But at the moment I feel a touch guilty talking about house plants. A few weeks ago, I finally had to toss a rubber plant that had died, slowly and painfully, fallen brown leaf by fallen brown leaf. It was beautiful when I bought it and plunked it down on the raised hearth, on the wall farthest from the living room's largest window. It was big and gorgeous for several weeks, sitting in a large green pot, but then the leaves began to brown, curl and fall. Watching this lovely plant die was heartbreaking, but did I do any research to find out what was wrong? Unfortunately, no, until it was too late. That was when I discovered the poor thing wasn't getting enough light and was possibly getting too much water. I moved it into the dining room next to a window, but by then the die was cast.
Tossing that rubber plant was a rather expensive lesson in doing research sooner rather than later. I've had great luck with other house plants — mother-in-law's tongue, pothos, and various palms — and thought I knew what I was doing. But no. Googling “rubber plant” after I bought it would have saved me much grief, and my rubber plant might still be with us.
If you do a bit of research first, raising house plants and keeping them healthy isn't difficult. I've had some house plants for many years. I moved nine months ago, and it took a while to find the optimal spot for all of them. But here's the thing. With these plants, I paid attention to their ups and downs and responded accordingly. For some crazy reason, I had too much faith in that poor rubber plant to pay proper attention.
House plants do need different care from outdoor plants. They are highly sensitive to light levels, and less water is usually preferable to too much. But it is easy to find many indoor plants that thrive in many different light conditions and that conform to your personal plant care philosophy, whether it be to do everything on a carefully set schedule or on a more catch-as-catch-can basis.
For the catch-as-catch-can indoor gardener, the mother-in-law's tongue and pothos in my living room are the perfect solution. Mother-in-law's tongue, also known as the snake plant, does well in low light and is almost impossible to kill. It can be watered as seldom as once a month. The pothos vine likes a bit more light (I combined the two plants just for the photo), but it will signal when it needs water by starting to look limp and wilted. A good soaking in the kitchen sink will refresh it.
Children will enjoy the pothos vine because it is simple to create more plants. When a vine gets too long, just cut it off and put the cut end in a jar filled with water on a window sill. It will grow roots and can then be planted in a new pot. Where you had one plant, you now have two.
There are dozens of other indoor possibilities. The air plant is extremely easy to grow, and no soil is involved. Just soak each plant for two or three hours every ten days or so, and they will thrive on a saucer or dish on a counter or bookcase in indirect light.
Aloe likes indirect light and a good soak about once a week. Aloe also has excellent healing properties. If someone gets a burn in the kitchen, break a leaf open and smear the aloe sap on the burn.
Diffenbachia likes filtered light, perhaps by a curtained window. Spider plants like lots of light and a weekly watering. Peace lilies prefer indirect light. They are another plant that lets you know when it needs water. African violets are lovely in a kitchen window.
Palm trees are often easy to grow indoors and may remind you of sunnier climes in the depths of winter. The parlor palm prefers low light and may suffer if exposed to direct sunlight. It grows very slowly and may take years to reach its full height of three to four feet. I have had great luck with the Kentia palm. In its native habitat, it can reach 60 feet. But indoors it tops out at 6 to 12 feet. This plant benefits from periodic soaking in a bucket or deep sink to thoroughly wet the entire root ball.
Orchids are another winter delight. I avoid them in the summer when I'm running ceiling fans because the plants dry out.
Of course nothing beats a Christmas cactus at this time of year. Give it indirect light and occasional water, and its festive color will brighten your holidays into the new year.
