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Hip Houseplants!
By Colleen Miko, CPH
http://www.colleenmiko.com/
What makes a houseplant hip? Any plant, whether common or choice, that thrives in your interior environment is in. It’s not the form, the size or the species that makes a plant hot; it’s the ease of care. Once you find that piece-of-cake plant that’s right for your interior light, then the flair is in the container--more on that in a minute.
In our climate, the best houseplants are those that like dry air. It may seem counterintuitive with our cool, moist climate, but our homes present a much drier interior environment. Throughout winter, central heating snatches any bit of water from the air, despite a rainy outdoors and in summer, we open windows for dry, warm breezes, or on occasion use air conditioning. Tropical houseplants can suffer from the lack of humidity, even when we provide the warmer temperatures they desire. Many plants that like it dry are often better tolerant of the lower temperatures in our homes on winter evenings, though sustained temperatures below 50 degrees are detrimental to most houseplants.
Succulents and cactus are unaccustomed to moist air in their native haunts and make ideal houseplants when provided enough light. The bonus: they can go longer than tropical plants between waterings. Très chic. Some to try: aloe, jade plant, Christmas cactus, kalanchoe.
Sansevieria (snake plant)*, pony tail palm*, zz plant, Norfolk Island pine and hoya (wax plant) are others that tolerate low humidity. This is not to say that any of the mentioned plants don’t enjoy moist air when they can get it, but they’ll go without.
When choosing a houseplant, you absolutely want to match its light requirements to what you can provide at home. Most plants will require a room bathed in light to succeed. Not necessarily direct sunlight, i.e. sunshine hitting the leaves, though many known for flowering, such a hoya, need sunshine to thrive. Light emanating only from North facing windows is seldom bright enough for any, but the most shade tolerant plants like sansevieria. Bright morning light makes most plants happy.
Now, the nitty gritty of the hip houseplant: the container. Selecting a flattering cache pot in which to place your plant’s less than glamorous plastic pot is where it’s at. All vintage or repurposed containers are de rigueur. A clever grouping is the rage. Also popular now: black and white combinations, chrome, industrial styling. In a kitchen, a plant cozy in a colorful, olive oil jug is personality plus. If you have bright light in your kitchen, an herb like spearmint rooted directly in the water of a shapely vase is both convenient and swank. A row of glass cylinders lined with moss to hide the interior pots are elegant on a sparely decorated shelf or table. Terrariums* in curvaceous and footed vessels have made a comeback. Cradled in any container that expresses creative wit, even a humble pothos is the last word.
*shown in photograph
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