Our favourite indoor plants and how to keep them thriving
With the change of seasons, the conditions inside our homes fluctuate just as much as those outdoors. This can make it confusing to work out which indoor plants thrive inside your home all year-round. Luckily, many of them are hardy creatures. With the right location, they’ll be happy at home no matter the season.
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Here are a few indoor plants that are particularly flexible, easy to manage and well-suited to adding a bit of greenery to your home!
1) Devil’s Ivy
Happy in a dark corner or sunny window spot, all this plant wants is regular watering. This is a great option for someone who doesn’t necessarily have green fingers or doesn’t have many suitable spots for a new plant. It’s name reportedly comes from being difficult to get rid of, which bodes well. If you want it to climb, add a couple of poles. Otherwise it’ll droop slightly but soon start to look like a fashionable hanging plant.
2) Snake Plant, aka Mother in law’s tongue
A tough cookie that’s not after full-time friendship, you can pop the snake plant in the corner and leave it to its own devices. Even those with a terrible track record will struggle to kill this one off. It’s not too fussy when it comes to watering and is highly likely to be quite content when you come back from a holiday. You’ll be hard pressed to give it too much or too little, but if anything it’s happier with soil that’s a little more on the dry side – perhaps thanks to it being native to Western Africa. Surprisingly, it’s not too fussy about lighting either and is happy being pot bound.
3) Zebra Plant
A bit of an introvert, the zebra plant is quite happy with some alone time. Find it a nice sunny spot, perhaps in the window itself where it’s guaranteed lots of light, and leave it well alone. Water it now and then of course, but don’t over do it.
4) Zanzibar Gem
A favourite for indoor locations, this dark, glossy plant likes bright light but will handle slightly darker conditions without complaint. It stores water easily so doesn’t need watering all the time. Do let the soil dry out between watering though to keep it extra happy.
5) Peace Lily
You’ll soon know when this one needs a drink as it’s leaves will start to droop. Otherwise, there isn’t much to looking after it. The Peace Lily fares well in many environments, dealing with varying levels of light, moisture and warmth with ease.
6) Aloe Vera
Handy to have on hand in case of burns, Aloe is also a pretty easy plant to care for. Aloe Vera doesn’t need much watering, in fact depending on moisture levels in your home, it might even go for 2-3 weeks without any watering. It’s quite happy for you to let the soil dry out thoroughly between doses.
Some people recommend simply spraying the leaves now and then, rather than watering in the conventional sense.
7) Spider Plant
Easy to grow and eye catching, these plants are tough. They don’t mind whether you put them in bright light or the darkest corner, and they produce ‘pups’ so you can add to your plant collection without any extra expense. Spiders are the perfect hanging plants, especially with a macrame pot, and they can manage quite a while without a watering so are perfect for those with busy lives.
It’s also one of the plants favoured for removing harmful toxins from the air, alongside Devil’s Ivy, the Snake Plant and the Peace Lily.
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