In this video, This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook learns how to select houseplants for different situations from expert Carrie Kelly.
Selecting houseplants
- Many houseplants, such as lemon trees, add fragrance to a room.
- Place a lemon tree near a window in direct sunlight.
- Gardenias have beautiful flowers and lovely fragrance. To thrive, gardenias need high humidity. Mist the plant frequently and set it on tray of pebbles, then fill tray with water.
- Stephanotis and jasmine are vine houseplants that smell great and produce delicate flowers.
- Rosemary can be trained to grow vertically, and then trimmed like a Christmas tree. Rosemary leaves have a wonderful aroma, and can be picked and used in cooking.
- Paperwhites are part of the daffodil family and are very easy to grow.
- When repotting paperwhites, use a shallow dish with no drainage holes.
- Partially fill the dish with gravel or marbles.
- Press the paperwhite bulbs partway into the gravel, then add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs.
- Place the dish in a cool location (50 to 60-degrees F) until you see new growth, then move it to a warmer spot. Flowers will bloom in four to six weeks.
- Plant individual paperwhite bulbs in a small vase; don’t set the bulb directly in water.
- Houseplants, through a process called translocation, can help clean the air of toxins and pollutants.
- The eureka palm, lady palm, rubber tree, and peace lily are excellent air purifiers.
- One large houseplant can clean the air in a 100-square-foot area.
- In lowlight areas, consider growing mother-in-law’s tongue or any plant in the dracena family.
- Zamioculcas Zamifolia, commonly called the ZZ plant, tolerates very little light and requires very little water.
- Edible houseplants include sage, mint, basil, oregano, rosemary and thyme.
- Remove herb plants from plastic containers and repot them into clay pots.
Pro Tip: Chris Bell, a specialist in houseplants and tropical plants, recommends treating indoor light the same way you would in landscape design: “Sunlight, you wanna figure out where your house is oriented, the shade patterns of nearby structures and trees, same is inside, right? … You’re gonna be looking at what window is in that room. So for low light house plants, you’re gonna be talking about a north facing window or a plant that you’re gonna have oriented in your home that’s pulled back from a certain window.”
Tool
Pro Tip: To keep your houseplants healthy and maximize their air-purifying effect, This Old House Magazine recommends placing them in the shower or bath periodically and spraying the leaves with water — you can even add a bit of dishwashing liquid. If a plant is too heavy to move, wipe the leaves with a soft, damp cloth. A clean, well-watered plant is also less susceptible to pests, since most common critters — white flies, mealy bugs, and spider mites — prefer a dry environment.
Not sure how much light a spot in your home actually gets? According to This Old House Magazine, there’s a simple test: hold your hand above a piece of white paper. A crisp shadow indicates bright light; a fuzzy shadow, medium light; and a faint shadow, low light. You can supplement existing light by training a halogen fixture on a plant. Most big, leafy houseplants prefer the same temperatures we do — 70 to 80 degrees during the day and 60 to 70 at night.
