Article and Photos by Evin Morrison, Extension Master Gardener
This time of year, I start to think about the garden, warmer days, digging in the soil, and all the colors that will fill the garden in a few short months. The planning, garden mapping, and seed starting begins to fill my free time, but it only scratches the surface of the gardener’s itch. If this sounds like you, the next time you head to the garden center for seed starting soil or a few fresh packets of seeds, give yourself permission to venture over to the houseplant section. Maybe you will find a new plant that interests you, and I promise it will help tide you over until we can all get back out in the garden. But before you dive in fully, here are a few tips for bringing home a plant and making the best selection to set yourself up for success.
Plan Ahead (at least a little bit)
It’s so easy to pick up a plant on a whim just because it looks nice and lush in the store, but setting yourself up for success means having a little bit of a plan before you even enter the houseplant section. The most important thing to know before you pick out a new plant is the light requirement in your space. Which direction do the windows face? Is the room brightest in the morning or the afternoon? That tree isn’t blocking out the sun right now, but will it shade out this whole corner come summer?
If you want to get really into it, you can use the compass app on your phone. The general rule, barring any obstructions, is that southern-facing windows get the brightest, most intense light, followed by western, then eastern, and finally northern windows bringing in the softest morning sun.
If you can get the light requirements right for the plant, you are already on a great path to success. Light is the most important aspect to plan for when you decide to pick up a plant. Water, humidity, soil, and fertilizer are all fairly easy to adjust, but there’s very little you can do about the natural light in your home.
Read the Plant Tag
This step is prefaced with the sad fact that not all plant tags are created equal. If you pick up a tag and the name given is “fancy houseplant” then I recommend turning to the internet for the info you need.
However, most plant tags are a great place to get basic knowledge when you’re in the store. Use the specifications that seem to fit you and your space best. Find a plant with a light requirement that matches the light you have. Succulents are a great option if you have a bright sunny window. Philodendrons, pothos, and Syngoniums will thrive in rooms with good ambient light. And snake plants and ZZ plants are good options for lower light rooms. All these plants are easy to care for and great first plants for beginner indoor gardeners.
Additionally, check the water requirements. If you have a super busy schedule, maybe leave behind the plants with tags indicating high-maintenance water needs like maidenhair ferns. ZZ plants and snake plants only need to be watered once every few weeks and might be a better option.
When you get home, keep the plant tag with the plant. That way you will always have the information and hopefully the scientific name to reach for if you want to do further research.
Give it a Once Over
So you’ve picked the plant that fits your space, you’ve read the tag, and you’re ready to head for the checkout … pump the brakes and take a few minutes to kick the tires.
No matter how hard the stores try, plants come in from all over the world, and can come in contact with other infested plants — once they end up on the shelves, all sorts of things can be waiting in the wings to sabotage your successful houseplant journey. It’s always important to do a quick three-part check before committing to buying a plant.
Step One:
Check the soil. Unless the plants just got watered don’t buy a plant that is sopping wet. Taking home a plant that is severely overwatered increases the chances of dealing with root rot from the very beginning. On the flip side, if the soil is hard and bone dry, it’s probably best to leave those on the shelf, as well. When roots dry out in the soil they die, and those pieces have a higher chance of rotting when the soil is watered again. Instead, use the Goldilocks method and find a plant that has moist fluffy soil. You can take the plant home and once the top few inches of soil dry out you can give it another drink.
Step Two:
Look at the roots. Lift the plant up to see if there are roots coming out of the bottom. If there are, you’re going to need to repot this plant soon. Roots poking out of drainage holes of a nursery plant is usually a good sign that the plant is pot bound. If you are planning to repot your new houseplant immediately, then you’ll need to purchase a pot that is about 2” larger than the one it’s currently living in. If you can, carefully lift the plant from the nursery pot just enough to see the roots. Healthy roots will be a white or light green, creamy color. If you see anything slimy that’s more of a brown or black color, the roots are not healthy, and you should check for a specimen with a fresher root system.
Step Three:
Get up close to the foliage. Most of the pests that can ruin your chances of a healthy plant can be found on the leaves. Make sure you don’t see anything creepy or crawly making your new plant its home. Check the bases of the leaves and in between crevices made by petioles for small webbing, it’s a sure sign of a very common houseplant pest — spider mites. If you see white cottony specks that seem to just stick to the leaf, you’ve found mealybugs. Both pests can be controlled once you get the plant home, and they aren’t a death sentence, but treating for pests can be a headache. It’s much better to find a plant that is healthy and pest free.
Future Proofing
That plant might be a great addition to your home right now, but are you sure you’re going to love it the same in a few months? A year? To avoid wasting money on a plant that you won’t enjoy having in your home for years to come there are two things to keep in mind.
Firstly, don’t buy a plant based on its blooms. Those flowers are lovely now, they will brighten up your space, and they may have a nice scent, but flowers fade. No matter how you care for a plant the flowers will never last forever. So, before you bring it home, check the plant’s foliage and see if you like it enough to look at for the majority of the time. Most houseplants will rebloom, but outside of the ideal greenhouse conditions that your plant was living in before coming to the store, it can be a tough process to encourage new blossoms. For orchids, most only bloom once a year, so once the flower spike fades, you’ll be waiting quite a while for a new one to emerge. If you’re looking for a plant that will offer year-round color, you should probably investigate faux plants.
Secondly, happy and healthy plants grow. No plant was ever meant to live inside in our confined spaces. Some of the plants that can grow inside have the ability to get very large, very fast. Fiddleleaf figs can quickly outgrow your ceiling height if they are in a happy location, and monstera leaves can get so large they can block out the light from your windows that your other plants need. Not to mention the ongoing cost to purchase larger and larger pots that might not fit in the living room after a few years. Growing plants to be this large can be really fun, but eventually they can take over your space and cause a headache. So before you bring them home, look up what mature specimens look like. If it seems too big for the room, pick something that won’t take over. You can also make sure that the species you want is a good candidate for propagating. If it is, you can plan to prune and propagate the pieces if it ever gets too unruly.
Bringing home a new plant this time of year can be a fun way to bridge the gap until spring arrives, but going in with a plan will save you time and money. And be careful, once you bring one houseplant home, it’s hard to stop!
Bonus:
Great Houseplants for Beginners:
- Snake plants: These vertical plants are architectural and thrive on neglect. If you want low maintenance, look no further.
- Pothos: These vining plants make great décor. Keep them well-watered and they will grow faster than most. Also, a great candidate for propagating as the cut pieces will quickly root in water.
- Succulents: Perfect for a bright window. Can go longer between watering than tropical houseplants, but don’t let the internet fool you, they do need to be watered!
Houseplants to Avoid as a Beginner:
- Ferns: Any and all ferns should be avoided unless they are plastic. Watering and humidity needs for ferns can be really hard to get right when you’re first starting out with houseplants. If you have a well-lit bathroom and really want to give a fern a chance, try a bird’s nest fern or rabbit’s foot fern, as they are usually a little easier to care for.
- Fiddle leaf figs: These indoor trees need a lot more light and humidity than most care guides let on. Many plants in the Ficus family, like this one, have a tendency to shock when moved to a new location and will drop a lot of their leaves, leaving you with bare branches.
- Rare and expensive plants: It’s exciting to collect “rare” and hard-to-get houseplants. The market expanded over the last few years, but get your feet wet with cheaper plants so your care mistakes (we all have them) aren’t made on pricey plants, but rather on ones that are easily replaced.