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The Secret To Happy Houseplants
With the days getting colder, now is the time to create an indoor oasis ahead of winter's lack of green and growing things. But what to put where? We'll walk you through an easy method to figure it out. You might just find that you have more good spots for houseplants than you thought!
Houseplants can be divided up into four basic categories:
1. Plants that take low light
2. Plants that take medium light
3. Plants that like bright, indirect light
4. Plants that like at least four hours of direct sun per day
We'll go over each category below, give examples of locations to look for, and list plants that will do well under those conditions.
Pro Tip: Measure Your Light
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It's not strictly necessary, but it can be helpful (and kind of fun) to measure the light available in different spots at different times a day. If you have a smart phone, you can do this easily by downloading a light meter app. Set it to measure the amount of light in foot candles. Hold your phone in the spot where you'd like your future plant to live, and point the light sensor (generally where the "selfie camera" is) toward the light source.
For example, a plant on an office desk five feet away from an overhead florescent panel in a corner might receive as little as ten foot candles- not enough to survive.
On the other hand, a plant on a desk directly underneath a florescent panel light will get about 50 foot candles, which is enough for plants that tolerate low light.
If you can get the plant nearer to the light source on the ceiling, it will get even more light. The plants pictured above could receive as much as 200 foot candles if they were directly below a light panel.
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Here's a description of each type of light, and some plants that will grow under those conditions. Please note that our houseplant inventory varies considerably depending on the time of year, and the plant lists below do not necessarily reflect what we currently have in stock. If you're looking for something specific, feel free to contact us!
Low Light (25-75 foot candles)
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Basement apartment? Windowless office cubicle? North-facing room? You'll need all the light you can get, and you'll need to get as close as possible!
Be aware low light plants do best when their leaves are mostly green, rather than highly variegated. "Variegation" refers to markings on the leaves that are colors other than green. Variegated leaves have less chlorophyll than wholly green leaves, making it more difficult for them to absorb enough light.
Here are some plants to look for:
Arrowhead Plant (Syngonium podophyllum)
Chinese Evergreen
Dracaena
Pothos
Philodendron
Sansevieria
Medium Light (75-200 foot candles)
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East and north facing windows often provide medium light, as do many smaller grow lights. You may also find medium light on top of an office filing cabinet or bookshelf directly beneath a florescent light panel.
Plants that will grow with medium light include:
African Violets
Asparagus Fern
Chinese Evergreen
Dieffenbachia
Dracaena
Ferns (indoor types)
Peace Lily
Philodendron
Pothos
Prayer Plants
Sansevieria
Shefflera
Spider Plant
Swedish Ivy
High Indirect Light (200+ foot candles)
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These plants enjoy bright light, but not necessarily direct sunlight. Spots where this level of light might be found include pop out kitchen windows that don't receive direct sunlight.
Look for:
African Violets
Air Plants
Aloe Vera
Asparagus Fern
Bromeliads
Christmas Cactus
Croton
Dieffenbachia
Dracaena
Ferns (indoor types)
Fiddle Leaf Fig
Jade Plant
Kalanchoe
Nofolk Island Pine
Orchids
Peace Lily
Pencil Cactus
Pothos
Prayer Plants
Rubber Tree
Sansevieria
Shefflera
Spider Plant
String of Pearls
Succulents
Swedish Ivy
Direct Light (4 hours or more of direct sunlight)
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If you're using a light meter, you'll find that sunny spots are well in excess of 1000 foot candles. That seems bright compared to the amounts of light we've been discussing up to this point, but a clear, sunny day outdoors might measure around 10,000 foot candles.
While many houseplants don't take kindly to direct sunlight, these will take all they can get! You'll frequently find them growing happily in south or west facing windows, and on warm sun porches. They also like to go outdoors during the warm season.
They include:
Aloe Vera
Cacti
Croton
Fiddle Leaf Fig
Kalanchoe
Rubber Tree
Succulents
When Natural Light Isn't Enough
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What if you haven't got enough light to grow the indoor plants you'd like?
While moving closer to the light source is one way to get more light, you can also add more light! This bookshelf has LED plant lights concealed on the underside of the top of the bookshelf, which give the plant about 150 foot candles of light. Without supplemental lighting this room would be too dark to support any plants.
We stock indoor grow lights with enough oomph to grow low to medium light houseplants in otherwise dark spots, or to get your sun-loving but frost-tender tropicals through winter until you can put them outside again.
If you chose to use artificial plant lighting, put the lights on a timer. The more light your plant likes, the longer you should leave the light on during the day. Anything from eight to sixteen hours is good for low to medium light houseplants, but make sure that your plant gets a dark "rest" period overnight.
Aside from lighting up dark spots, adding artificial grow lights to rooms that already have some natural light can allow you to grow plants that would otherwise fail to thrive.
Make It a Green Winter!
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Now that you know what to plant where, there's no need to suffer through another greenery-starved season! Pick the right houseplants for your home or office, and create your own green oasis all year round.
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Two of our workshops are full already, so we've added two more! Every year we have a wonderful time decorating holiday wreaths or porch pots, and we'd love to have you join us. All materials are provided, and workshops will be held in the garden house. Face masks are required. We're spacing parties farther apart this year, so availability is limited. Sign up to save your spot!
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Mark your calendar! The first fresh cut Christmas greens will arrive November 16th. We're stocking our indoor Christmas tree lot with Canaan Firs again this year, an up-and-coming variety with good needle retention and fragrance. If you'd like to pre-order greens, trees, wreaths, garland, etc., call Ethan at 309-689-7580.
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On sale while supplies last!
Houseplants - 30% off
Boutique Autumn Decor - 40% off
All Pumpkins, Gourds and Squashes - 50% off
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