Whether you fill your home with a collection of plants or select just one or two specimens, houseplants provide a myriad of benefits. They can enhance your décor. They can also fulfill culinary, intellectual, and psychological needs. Houseplants can save you money. With more and more people working remotely, it is important to note that plants in the workplace can even increase employee productivity.
The beauty of the flower, foliage, color, and structure of plants is undeniable. It is fun to match the plant and its container to your interior décor, whether that is traditional, country, contemporary, modern, formal, or casual. You can find foliage or bloom in colors to compliment almost any color in your home. The plant itself can enhance an area, but combined with the careful choice of container, it can truly make the space. You can create vignettes of varied foliage as you would outside, contrasting ferny, spiky, and round-leaved plants. You can even create mixed containers using a composition of “thrillers, fillers, and spillers.” You can use the design principle of repetition to create visual impact.
Plants can evoke emotional responses. They can be bold, such as the bright orange bloom emerging from a bromeliad. They can be cute, such as the pink polka-dot plant (Hypoestes phyllostachya) and miniature African violet (https://extension.psu.edu/african-violet-care) (Saintpaulia ionantha). They can be strong, such as a three-foot cactus. They can be intriguing, such as the starfish snake plant (Dracaena angolensis var. patula ‘Boncel’), air plants (https://extension.psu.edu/tillandsia-air-plants) (Tillandsia spp.), and living stones (Lithops spp.).
Houseplants provide something living and green in the depths of winter when the ground is blanketed in snow. This can be good for your wellbeing. When you decorate for the holidays, include a new plant or two, such as amaryllis and poinsettia. Forcing bulbs, such as hyacinth or paperwhites, to bloom in February provides an indoor springtime environment, while outside you may have to wait until April.
Bringing tropical plants indoors (https://extension.psu.edu/tropical-plants-to-overwinter) to be treated as houseplants during the winter months can save you money and help you increase your collection from year to year.
Every December for the past decade, the eight-foot-tall weeping fig tree (Ficus benjamina) in my living room has been decorated with white lights and ornaments. It becomes our substitute for the traditional conifer Christmas tree. This was made necessary the first year by an allergic reaction to pollen from a cut fir tree but continues yearly to satisfy my need for tradition and to be frugal.
Some plants can also satisfy your sense of smell and touch. The aroma from brushing against a scented geranium (Pelargonium spp.) can provide a moment of calm or even joy. Varieties of scented geraniums include nutmeg, oak, pine, coconut, peppermint, orange, rose, lemon-rose, and lemon.
Some have furry leaves that are a pleasure to touch. Place one where you can delightfully brush against it. The blooms from a Meyer lemon (Citrus × meyeri ) or Key lime tree (Citrus aurantifolia) can scent an entire room, but be aware that their pollen may irritate those with allergies.
Some indoor plants can be useful in the kitchen. Snipped herbs for soup, a just-harvested lemon for fish, or lettuce leaves for your salad are all possible given a sunny window or fluorescent light. The convenience is enhanced by saving money and a trip to the grocery store. (Please note that some houseplants are poisonous. Avoid those that may harm your pets.)
Houseplants can also be a source of lifelong learning. Challenge yourself with something new this winter. Design and create a closed terrarium (https://extension.psu.edu/creating-a-closed-terrarium). Grow and learn to prune a tropical bonsai tree. Learn the proper method to propagate your houseplants and give the new starts to friends. Educate yourself about forcing bulbs. Start a collection of interesting varieties of succulents or orchids. Note that a collection of plants can be made more visually cohesive and less “busy” by being planted in containers of the same color.
Research on the psychological benefits of plants shows that in the workspace plants make employees more physically, cognitively, and emotionally involved with their work. Employee productivity was measured and increased by as much as 15%.
If this article were written a few years ago, there would be a section on how houseplants clean toxins from the air. New research has shown that using this method would be highly inefficient. For a 1500 square foot house, you would need 680 plants to achieve the same airflow as a couple of open windows.
Houseplants cannot provide their benefits if they get sick or die. You want to be successful, so follow some simple rules.
First, know the conditions where you want to place the plant and then select a plant that will do well in those conditions, just as you would for an outdoor site. The gardener’s adage of “Right Plant, Right Place” applies equally to houseplants. The plant tag should explain its requirements. The two most important conditions are the levels of light and humidity. Indoor light is considered direct where a plant can receive the sun’s rays, in front of a bright south-facing window. Succulents thrive in direct light. Indirect light levels are defined as high, medium, and low, measured in foot candles (ftc). You can provide supplemental light with a proper lamp. Plants also need varying amounts of humidity. A high humidity area, such as a bathroom, would be perfect for a fern but not a cactus. Low humidity can be raised by adding a humidifier, misting plants, grouping them together, or placing a tray nearby filled with pebbles and water.
Second, as in your outdoor garden, decide on how much time you want to spend on maintenance. Some houseplants may be very time-consuming with misting, pruning, and repotting. If you want a relatively maintenance-free choice, make a closed terrarium, or choose a tried-and-true plant. Snake plants (Dracaena spp.), pothos (Epipremnum aureum), and philodendrons (Philodendron spp.) thrive in indirect high, medium, and low light conditions and need to be watered only when the top inch or so of the soil is dry.
Finally, and most important, start with a healthy plant. Look it over carefully in the nursery, and reject it if it shows signs of disease or pests.
