AJB Gardens

Easy Care House Plants

Choosing the right plants is the key to success for beginners. You probably don’t want to start right off with Orchids or other tricky plants like that. Here are a few plants that you should be able to grow with beautiful results. You may just find that once you have had a little success, you just can’t resist beautifying your house with more.

A Few Key Tips

It really isn’t hard to grow beautiful house plants. If you keep the basics in mind, your plants will thrive. Plants have few requirements: water, light, fertiliser and a good pot. If you place the right plants in the right spots, you will be rewarded with lovely greenery.

Peace Lily

This is a very common house plant for beginners. It has very many dark green, sword shaped leaves which grow out from the soil. As your plant thrives, it will fill up the entire pot.  A Peace Lily is also called a Spathiphyllum. It will occasionally produce white flowers, or Spathes.

Peace Lilies are easy plants to grow. They require low light and are not fussy. You may be able to grow a Peace Lily in a bright spot which is not near a window. I have mine about six feet from an east window and it does very well. They will not like to be in a south facing window, however. It is way too bright and they will burn.

Keep your Peace Lilly somewhat moist, but do not over water it. That is the leading cause of death of houseplants. If in doubt, do not water. The Peace Lily will get a little droopy when it is dry. Generally, you will want to water it when the top of the soil feels pretty dry. You can add in some all purpose fertiliser at half strength every time you water.

You will know your Peace Lily is truly thriving when it starts to flower. It will put up green spathes which turn white. They are quite lovely and resemble Calla Lilies. If you don’t get any flowers from your Peace Lily, try moving it to a location with a little more light. You might have more success.

Snake plant 

Another easy to grow plant is the Snake Plant. These are hard to kill, except with over watering. Again, the rule is that when in doubt, wait to water. The top of the soil should feel fairly dry.

The Snake Plant is also called the Mother-in-Law’s tongue, as it has long sword shaped leaves with pointy tips. The leaves will emerge directly from the soil and the plant will multiply to fill the pot.

Keep Snake Plants in low light areas, similar to the Peace Lily. You can have them a few feet away from a window. A north facing window may not get as much light, so it’s best to put them right in the window. Keep them further away from south facing windows as they do not like this much light.

Again, some diluted fertiliser every time you water will help your plant thrive. Try taking a break from it now and then in the winter months.

Dieffenbachia

Dieffenbachia are lovely plants. There are many varieties and they are easy to grow. The usually have long oval shaped leaves and may be variegated. If you have pets or small children, be careful. These plants can be poisonous. They are also called Dumb Cane. If they are ingested, they release toxins which may cause altered behaviour and throat swelling. This can even lead to death.

Dieffenbachia are low to medium light loving plants. They will do fine in almost any window. If they are in a South facing window, make sure they get sun which is filtered, such as through a sheer curtain. They will burn if they get too much sunlight.

I have seen dieffenbachia grow to ten feet tall over time with great growing conditions. However, most are much smaller. With a little care, your Dieffenbachia will thrive too.  Again, do not over water it and give it some diluted fertiliser. It will reward your for years to come.

Spider Plant

One last house plant that is good for beginners and easy to grow is the Spider Plant.  The Spider Plant looks lovely as a hanging plant and is easy to care for and propagate.  It will send off long shoots with little plantlets which can be rooted and grown as new plants.

Spider plants will like more light than any of the others I have mentioned so far. If you must put them in a South facing window, be sure to shield them by filtering the sun with a sheer curtain.  Otherwise the plant will become very light green and may die.  This is a sign that your plant is getting too much light.

A west or east facing window is probably a good spot for a Spider Plant. If yours is in a hanging basket, it will look great hanging in the window. Again, water carefully and don’t over water. You will soon have a bushy plant with long narrow variegated leaves.

Get Growing

So, if you have gotten a new plant, or have always admired someone else’s green thumb, give these easy to grow house plants a try. You might just find out that you have the knack and can grow beautiful plants. Good luck!