Indoor Plants: Choose with purpose and care

11/1/2021

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

The plants that create our gardens are chosen with purpose and care. We might start our gardens with many varieties but once we have discovered our favorites, we are loyal to a fault.
This is true for our indoor gardens as well and the varieties to be discovered are endless.

When gardening inside we can control the environment a little more than outside. Don't be fooled though just because you can assure your plants that they will not have to survive a windstorm. That does not mean the environment that you provide will be perfect.

When starting your indoor garden, we suggest doing these 4 things before purchasing your
first plant.

1. Walk around your space noticing the light and different temperatures around your home. Start with the area that gets the most sun or indirect sunlight.
2. Depending on what area you choose to start research the best plants for the light density in that area. Do not be discouraged if you suddenly realize that your home is lacking sunlight. There are species and varieties that can survive in lower light conditions.
3. Start small this is one of the main differences between your outdoor and your indoor gardens. The magic of your indoor space will evolve over time as you fall in love with each new plant. We suggest starting with 2-3 plants. Starting small provides you the opportunity to not only succeed but to learn and grow with your plants.
4. Be smart! All plants have unique qualities that are beautiful and sometimes dangerous. Please be aware of which plants are toxic to animals and children.

Here are some of our favorites:
The Peperomia plant family is an amazing choice for first time indoor gardeners. They are small plants, and most varieties grow slowly and rarely grow over a foot in height. Making them perfect for desktops, windowsill, and rooms with limited space. This plant family has more than 1500 species that have been recorded. Creating a diverse collection of stem patterns, colors, leaf shapes, and textures that are spectacular to enhance any space.
Caring for most Peperomia varieties is easy as they are very forgiving. They do enjoy bright indirect light but can adapt to lower light. They require less watering as you will need to only water them when the soil is dry. Peperomia are non-toxic to children and pets.
As we start into the winter months think about adding a peperomia to your home because the winter is when their growing season starts.

Photo by Kelsey Brown on Unsplash

Photo by Severin Candrian on Unsplash

These next plants are not just for adding aesthetics to a space, but they have added health benefits.
All plants, absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen during photosynthesis. The small openings on the underside of the leaves are called stomata and they help regulate the speed of photosynthesis. The larger leaves provide more surface area producing more oxygen.
These next three plants are no exception they have been a part of many scientific studies and the results have proven they are some of the highest producing oxygen plants. As we continue to go about our lives, we find ourselves indoors more than ever which has led to a greater need of providing fresh air. Products have been developed to help with creating fresh clean air. Although many of those products can be putting chemicals into the air that can be harming our health. There are a lot of plants that are not only helping to oxygenate the world, but they also can remove harmful chemicals from the air helping to purify our environment. Here are three of our favorites. Do not forget to click on the links for more information on the other plants.

Areca Palm formaldehyde, xylene and toluene
Snake Plant benzene, formaldehyde, xylene, and toluene
Money Plant benzene, formaldehyde, xylene, and toluene

Photo by Severin Candrian on Unsplash

Photo by Drew Beamer on Unsplash

Photo by Xinyi Zhang on Unsplash

Love the garden infographic on The NASA guide to air filtering houseplants

Ted talk by Kamal Meattle How to grow fresh air

The number 1 issue with our indoor plants is over watering. The root system not only needs water but great porosity for increased oxygen to survive. When a plant becomes waterlogged the root cells will rot creating an optimal environment for fungal and bacterial infections to thrive. Here are a couple of ideas to help your plants flourish in your home.

Photos by Severin Candrian on Unsplash

Check what soil is best for each plant! Depending on what plant you decide to go with will depend on what soil media is best.

Make sure you pick a pot with great drainage! Do Not add rocks to the bottom of the pot to help with drainage it will not work.
Water has natural abilities to bind to itself and with other objects. The rocks will trap the water increasing the likelihood of root rot in
your plants.

Use Wild Valley Farms Wool Pellets!
They are especially great for indoor plants because they can reduce the chance of overwatering.
They absorb and retain water and nutrients keeping it in the soil and wicking the extra water away from the root system.

Using Intelli-Mulch or another high-quality soil topper will protect the quality of your soil. It will increase moisture content by reducing evaporation and can also help regulate
soil temperatures.