Indoor Plants: Best of

Whew, it’s been a while.  There’s been lots of adventures happening at school, so I apologize.

So over Easter I went back home.  My sister had also just gotten back from Florida the day before, and she gave me a palm plant as a gift from her travels!

… When did she get nice?

Anyways, it’s a Neanthe Bella Palm, Chamaedorea elegans, otherwise known in my world as a Parlor Palm.

And I have to giggle, because I’ve had one since junior year of high school.  Remember that terrarium I talked about in a previous entry?  I had included a palm about the same size of the one Karen gave me in it, not realizing it could get so big.

Fast forward to today, four and a half years later, and it’s a bush.

This got me thinking.  Palms seem so cute when they’re little, but they grow.  And grow, and grow.  What kinds of plants are better for more permanent small-space living arrangements?

Pothos- Pothos are a super-hardy trailing vine plant that tolerates forgetting to be watered (… multiple times…), and doesn’t really care where you put it.  The vines can reach up to 40 feet long in the wild jungle, but in containers are usually limited to about 10 feet.  You can also prune them occasionally.  They’re fun to drape around windows, and add a touch of green to a room.

Peace lily- Also relatively easy to take care of.  I like their funny white flower things (research says they’re called “spathes”), though they never really turned out when I grew them.  They prefer indirect light (their leaves turn brown if they’re in the sun too long… kind of like a vampire), and some have quite a personality when it comes to watering.  Once upon a time, we had a peace lily that drooped and looked like it was going to die every time it was thirsty (~once a week).  Then once you watered it, it was fine again.    

Snakeplant (aka Mother-In-Law’s Tongue)- I’ve never grown one of these, as they honestly kind of freak me out.  Along with the other plants on this list, they’re super easy to take care of, and are tolerant of pretty much any light. 

Spider Plant- (side note: I’m diggin’ the velvet sheet in the photo… someone put way too much effort into taking a picture of a plant.  But I digress…) I also haven’t tried growing this one, but I walk past one daily on my way to class.  Spider plants also aren’t picky when it comes to water/lighting, and are super easy to propagate.  Baby Spider Plants grow from the vines that hang down from the main plant, and all you have to do is carefully detach them from the vine and plant them (root-side down, of course). 

And the great thing about all four of these plants is that they’re at the top of the list for plants known to improve indoor air quality.  Yay healthy air!