Top 10 Houseplants & Care

Houseplants are a great way to bring the outdoors inside during the cold winter months. Green thumb or not, apartment or three story house, no matter your situation there are certain to be many options that will well suit your needs. Many people have the misconception that houseplant care can be a daunting and somewhat frustrating task that may not produce the desired results. Rest assured! Houseplant care is just as easy as any other type of plant; all you need is a little know-how.

When shopping for houseplants there are two important things to keep in mind: the lighting where the plant is to be placed and watering requirements of the plant. Let’s start with lighting: one of the most important ways to succeed is to make sure you have the proper lighting. There are three categories of lighting: low light, medium light and, of course, high light.

Low light is very easy to determine; this is a very dark room with little or no windows. A good way to determine low light is to look for shadows that aren’t cast by lamps, etc. If there are no shadows in your room, you probably have a low light situation. Another good indication of low light is not being able to read your favorite book or paper without turning on a light. Thus, indicating low light.

Medium light is a little more tricky. In a medium light room, there will be shadows, but they will be somewhat faint. Also, you may be able to read in a room with medium light (without turning on a light) but you may find that your eyes are somewhat strained.

Finally, high light (much like low light) is very easy to determine. Obviously, a room with a lot of windows is a high light room. There will be strong shadows and it will be very easy to read in this room without artificial lighting.

Another way to yield positive results is to follow a proper watering schedule. Not all plants have the same water requirements, so ask a Fairview associate what the specific water requirements are for your plant. Most plants can use the following formula: Fill a cup with water; water the plant one cup at a time, giving the water time to reach the bottom of the container; repeat until water drains into the saucer. Subtract the amount in the saucer from the total amount of water applied, thus giving you the amount of water needed to water your plant thoroughly.

How often you should water can depend on the time of year, location of the plant and the water requirements for that specific plant. As a general rule, you should inspect your plants every two to three days in the summer and once a week in the winter. A good test is to insert your index finger approximately one inch into the soil (for larger pots, go deeper). If it feels dry, it is time to water again.





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