- Author: Martha Martin
The third week of September is National Houseplant Week! According to the National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture, having plants indoors can be helpful. Please enjoy this article about houseplant aesthetics from one of our UC Master Gardeners.
You might live in a manse or cottage. You might consider yourself a minimalist or mid-century modern. Traditional labels become a verbal veneer when arranging houseplants. This article's focus is not on the care* of house plants or their cultural requirements. Rather it concentrates on the art of displaying house plants effectively. It reflects a potpourri of aesthetics, functionality, style, elegance, and personal preference.
Prior to entering your abode, carefully inspect the plant for potential problems. Co-mingling with existing plants comes after the plant is isolated for 2 plus weeks. During this time check for “unwelcome varmints.” Once it is determined the plant is pest free, visualize a striking and aesthetically pleasing location.
Fundamental design principles are interrelated to create harmony and cohesiveness. Emphasize the importance of a focal point in a visual arrangement. Spacing plants by focus allows a contrast in proximity, size, color, texture and shape. Just as gardeners are differentiated by appearance, plants and their containers offer varied perspectives by how they look and feel. Texture contrast is found on the leaf, the plant itself, the container and the stylistic home décor to which it enters.
Gardeners come in all shapes and sizes. When thinking of a house plant, choose a plant for leaf shape and the plant's configuration itself. Uneven lines of plants, whether vertical, descending, fleshy or sprawling, are softened by the design and type of container used.
In your home you may discover an empty white space with no visual elements. These visual blank canvases allow a grouping of plants to showcase their distinct beauty while maintaining ordered space between specimens.
As with gardeners, opposites attract. Contrast plants by differentiating color, texture, shape, and size to achieve subtle drama. Repeating patterns in both species and containers creates cohesiveness, balance, and unity. Without variety, gardens and indoor décor could become stodgy and dull. Intermingling differing objects with indoor plants achieves unexpected creativity.
Beauty is indeed reflected in the eyes of the beholder. Eclectic beauty moves side to side, up and down, chunky to narrow, trailing to vertical. Choice is freedom to create a unique, personalized aesthetic enhanced by house plants.
*To learn more about houseplants and download and/or print a handout on them, visit https://cestanislaus.ucanr.edu/Gardening_Publications/ and scroll to the bottom of the page.
Martha Martin has been a UC Master Gardener since 2022.
Counting the time spent at work and at home, urban dwellers spend 80-90% of their time indoors. Studies have found that not only do indoor plants remove deadly carbon dioxide and replace it with life-giving oxygen (through their photosynthesis and transpiration processes) but also the soil itself may contribute to cleaner indoor air. Plants can also help us recover from mental fatigue and support cognitive health by improving our ability to focus and lessening anxiety levels, thus improving overall wellness. When relaxed, our blood pressure, heart rate and cortisol levels may be improved. Bringing nature indoors can contribute to a happier, healthier life. While various species of cacti and succulents top the lists of plants that absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen indoors, herbs can lend a helping hand.
Happily, there are many herbs that grow well indoors. Love Mediterranean food? Consider sweet basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary, and sage. For Mexican cuisine, choose marjoram, bay laurel, and epazote; Thai basil and mint for Asian recipes; and cilantro for both. The French love parsley and tarragon, and chive's delicate, onion-y flavor adds savor to a wide variety of dishes. Chamomile, lemon verbena, and mint make relaxing, refreshing teas, and creative mixologists transform cocktail hour by adding rosemary, sage, basil, and lavender to their libations.
Many types of herbs can be combined with traditional houseplants (imagine a weeping fig, ficus benjamina, potted with a carpet of sage or thyme) or planted together in a single pot. Herbs are ideal plants in homes with open floor plans and plenty of light, and they can thrive in sunny foyers, near windows, and under sky lights.
Containers are an important consideration. A planter can be anything that makes you smile, as long as it has a hole in the bottom. Size doesn't matter, either, although the larger the container, the less often you'll need to repot or replace. Set on a non-porous saucer (glass, plastic, or glazed ceramic) to catch runoff and protect surfaces. If repurposing a container, make sure it's clean. Steel wool or a stiff brush will clean the inside of the pot. Rinse, then wash in hot water before planting. The most reliable and inexpensive pots are the unglazed terracotta flowerpots found at garden centers.
Nursery and garden centers conveniently offer a variety of pre-bagged soils that are blended specifically for potted plants, including organic and pre-fertilized mixtures. To plant, position the root ball so its surface is an inch below the lip of the container. Fill with potting mix, and press gently but firmly to remove any air pockets. Water thoroughly. Keep soil slightly moist, but not soggy, and feed monthly with houseplant fertilizer.
Water your container-grown herbs gently from the top, so soil is not washed away from the roots. Add water until water comes out the drainage hole at the bottom of the container. This prevents salts from building up in the root zone. Check soil moisture by feeling into the soil with your finger. If soil dries out for too long, roots will die, so don't forget to water!
Herbs are happy in the same environmental conditions where we feel comfortable. Humidity should be kept at thirty to fifty percent; use a mister or an inexpensive spray bottle filled with distilled water to meet a plant's humidity needs.
The same techniques used in planting containers in the garden can be applied to your indoor garden herbs. Grouping herbs not only saves space but also provides a compatible growing environment for plants with similar needs. Think in terms of “a thriller, a spiller, and a filler” to add depth and beauty to a container. Combine herbs that complement one another: an example to consider may be garlic acting as a focal point (the thriller), creeping or woolly thyme as the spiller falling over the sides of the container, and parsley (the filler) providing bright green color and complement.
There are multiple benefits to growing herbs as houseplants. They can help clean our interior air, calm our nervous system, and provide tastiness in our culinary attempts. Perhaps best of all, bringing the outdoors indoors brings us closer to nature, and that's a very good thing.
New Master Gardener 2023 Workshop Series starting up! Our Spring series of workshops will begin in late January with Seed Starting on Tuesday, Jan. 31. For more information and to register, see our Workshop section of our website.
UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system. To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area, visit our website. If you have a gardening question or problem, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu or leave a phone message on our Hotline at (530) 538-7201. To speak to a Master Gardener about a gardening issue, or to drop by the MG office during Hotline hours, see the most current information on our Ask Us section of our website.
How about bringing a new plant home to cheer up these dark winter days? For the avid gardener, houseplants can be an excellent source of greenery and even flowers when the outside garden has gone gray and dormant in the doldrums of mid-winter. The following are some of the best houseplants for the winter “windowsill garden.”
Snake Plant or Mother-in-Law's Tongue (Sansevieria spp.). The Snake Plant is a familiar indoor plant that has been re-invented over the decades with the introduction of interesting new hybrids. S. cylindrica, for example, has unique cylindrical upright foliage that has become very popular in homes with modern minimalist décor. S. ‘Black Gold' is a fantastic cultivar that contrasts very dark green-nearly black foliage with a bright yellow margin. S. ‘Silver Queen' is a tall, upright, silvery sword-leafed version of the Snake Plant, great for use as an accent around the home. The Snake Plant is easy to grow – it has low water needs, can tolerate low light conditions, and has few pest problems.
UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system. To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area, visit our website. If you have a gardening question or problem, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu (preferred) or call (530) 538-7201.
- Author: Ed Perry
When thinking about light levels for indoor plants, consider light intensity, duration and quality. Light intensity influences the manufacture of plant food, stem length, leaf color and flowering. For example, a plant that needs bright light that is grown in low light tends to be spindly with light green leaves. A similar plant grown in bright light would generally be shorter, better branched and have longer, darker green leaves.
The distance the plant is from the light source and the direction the windows in a home face determine the light intensity a houseplant receives. Southern exposures have the most intense light. Western and eastern exposures receive about 60 percent of the intensity of southern exposures, while northern exposures get only 20 percent of the light of southern exposures. Light intensity is also affected by the presence and type of curtains, the weather, shade from buildings or trees, the cleanliness of the windows and the reflectiveness of the surroundings.
When a plant gets too much direct light, the leaves become pale, sometimes sunburn, turn brown and die. During the summer, houseplants need to be protected from too much direct sunlight.
Flowering plants require higher light levels for the development of good flowers. These plants grow best where they receive direct sunlight for at least half a day. Placing them near windows with an eastern exposure usually suits them best.
Here are some suggestions of houseplants for various light situations taken from the UC Master Gardener Handbook.
Low Light Plants
Common Name | Botanical Name |
Corn Plant | Dracaena fragrans |
Parlor Palm | Chamaedora elegans |
Pothos* | Epipremnum aureum |
Snake Plant | Sansevieria trifasciata |
Medium Light Plants
Common Name | Botanical Name |
Peperomia (species) | Peperomia or Pellionia |
Rubber Plant | Ficus elastica |
Schefflera | Schefflera actinophylla |
Swedish Ivy/Creeping Charlie | Plectranthus australis |
Bright Light
Common Name | Botanical Name |
Christmas Cactus | Schlumbergia bridgesii |
Spider Plant | Chlorophytum comosum |
String of Hearts | Ceropegia woodii |
Zebra Plant | Aphelandra squarrosa |
*These plants are poisonous, keep away from kids and pets.
Ed Perry is the emeritus Environmental Horticultural Advisor for University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) in Stanislaus County where he worked for over 30 years.
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- Author: Carmen Kappos
“Overwatering is the number one killer of houseplants,” says Mr. Ernesto Sandoval, Manager and Curator of the UC Davis Botanical Conservatory. Overwatering encourages disease, pests, and can smother roots that need oxygen. With overwatering, roots can die and rot.
When to water depends on many things: the type of plant, the amount of light, temperature, the potting mix. All these things have an effect on when the plant will need water. So how to tell when to water?
Here are some good tips on determining when to water your houseplants.
Tips:
- Your finger is a really good moisture meter. Use your finger to check for moisture in the top 1” of potting mix.
- Leafy plants: let the potting mix start to dry until barely moist between watering.
- Succulents and stem succulents: the top 1” of potting mix should feel mostly dry between watering.
- Get familiar with how heavy the pot is right after watering, dry potting mix is much lighter in weight than when it is wet.
- Dry potting mix is also lighter in color than wet potting mix.
Techniques:
- Water so that some water drains out the hole in the bottom. This ensures that the water has gone into the entire pot and has reached the root zone.
- Do not let the pot sit in water, empty the saucer or tray after watering. Drained water contains salts and minerals that can be reabsorbed into the pot. This briny water is not good for the roots.
- Pots can be elevated with material like pebbles, in the tray, to keep the pot from touching drained water.
- Usually tap water is ok to use for most houseplants, however softened water contains salt that will quickly kill plants. Water with Boron should not be used on container plants.
- Water from wells may be ok to use, it depends on the amount of minerals dissolved in the well water.
- If there is a buildup of crusty minerals on the pot or potting mix, gently remove the crust and flush out the pot with clean water that does not have minerals, then let drain.
- Use a well-draining potting mix. Most commercial potting mixes hold too much water. Small pumice rock sold at plant nurseries can be added at half the total volume to improve drainage in potting mixes.
The UC Davis Conservatory houses over 3000 plants in more than 150 different plant families. Responsible for the care and development of the collection, with a degree in plant biology, Mr. Sandoval has watered and cares for many plants. In his video talk on houseplants Mr. Sandoval advises to err on the side of under watering. Check out his talk on houseplants at: https://youtu.be/n60Iia0XxUE
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Bonus tips from the editor: If you're seeing lots of little gnats buzzing around the pot, you're probably keeping the plants too wet. Seeing lots of burned edges on leaves? Either you have accumulated salts or may be getting plants too dry between waterings.