My 5 Favorite House Plants

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This time of the year I am all about houseplants.

The twinkling Christmas lights and festive decorations have been packed away, but there is still plenty of long dark days ahead of us. The picture-perfect blanket of pristine white fluffy snow has been replaced with a slushy sloppy mess that is a dirty mix of snow, salt, and sand.

There is almost an instinctual need to see something green and alive.

Wegmans knows this, and eagerly stocks the floral department with all sorts of green plants, both large and small, knowning we will stumble in to the stores in our winter parkas and heavy snow boots, from the cold slushy parking lot, to a vertibal tropical jungle, and just have to take a little bit of it home along with the weekly groceries. Which was how my houseplant habit began.

Aside from the ZZ Plant, all of these came from Wegmans, which makes me think they should be readily avaiable at any garden center, super-store or even grocery store.

Tree Philodendron

My Tree Philodendron is one of my largest, happiest houseplants, with huge tropical looking leaves it instantly is like a breath of fresh air in any room I place it in, and it has been in a lot of rooms lately. This tall version of Philodendron I picked up at Wegmans this time last year has just thrived with minimal attention. If you keep your philodendron houseplant in indirect sunlight and don’t let the soil dry out completely, you will have a large beautiful corner filling plant. Last summer I moved this plant outside to a shaded corner of my deck, and it loved it.

My Philodendron has outgrown its previous locations, and keeps getting moved around to different rooms trying to find a happy home until the unheated porch is warm enough to be moved out there for the spring and summer months. She is a big and somewhat unruly, stretching her big leaves out into our spaces, but definitely at the top of my favorite list.

Christmas Cactus

I love grabbing Christmas Cacti after Christmas, once the blooms fade Lowes drops these plants to $1 each. They may be done blooming for the holidays, but it may surprise you with additional blooming cycles throughout the year, mine usually blooms again around Easter!

These low maintence plants thrive in typical household condtions, but loves to be moved outside in the summer during its growing season, move to a location with soft morning sun and protective afternoon shade. Remember frequent waterings, while the cactus is actively growing in spring and summer, and you will have a happy healthy Christmas Cactus.

Snake Plant

I’ll admit I wasn’t always a fan of snake plants, I prefer lush leafy plants, but there is no denying these tough as nails plants are a wonderful addtition to a room that doesn’t get a ton of sunlight.

According to The Sill, the Snake Plant is an excellent addition to bedrooms because it is on NASA’s list of the top 10 air-purifying plants, but is also is one of few houseplants that converts CO2 into O2 at night — something most houseplants only do during the day.

Devils Ivy (Pothos)

Wikipedia says Pothos is called Devil’s Ivy because it is almost impossible to kill, and it stays green even when kept in the dark. This plant is a prolific grower, and will quickly produce instagram worthy long trailing vines. This little guy is a replacement for a larger plant that took a spill off the deck this summer and didn’t survive.

ZZ Plant

Z. zamiifolia also known as the ZZ Plant is a must have houseplant! The ZZ Plant is so easy to care for & tolerates low light. This plant tolerates neglect, and is drought tolerant (helpful if you often forget to water your plants!), and accepts low-light conditions. Its glossy, smooth leaves brighten rooms.

The ZZ Plant is an accomplished air purifier, in a NASA study, researchers found it is specifically adept at removing toxins such as xylene, toluene, and benzene from the air.


Other plants I love:

Jade Plant

I love Jade plants, they don’t, however, seem to love me. This is my 4th Jade plant in 5 years. I seem to just have bad luck with these succulents, despite them being known as easy low maintence houseplants. I spent all last summer nursing a medium sized jade plant through some sort of fungal infection before it succumbed to the same breeze that blew my pothos off the deck railing. I scored my latest at Walmart, fingers crossed!

Peperomia

This Golden Peperomia is my first experience with a “baby rubber plant” as they are affectionately known, and I have to say it is quickly becoming one of my favorites, so much so that I have been eyeing other peperomia varieties while out shopping. I haven’t had it long enough to speak to its durability, but it gets an A+ in my book for its pretty leaves and super fast growth.


Right now most of my plants are happily in front of a South facing window that is covered with sheer curtains. We really don’t get a lot of sun in Upstate New York during the winter, so I have never experienced any burnt leaves, but I wouldn’t leave them there in the spring or summer.

What are your favorite houseplants?

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