Deciding to purchase a house plant requires careful consideration from the future house plant parent, especially if you want to avoid killing your beautiful new, live in home partner. Failing to ask yourself a few important questions can detrimentally affect your house plants vigor, and your experience owning and caring for a house plant. As a living organism, plants need an appropriate level of attention and a suitable environment that will allow them to prosper.
Buying a plant that cannot live under the current conditions in your house or apartment, that doesn’t complement your lifestyle and travel habits, or buying a house plant that requires lots of maintenance and care can be a serious mistake for a first-time house plant buyer. Prior to taking a beautiful house plant home, it’s recommended to evaluate your current lifestyle and housing situation so an appropriate decision can be made. Start by asking yourself a few basic questions and you’ll be well on your way to choosing the right house plant for you.
Where am I going to put this house plant?
The first crucial component in assessing if you should buy a house plant is location. Do you have enough sunlight available inside the room where the plant will be staying? Most types of vegetation do not outlive frequent change of location. This means that additional thought should be given to the permanent place of living for your house plant, and even low maintenance house plants can experience shock when continually moved around to different locations and environments.
A best house plant practice is finding a dedicated spot, not in direct sunlight as your house plant’s leaves will scorch. On the other side, a considerable lack of light is also not recommended, as your house plant will not thrive.
A perfect location inside of your house or apartment would be facing east or west so your house plant avoids the midday heat. If such a spot is unavailable, it is possible to find plant species that prosper in low light conditions or can survive direct sunlight.
For example, succulent house plants need less light than other types of house plants and cactus house plants do well in hot environments that receive direct sunlight.
These factors, such as light and heat, also determine how much time you will need to spend taking care of your plant, as plants grow differently and, often times, less vigorously under less-than-optimal conditions.
How much time will you spend taking care of your house plant?
Consideration should also be given to the amount of time that can be dedicated to your house plant’s vegetation. Vegetation is the stage in a plant cycle when a house plant is busying gathering resources (light, water, and nutrients) and converting them in to useable energy in preparation of the flowering (reproductive) stage of the plant cycle.
During the vegetation phase, some plants require substantial effort to sustain their proper form. For this reason it’s important to know how much time you can devote to your house plant. This will help you determine how you choose the right house plant.
For instance, the majority of orchids require extensive care and the provision of a perfect atmosphere, which must be similar to their native conditions. This requires high humidity, warmth, and bright sunlight almost the whole year. Maintaining this sort of environment can be challenging, but is necessary to ensure your house plant continues to grow and thrive.
Another good example of a time-consuming house plant category is exotic or tropical plants, which demand specific conditions to be sustained. Although they can give a unique, different look to a room or interior space, their uniqueness requires a bit more house plant parent TLC.
Coming from the warm, humid regions of Asia and Africa, such plants as the Zebra Plant, Calathea, and the Wax Plant are usually suggested only for experienced gardeners because of the need to maintain a very specific environment. Beginners are advised to shy away from these plants.
On the flip side, Bromeliad House Plants, Succulent House Plants, and Cactus House Plants are a few low maintenance, hardy house plants worth considering. These plants are easier to care for and maintain and help build confidence in your green thumb and skill as a house plant parent.
These three types of house plants are low maintenance and can be easily kept by novice enthusiasts. They can endure the lack of water, low sunlight, and potential caring mistakes, which makes them very forgiving house plants.
