On the blog today… my Top 5 house plants! Where would we be without our houseplants?! They allow us to bring the outdoors in, fill our shelves and corners of our home with beautiful green leaves! We nurture them, we watch them grow, we get excited when a new leaf pops up… we sing to them (or is this just crazy plant owner status!?) As studies show house plants are not only beneficial for our mental health, but also our physical health (you can read more in my previous post here!) And they are amazing at cleaning and filtering our air!
Keeping all these factors in mind, I am going to list my Top 5 house plants. The must haves, the easy to grow, the most beneficial to the air, and of course the most beautiful!
Monstera:
Also know as the Swiss Cheese Plant, originating from the Mexican and Colombian forests! Monstera are very easy to look after and are one of the hardiest house plants around! They enjoy large amounts of dappled sunlight, but not full direct sunlight. Water once a week during the warm months and 2.3 times during the cooler winter months. They also appreciate regular misting due to their tropical heritage
Pilea:
Also known as Chinese Money Plant, Pileas are partial to a shady spot and grow well on a windowsill in the winter. Do not place the leaves in direct sunlight and water once a week, possible more in the summer months. Pilea’s regularly grow tiny babies, that you can repot into a fresh pot of soil, and watch grow into further plants. You can really get your money’s worth out of this plant!
Devil’s Ivy:
Devil’s Ivy range from trailing beauties, which can sit on any shelf or hang from the ceiling and provide green in those awkward spots! Or this tall devil’s ivy grown up a moss pole, which provides taller decoration in the corner of the room. They have glossy green leaves and are one of the best air filtering plants available! They are low maintenance and is a great way of offering height and interest to a room through its tropical foliage. Keep the soil moist at all times, but do not over water!
Ferns:
Ferns are in my top 5 house plants for a reason! They come in so many different varieties from the leafy green boston and maidenhair ferns which are lush, vibrant ferns! The Boston Fern enjoys being in good indirect sunlight. Keep the compost damp at al times, however make sure you do not leave the fern in soggy compost. This plant loves a humid environment so mist regularly, perfect for a bathroom!
Ferns also range into the muted grey/blue tones like this plebedium fern. Like most ferns the Phlebodium Blue Star fern require low lighting and will not appreciate any direct sun. Water the plant from the edges of the pot, and mist the ferns regularly to be keep the leaves looking happy and retain their beautiful blue colour!
Calathea:
Calathea’s are a versatile plant and come in so many varieties! The common name is prayer plant, because its leaves fold up together at night, and then unfurl in the morning so they can collect the light throughout the day. Isn’t nature amazing! Native to Brazilian rainforests, these plants indoors will like a medium level of light, but not direct sunlight. Do not overwater and water when the top layer of soil feels dry. These beauties come in a range of beautiful colours and stripy designs from Calthea Orbiflolia (my favourite!) to the pale pink stripy Calethea Ornata and the Calathea Zebrina, which has bright green and darker green stripy leaves. A must for each household and definitely in my Top 5 house plants. I have a lot more than 5 in my house that’s for sure!!
You can find all of my top 5 house plants in the online shop here, with a huge selection of plant pots too so you can find the perfect pot to fit your plant! Not as easy as it sounds, we have made sure our exclusive plant pot selection fits the plants we sell. We can also deliver house plants in Bristol and North Devon too and they can be collected from our Paintworks studio also.