- 1
- 2
- next
- | single page
Snake plant can handle tough indoor conditions. (Verity Welstead/ Getty Images) |
My front is freezing from the cold window but my back is burning up from the heating vent. My leaves are crisping from the dry, heated air, but my roots are rotting in cold water. I can't breathe and I barely have enough light to make food, it's so dark. I'm supposed to live in a rain forest! What am I doing here?
If your houseplants could talk, they'd be wailing at this time of year. When light grows scarce and the heat comes on, indoors becomes a tough place for a plant.
Short of building a conservatory with a misting system, there's not much you can do to make your home resemble a rain forest. But not every plant is a sensitive fern; different habitats have led species to evolve with different needs and tolerances. And not all places in a house are the same.
So pay attention to the real estate you have to offer and choose plants that are built to suit, and they'll have the best chance at the good life.
There's no escaping one harsh fact of indoor life: shade.
As a rule of thumb, you have enough light for plants if, for at least six hours a day, you can comfortably read in the room when the lights are off, says Marta Maria Garcia, marketing director for Costa Farms (costafarms.com). A few plants can handle lower light, and others may be sunburned if they get much more. So pick the right plant for your spot.
Medium light: Living room
Ideally, a room for houseplants would have a south or east exposure, since not much gets through a western window on short winter afternoons, says Matthew Frazel of Fertile on Diversey, a Lincoln Park garden center.
If you have such light to offer, you have the widest choice of plants. Remember that if you have a cluster of houseplants in a window, some will block light to others. Curtains or blinds will cut available light too.
Don't place plants against the cold glass. Watch out for heating vents, baseboard heaters or radiators beneath windows. All heated air is very dry and sucks water from plants' leaves, but a plant near a heat source will simply cook. Find another window or choose lower-light plants and keep them farther from the hot seat.
Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum): A cluster of lancelike leaves in plain green or with a white stripe; white flowers and baby plantlets grow on long stems. Best in a hanging basket.
Rhizomatous begonia: Many species with attractive, stiff, fleshy leaves; flowers are insignificant. They tolerate somewhat low light. Rex begonias are the flashiest types, with spotted or swirled leaves.
Peace lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii): Oval medium-green leaves. With more light it may have a waxy white flower, but too much sun will burn the leaves.
Arrowhead plant (Syngonium podophyllum): Arrow-shaped leaves on slender stems, often with white pattern on green. Needs steady moisture; prune back older stems to keep plant bushy.
Low light: Foyer
No plant can live in the dark. But some can eke out a living in a foyer where the only light may come from a transom over the door or a window 10 feet away across the living room, and an occasional blast of winter air from an open door.
Snake plant (Sansevieria trifasciata): A striking bundle of stiff, bladelike leaves, often called "mother-in-law's tongue." Remarkably tolerant of a wide range of conditions, including low light and low water.
Cast-iron plant (Aspidistra elatior): Wide, tough, leathery leaves in a bushy clump. Famed for surviving in low light and cold drafts.
Pothos (Epipremnum aureum): Shiny heart-shaped leaves, often with splotches of white or yellow, on vining stems. Good in hanging baskets. Pinch back to keep plant bushy.
If your houseplants could talk, they'd be wailing at this time of year. When light grows scarce and the heat comes on, indoors becomes a tough place for a plant.
Short of building a conservatory with a misting system, there's not much you can do to make your home resemble a rain forest. But not every plant is a sensitive fern; different habitats have led species to evolve with different needs and tolerances. And not all places in a house are the same.
So pay attention to the real estate you have to offer and choose plants that are built to suit, and they'll have the best chance at the good life.
There's no escaping one harsh fact of indoor life: shade.
As a rule of thumb, you have enough light for plants if, for at least six hours a day, you can comfortably read in the room when the lights are off, says Marta Maria Garcia, marketing director for Costa Farms (costafarms.com). A few plants can handle lower light, and others may be sunburned if they get much more. So pick the right plant for your spot.
Medium light: Living room
Ideally, a room for houseplants would have a south or east exposure, since not much gets through a western window on short winter afternoons, says Matthew Frazel of Fertile on Diversey, a Lincoln Park garden center.
If you have such light to offer, you have the widest choice of plants. Remember that if you have a cluster of houseplants in a window, some will block light to others. Curtains or blinds will cut available light too.
Don't place plants against the cold glass. Watch out for heating vents, baseboard heaters or radiators beneath windows. All heated air is very dry and sucks water from plants' leaves, but a plant near a heat source will simply cook. Find another window or choose lower-light plants and keep them farther from the hot seat.
Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum): A cluster of lancelike leaves in plain green or with a white stripe; white flowers and baby plantlets grow on long stems. Best in a hanging basket.
Rhizomatous begonia: Many species with attractive, stiff, fleshy leaves; flowers are insignificant. They tolerate somewhat low light. Rex begonias are the flashiest types, with spotted or swirled leaves.
Peace lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii): Oval medium-green leaves. With more light it may have a waxy white flower, but too much sun will burn the leaves.
Arrowhead plant (Syngonium podophyllum): Arrow-shaped leaves on slender stems, often with white pattern on green. Needs steady moisture; prune back older stems to keep plant bushy.
Low light: Foyer
No plant can live in the dark. But some can eke out a living in a foyer where the only light may come from a transom over the door or a window 10 feet away across the living room, and an occasional blast of winter air from an open door.
Snake plant (Sansevieria trifasciata): A striking bundle of stiff, bladelike leaves, often called "mother-in-law's tongue." Remarkably tolerant of a wide range of conditions, including low light and low water.
Cast-iron plant (Aspidistra elatior): Wide, tough, leathery leaves in a bushy clump. Famed for surviving in low light and cold drafts.
Pothos (Epipremnum aureum): Shiny heart-shaped leaves, often with splotches of white or yellow, on vining stems. Good in hanging baskets. Pinch back to keep plant bushy.
