Southern Homes & Gardens Blog

Summer heat is in full swing, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the lovely benefits of beautiful plants inside - we’ve just received a large shipment of gorgeous houseplants!  Here are three of our favorites:

Peace Lily:

Peace Lily’s are one of the most popular houseplants and are characterized by their long elongated green foliage with white half shaped blooms.  Thriving in lower lighted areas make this plant work almost anywhere. Try to keep it within 5 to 8 feet of a window for best results. Do not place your plant in direct sun. Direct sunlight can damage the Peace Lily’s foliage. If the leaves begin to yellow, it may mean it is receiving too much sunlight. Move it to a less lighted area.

The main care requirement for your Peace Lily is water. This plant requires heavy watering, but you must allow the soil to dry out in-between watering to a point as well. This houseplant will let you know when it needs water. The leaves will begin to droop. Allowing the foliage to droop slightly in-between watering has turned out to be successful for me. However, do not let it droop severely. Once the plant is watered the foliage will spring back up. If you allowed it to dry out too much, some of the lower leaves may yellow and need to be removed.

This plant also loves higher humidity levels, so providing it with a nice misting a couple times a week will help the plant remain beautifully healthy.

 

Please keep pets and children away from this plant. It is considered to be poisonous.

Chinese Evergreen:

Chinese Evergreens are durable, dramatic houseplants. They will adapt to a variety of settings within their limits. Chinese Evergreens are slow growing in nature, however when taken care of can last for decades, literally! This houseplant is characterized by large foliage in a variety of silver green and dark green colors as well as variegated. Chinese Evergreens & Peace Lily’s belong to the same family, thus the resemblance.

 

Chinese Evergreens prefer moderate to low light levels. They usually do not do well at all in direct sunlight, so beware. A north facing window is usually a safe area to place this houseplant in. This houseplant is also very, very, very touchy to drafts and cold temperatures. Keep temperatures above 60 degrees for best results. Dropping below 55 degrees can be lethal to them. If brown spots begin to appear on the foliage, it may be too cold for the plant.

 

Chinese Evergreens do best with moderate watering. Right in the middle! Don’t let the soil become soggy, but at the same time, do not allow the soil to dry out in-between watering. If the bottom leaves begin to yellow and fall off, chances are you are under watering the plant.

Overall, Chinese Evergreens are very nice houseplants to have. Fairly easy to grow, usually not susceptible to pests and is a long lasting variety allowing you to enjoy its beauty for many years to come.

 

 

Pothos:

Basic pothos care is very easy. These plants enjoy a wide range of environments. They do well in bright indirect light as well as low light and can be grown in dry soil or in vases of water. They will thrive in nutrient rich soil, but do almost as well in nutrient poor soil.

Pothos plants make a great addition to your bathroom or office because of the fact that they can tolerate low light. While pothos likes a wide variety of light conditions, they do not do well in direct sunlight.

If your pothos is highly variegated, particularly variegated with white, they may either not grow as well in low light or may lose their variegation if the light is too low. Only the green parts of the leaves can make energy for the plant so it must be able to get enough light for energy or its growth will slow or the leaves will compensate for the lack of light by becoming more green.

Pothos is very popular due to the fact that it can be grown in water or in dry soil. Cuttings can be taken from a mother plant and rooted in water and kept in water as a houseplant. On the other hand, pothos can also be started in soil and will tolerate moderate periods of dry soil with little effect to the plant. Oddly enough, cuttings started in one growing medium have a hard time switching to the other. So, a pothos plant started in soil has a hard time thriving if moved to water and a pothos cutting started in water will not do very well in soil, especially if it has spent a long period of time growing in water.

While pothos plants are an easy to care for houseplant, you do need to be aware that they are poisonous. Though rarely fatal, the plant can cause irritation and vomiting if ingested due to the fact that it contains calcium oxalates. Even the sap from the plant may cause highly sensitive people to break out in a rash. It is considered toxic to cats, dogs and children, but as mentioned, it normally will make them very sick but will not kill them.

Still Not Convinced to Get a Houseplant?

Most houseplants are generally very easy to care for requiring only the right amount/type of light and the attention of proper watering.   The benefits people receive from plants far outweight the benefits plants themselves receive…

So go ahead and treat yourself to a stress-reducing, productivity-boosting, pollutant-reducing houseplant….we won’t tell!