Houseplants can make a space more beautiful, lively and even healthier. A single houseplant can filter and clean the air of an entire room. Houseplants don’t have to be a great deal work, or require a green thumb, there are some plants even the busiest of black finger touting homeowners can keep alive. The trick is to obtain low maintenance houseplants. This means a plant that is not finicky about light, soil and water conditions and is just plain out hard to kill.
Cacti:
Cacti are pretty impossible to kill. Most varieties are happy in shadow and can go without water for literally months. While many may think of tubular spiky and usually not so attractive plants at the word cacti the world of cacti is actually quite vast and varied. A few suggestions that make for interesting cactus houseplant choices include the Queen of the Night, Crown of Thorns, Aloe Vera and the Zygocactus. All three have attractive and intriguing shapes, breathtaking blooms, and are incredibly low maintenance. Aloe can even be used to soothe sunburn.
Creepers:
Creeping vines are another good choice for low maintenance houseplants because they again are not picky about when they are watered and will actually crawl to what ever light they need. Ivy, Wandering Jew, and Pothos varieties make excellent choices. These species can also be cloned easily and will survive in water alone.
Agavaceae:
While you may not recognize this group of plants, the low maintenance plants within it are unmistakable. Agavaceae include plants such as the Spider Plant, Agave and Orchid. Spider plants are arguably the best low maintenance plant for a home as they are among the best at filtering the air, will create new plants even if you kill the mother and are easy to care for.
Herbs:
Herbs not only can act as a low maintenance houseplant but also provide delicious fresh flavor for cooking. Surprisingly most herbs are not hard to grow and keep. Throw them in the window above the sink and trickle water in every now and then and they’ll survive for years. Some helpful and simple choices include basil, oregano, mint, and thyme.
These days they also create tools to help people who are a bit absent minded with plants, which opens the door to plants that do like to stay moist. Aquaglobes or self-watering mechanisms can be purchased at most stores.
The important factor in choosing a low maintenance plant is to check the tag, look for plants that require light ample to the present light in the location you intend to place the houseplant and that like “well drained” soil (meaning they won’t die if they dry out they’ll thrive.)
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The Queen of the Night in Bloom: A Visual Representation of How beautiful Cacti Can Be
Sources:
House Plants Improve Air Quality in the Home
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/is-imprv.html
