight to induce flowering. You can collect its seeds
pods and grow new aloe plants from these seeds.
Can you grow aloe vera from a single leaf or leaf cuttings? I have tried this many times but was completely unsuccessful. Let me know in the comment box below if you have rooted an aloe vera from a leaf.
Let’s start discussing on Indoor Farming or Indoor Gardening in simple Q and A format to keep this episode interesting.
- What is Indoor Gardening or Indoor Plantation?
It simply means growing plants indoors. This might be at a residential home or an office building or any other enclosed area.
- What are the Types of Indoor Gardening?
Indoor gardening can be
a. Container gardening which is the most common and the simplest type,
b. Hydroponic gardening which is growing plants in water using various techniques,
c. environment agriculture,
d. vertical farming and more. We will discuss these later in various posts of this series.
- What are the basic components of Indoor Gardening?
The Three basic components or requirements are:
a. Water or moisture,
b. Growing Medium like potting mix for container gardening.
b. Light Source which can be natural light or a Plant Grow lights like LED grow lights.
c. Plant Support as they grow. We will discuss these in detail in next post.
- What are the benefits of Indoor Gardening?
- Grow anything anytime! Yes, you can grow anything at anytime of the year using indoor gardening. This is really important for those countries and zones which receive very less hours of sunlight. Owing to recent technological advancements, especially the usage of LED grow lights, indoor gardening has become pretty convenient and you can grow any type of flower, food and any ornamental plant, regardless of the weather and the time of the year.
- Air Purifying Plants: As we all know, plants take in carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, while the human body does exactly complete opposite. Having plants in and around your house will drastically improve the quality of air you breathe. Many air purifier plants filter the air around the plants and absorb toxic gases such as benzene and formaldehyde. You can check a detailed video on NASA recommended air purifying plant list from HERE.
- Grow Fresh Herbs and Vegetables organically for you Kitchen. This I feel, is the most important benefit. I understand, this may not be so easy practically as it sounds. Though not indoors, I have always recommended organic vegetable gardening in your home or terrace in containers.
In our next post, we will discuss on the principles of indoor gardening and things you need to set up a basic indoor garden.
Happy Gardening!
We must know the importance of identifying a plant and its family. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, this information is crucial for proper care and management of a plant. And Misidentification of a plant can sometimes bring potentially serious consequences and might even lead to death of a plant.
PictureThis – An Android and iOS App that claims accuracy of upto 90% ! You can download and install this app from Android playstore or from iOS app store from link below:
https://picturethisai.onelink.me/AYRN/4f297c08
The Advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deep learning
technology of PictureThis App can quickly scan the plant and recognize the
plant almost instantly within seconds. This is so important specially, if you
are visiting a nursery to purchase some plants for your home and garden. I have
discussed these nursery buying tips in a detailed video, you can check that
link at the end screen of this video.
Well, This app not only identifies the plant but also provide more details
about the plant like the Care tips, its genus or family, planting time, bloom
time, watering and sunlight requirement and many other details which are very
useful for any gardener. It also displays a gallery of additional images and
videos of the plant and maintains a record of your Collected Plants for future
reference.
It also has other advanced features like locating the identified plant distribution on google map. Then it also has a Community tab to learn by discussion and sharing of plant pics and tips. And moreover, they have exclusive support and care for their members.
Having said that, now let’s start testing this app and find out its accuracy. We will test few plants and give 2 points for each successful identification and finally calculate its accuracy as a percentage.
Let’s Begin the test – Watch Video below:
- Coleus: + 2 points!
- Hibiscus: + 2 points!
- Garden Rose: +1 point!
- Ficus Benjamina or Weeping Fig: + 2 points!
- Sanseviera or the Snake Plant: + 2 points!
- Anthurium Plant: + 2 points!
- Kalanchoe Thyrsiflora: 0 points!
- Donkey’s Tail – Sedum Plant: + 2 points!
- Mother of Thousands: + 2 points!
- Euphorbia Mili or Christ Thorn: + 2 points!
- Poinsettia: +2 Points.
- Rubber Plant: + 2 points!
- Vinca or Periwinkle: + 2 points!
- Plumeria or Nag Champa: + 2 points!
- Kalanchoe Variety: + 2 points!
So, Now lets Total our Results. We got 27 points out of 30. That means an accuracy is 90 %. That’s really awesome for any Artificial Intelligence software or an app.
Download LINK- https://picturethisai.onelink.me/AYRN/4f297c08
In this post
we will try to simplify plant identification and will make an attempt to
classify and identify about 100 common house plants and quickly know their important
care tips – like watering and sunlight requirement. Of course these
requirements vary depending on the zone you live in. Please watch each of the plants carefully for
identification whether or not you possess them, because this knowledge will
certainly help you when you visit a plant nursery to purchase a plant.
We will try to make this post as short and concise as possible along with a
video at the end for you to identify common house plants easily. And you can
find detailed videos and articles on most of these plants on website.
Let’s Classify Common House plants as:
- Ferns
- Vines, Creepers and Climbers
- Small Trees
- Ornamental Plants
- Succulents and Cactii.
- Flowering and Fruiting Plants.
- FERNS
1. Asparagus Fern
Level: Easy
Indoor: Difficult
Sunlight: Avoid direct Noon sun, Indirect Light/Shade: Yes
Watering: Daily or Alternate Days (Finger Dip to Check)
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
2. Fox Tail Fern
Level: Easy
Indoor: Difficult
Sunlight: Avoid direct Noon sun, Indirect Sunlight/Shade: Yes
Watering: Daily or Alternate Days (Finger Dip to Check)
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
3. Boston Fern
Level: Easy
Indoor: Difficult
Sunlight: Indirect Light/Shade: Yes
Watering: Daily (Finger Dip to Check)
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- VINES,
CREEPERS AND CLIMBERS
- Philodendrons
Level: Easy
Indoor: Yes
Sunlight: Indirect Sunlight/Shade: Yes
Watering: Daily or alternate days (Finger Dip to Check)
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Money Plant / Pothos
Level: Very Easy
Indoor: Yes
Sunlight: Indirect Light/Shade: Yes
Watering: Grown in Water or Soil.
Fertilizer: None / Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Pepperomias and Hoyas
Level: Easy
Indoor: Possible
Sunlight: Direct or Indirect Light/Shade: Yes
Watering: Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Wandering Jew
Level: Very Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Indirect Light/Shade: Yes
Watering: Daily or Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: None / Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Bougainvillea
Level: Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sunlight at least 4 Hours.
Watering: Daily or Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Once in a month.
- Alamanda
Level: Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sunlight at least 4-6 Hours.
Watering: Daily or Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Once in a month.
- Scarlet clock vine
Level: Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sunlight at least 4-6 Hours.
Watering: Daily or Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Once in a month.
- Betel Vine (Edible Paan)
Level: Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Indirect Sunlight or Early Sun.
Watering: Daily.
Fertilizer: Once in 3 months (Nitrogen rich).
- Ajwain Plant
Level: Easy
Indoor: Possible
Sunlight: Direct or Indirect Light/Shade: Yes
Watering: Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- SMALL
TREES & SHRUBS
- Ficus (All Types)
Level: Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Early Sun.
Watering: Daily or alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Norfolk Island Pine (Christmas Tree)
Level: Moderate
Indoor: Possible
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Shade-net.
Watering: Daily or alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Juniper (Cypress)
Level: Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sun, Shade-net, Avoid Noon Sun.
Watering: Daily or alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Schefflera (Umbrella Tree)
Level: Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Shade-net.
Watering: Daily or alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Plumeria (Champa)
Level: Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sunlight at least 4-6 Hours.
Watering: Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Once in a month.
- Oleander (Kaner)
Level: Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sunlight at least 4-6 Hours.
Watering: Daily or Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Once in a month.
- Euphorbia Mili (Christ plant /
Crown of Thorns)
Level: Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sunlight at least 4-6 Hours.
Watering: Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Once in a month.
- Neem Tree
Level: Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct or Indirect Bright Light
Watering: Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Dragon Tree (Dracaena Marginata)
Level: Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct or Indirect Bright Light
Watering: Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Song of India
Level: Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct or Indirect Bright Light
Watering: Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Palms (Areca palm, Table or
Umbrella Palm)
Level: Easy
Indoor: Possible
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Shade-net.
Watering: Daily or alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Crotons
Level: Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct or Indirect Bright Light
Watering: Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- COPPERLEAF (acalypha wilkesiana)
Level: Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct or Indirect Bright Light
Watering: Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- ORNAMENTAL
PLANTS
- Coleus
Level: Easy
Indoor: Yes
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Shade-net
Watering: Daily or alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Sanchezia
Level: Easy
Indoor: Yes
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Shade-net.
Watering: Daily or alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- SYNGONIUM (arrow head)
Level: Easy
Indoor: Yes
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Shade.
Watering: Daily or alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Baby Tears Plant
Level: Easy
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Shade.
Watering: Daily or alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- AMARYLLIS
Level: Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sun light or Shade-net
Watering: Alternate days.
Fertilizer: once a month in growing season
- Spider Lilly
Level: Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sun light or Shade-net
Watering: Alternate days.
Fertilizer: once a month in growing season
- Rain Lily
Level: Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sun light or Shade-net
Watering: Alternate days.
Fertilizer: once a month in growing season
- Tube Rose (Rajnigandha)
Level: Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sun light or Shade-net
Watering: Alternate days.
Fertilizer: once a month in growing season
- Anthurium
Level: Moderate
Indoor: Yes
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Shade.
Watering: Alternate days.
Fertilizer: once in 1 or 2 months
- Peace lily
Level: Moderate
Indoor: Yes
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Shade.
Watering: Alternate days.
Fertilizer: once in 1 or 2 months
- Calatheas
Level: Easy
Indoor: Yes
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Shade.
Watering: Alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Dieffenbachia
Level: Easy
Indoor: Yes
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Shade.
Watering: Alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Spider Plant (Chlorophytum)
Level: Easy
Indoor: Yes
Sunlight: Indirect Bright light or Shade.
Watering: Alternate days.
Fertilizer: None or Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Adenium (Desert Rose)
Level: Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sunlight / Shade-net.
Watering: Weekly Twice.
Fertilizer: Once monthly
- Jatropha
Level: Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sun light or Shade-net
Watering: Alternate days.
Fertilizer: once a month
- Lucky Bamboo
Level: Easy
Indoor: Yes
Sunlight: Indirect sunlight or Shade
Watering: In Water or Daily Watering in Soil.
Fertilizer: none
- Insulin Plant
Level: Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct or Indirect Sun light or Shade-net
Watering: Alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- Poinsettia
Level: Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Indirect Sun light or Shade-net
Watering: Alternate days.
Fertilizer: Occasional (once in 3 to 6 months)
- SUCCULENTS
& CACTII
- Common Care Tips
Level: Moderate to Difficult
Indoor: Yes
Sunlight: Indirect Sunlight / Shade / Shade-net.
Watering: Weekly Twice or Thrice.
Fertilizer: Once 3 months.
Jade
Plant (Crassula), Crassula Ovata, Ecchiverias, Flowering Kalanchoes, Kalanchoe
Thyrsiflora, Mother of Thousands, Sedums, Sedum Adolphi (Golden Sedum), Fish-bone Cactus, String of Bananas, Donkey’s
Tail – Sedum morganianum, Snake
Plants (Sanseivera), Aloe Vera, Haworthias, Haworthia Zebrina, Gasteria, Pencil Cactus, Baby Sunrose,
Portulaca,
Cactus Types
- FLOWERING
& FRUITING
Common Care Tips
Level: Easy to Moderate
Indoor: No
Sunlight: Direct Sunlight at least 4 to 6 Hours.
Watering: Daily or Alternate Days.
Fertilizer: At least Once in a month.
- Hibiscus ( All Types)
- Rose
- Ixora
- Vinca (Periwinkle)
- Marigold
- Lemon
- Pomegranut
- Chickoo
- Custard Apple
- Guava
- What are indoor plants?
Indoor plants are simply the plants that can be grown indoors or in other words they can be grown in low light conditions. - How do you Purchase Indoor Plants? Best place to buy indoor plants is from your local nursery or gardening store. Buy Online only if they deliver within 3 days of purchase, otherwise the plant may not survive. There are a few things you need to check before purchase, like the root system whenever possible. I know they generally do not allow this! But You can also check the leaves for its overall health. Generally, the thicker the leaves, the more resistant the plant is for pest attacks. Also check thoroughly for pests by closing examining the plant. Because this can infect your other house plants. You can watch my related video on 10 tips to remember when you purchase a plant from nursery or online.
- Do I Need to Repot After I Bring it Home? Firstly if its come with its own container, leave it without disturbing for 3 to 4 days or atleast a week for it to settle to its new environment. Then if the container is large enough for the size of the plant and the potting mix used looks good and well draining, you better leave it as it is for few more days or atleast a month. If it looks root bound and roots coming out of drainage holes, its time to repot into a larger container of your choice. We will discuss on the Indoor Plant Potting mix later.
- How much light do indoor plants need? Well this is perhaps the most important factor and depends on the plant you are choosing to grow. But one point to note here is every plant requires light for photosynthesis, whether its natural sunlight or artificial grow lights, Whether direct sunlight or Indirect light like in a shady place. There are many plants which can tolerate low light conditions which we shall discuss shortly. But there is no plant which can survive in complete darkness.
- Now Which plants can do well in low light conditions? Yes some plants can grow well in low light conditions. The best examples are Philodendrons, Money plants, Peace lily, Dracaenas and even Sanseviera or the snake plants and most of these are air purifying plants as well.
- Now Which plants are very easy to grow indoors with very little care? Obviously the ones which require low light will do well in any conditions and are easy to grow. Sanseviera or the snake plants tops this list.
- How do you care for indoor plants? Here are some tips you can follow that will help you a lot to grow indoor plants: SOIL: Keep Soil Composition simple. Just take 1 part Perlite, 1 Part Cocopeat and 1 Part Compost. Generally you do not use garden soil for indoors plants. But its upto you to alter this composition. I think It hardly makes any difference. Most of these are ornamental plants and are slow growing and mostly do not require regular fertilizers.
So the Tips to Follow are: Keep the Soil Moist. One important point to note here is these are kept indoor and not in direct sunlight, hence the rate of water evaporation is very less and so the water requirement is less. And they do not require daily watering. Best way is to dip you finger into the soil for about an inch and check the moisture, and water only if its dry or if you see the plants leaves are wilting.
The other important Tips are: Always check the drainage holes are patent.
Also know your plant by its name so that you know the plant specific care tips and Dos and Donts for that particular plant.
- What are some of the common reasons indoor plants die? 1. Overwatering or underwatering and 2. Light Levels (either not enough light which his most common problem and also if too much light or under direct sunlight which is also common if you place an indoor plant under the sunlight and burn it, out of ignorance.
- How do you prune indoor plants?
Do you really need to do it? Well, If you have no reason to prune it, don’t do it. But, if you notice your plant growing tall and out of shape, you can carefully prune them. - Do I Fertilizer My Indoor Plants? Well, it depends on the type of plant. If its comes to Oranmental plants like agalonema or palms or succulents, they require very little feeds like once in about 2 to 3 months you can add few slow release NPK crystals or a handful of compost to the container. And if you are growing Flowering plants like Orchids, they definitely need a special fertilizer regularly.
- What About Pest Control in Indoor Plants? Yes they also need to be take care of by regularly spraying a mild pesticide spray like a plain soapy solution or mixing about 5ml neem oil in water with some 10 drops of liquid soap or shampoo into 1 litre of water. Once in 15 days maintenance spray is recommended to keep them pest free. Or weekly once if they are already infested.
- My Plant leaves are Turning Yellow or edges are becoming dry and brown? Well this can be due to under or overwatering. This topic is discussed in details in other videos in my channel on Leaf yellowing and leaf browning topics. You can check it HERE.