Five things to consider when choosing houseplants

Bringing houseplants into your home can be a daunting process, especially if you are inexperienced or think you have a “black” thumb. I have found that a little bit of thought beforehand and a little research can go a long way towards helping you make a choice about what plants to bring home, if any at all. Below are five things you should consider before buying and rehoming real plants.
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My vibrant colored bromeliad guzmania. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2021.

Maintenance

First things first…Do you have a green thumb? Do you“over mother” (over water) plants? Or do you forget about them until they wilt? Do you even have time to care for real plants? 

There are low maintenance plants to choose from—such as cacti, aloe plants, peace lilies—so with a little research you may well be able to find just the right real plant for your lifestyle. Real plants will need watering—some more than others—and usually some type of occasional pruning and repotting. For example, herbs need to be moist, as do fern plants, so keep them moist (I have killed ferns in the past due to under watering). On the other hand, cacti, snake plants, and aloe do not need a lot of water so you can be a little lazier with their care! Make sure to follow the light and water directions on the plants you buy, and give them the proper “home” with appropriate soil and pots. Just like people thrive in the right spaces, so too do plants! So choose their “house” wisely. Remember Form Follows Function. Having said that, the pot style should fit the room decor as well. 

Always choose plants according to how much time, effort, and experience you have and be realistic.
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My baby aloe plant. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2021.

Natural light

The second most important aspect of your decision making should be establishing your areas of natural light. Ask yourself: Where is the natural light coming from and at what times of day? Do you have a North facing window, which gets less direct light? Or do you have a South facing window, which gets a lot of direct light? Which window has the most direct sunlight? Which of your plants need direct light, and which would prefer indirect light? 

For example, aloe and jade plants must have bright light but not necessarily direct light, so they are more at home in windows that don’t necessarily get direct sunlight. Parlor palms can thrive in spaces with lower natural light levels, and don’t tolerate direct light at all. Put herb plants on a windowsill with direct light, however, and they will thrive!

It pays dividends to do your research about the plants you want to buy to learn about their lighting needs and then assess your space to determine if you have the right environment for the plants you want. The good news is there are plenty of plant types out there for any lighting needs—even little to no natural light (although I would caution buying plants if you have no natural light, unless you have grow lights).
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My Money Tree. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2021.

Sleek bromeliad leaves. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2021.

Decor style

Plants can enhance decor and tie spaces together, the greenery becoming the common denominator that ties everything together. Just like any other interior accessory, the pot and plant style can be a lovely addition to your space enhancing and breathing life—literally—into the overall style of the space. You can take your room styling up a notch by choosing pots that not only work well with the plant but with the room’s decor. It’s been my experience that plants do better in groups, so if you have the space give them some friends to keep them company! (Sounds weird, but it works!) Choose a variety of colors and textures in your plants to create depth and visual interest, and then coordinate with the pots and overall room decor. The right placement of your plants will also maximize the visual impact and create opportunities for visual exploration.
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My baby elephant ears succulent. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2021.

Safety

Another issue you will have to consider when buying houseplants is safety. If you have children or pets they may get it into their heads to “snack” on your plants, so if that is an issue you may want to avoid certain plants or “go faux”. Unfortunately, quite a lot of house plants are at least mildly toxic to pets and children, and there are a few that are very toxic and should be avoided. The good news is that it just takes a quick Google search to find out the toxicity of a particular plant, so you can easily assess what plants you need to avoid using in your space.

For example, Philodendrons, jade plants, umbrella plants, fig leaf trees, Chinese Evergreens (Aglaonema), and Swiss cheese plants are toxic. Money trees, parlor palms, and spider plants, on the other hand, are relatively safe. Just remember, if safety is a concern, make sure to do your research first!
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Ficus bonsai leaves. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2021.

Chinese Evergreen foliage. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2021.

​Space

At first glance, this may seem like an obvious question, but remember plants grow—some faster (and bigger) than others—so you really do need to look at your available horizontal and vertical space to get an idea of what you can realistically fit into your space.

​If you have a quite a lot of horizontal space at your disposal you can go wild with a wide range of large, medium and small plants, including floor plants. If your space is limited, fewer and smaller plants may be the order of the day. Many plants will remain relatively small, especially when kept in smaller pots, but certain houseplants—like the Swiss Cheese plant—can get quite large and need both horizontal AND vertical space to spread out. Succulents, on the other hand are mostly small and confined and can fit into even the tiniest of spaces.

If you have vertical space available, a taller floor plant, indoor tree, or even a hanging plant may do well in your space. Tree plants like fruit and fig trees are good fillers for that empty floor space. Parlor palms can grow tall as well (3-4 ft tall). Bamboo plants tend to grow tall, but can be cut back (giving you the opportunity to use the cuttings to propagate new plants—but that’s another blog!). Some plants—like the Pony tail palm and Money tree—start out small and grow very large, but they grow very slowly, which gives you time to make more space. Philodendrons and other “viny” plants will spill out and ramble all over if they are thriving and will eventually take up a lot of room, but like lucky bamboo plants they can be trimmed back and propagated, giving you new plants to fill your horizontal space (for a time).

Succulents and air plants. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2021.

My zany looking ponytail palm. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2021.

So I hope you at least gained a little insight from reading through my top five things to consider when you are choosing plants for your home. I have found through (painful) experience how important it can be to really be honest with yourself when thinking about buying houseplants. Plants can are living things and some of them can be as needy as pets! I'd love to hear from those of you who have had experiences with houseplants--good and bad--so please feel free to drop a comment below and let's get a conversation rolling! 


This blog post is highlights products for demonstration purposes only. I am not receiving financial compensation for the mentions.


Related blog posts you may want to read:
​Six herbs I planted indoors
Let's talk about houseplants
It's planting season again