Ready to add some living greenery to your space? The options are endless, and you can do as much or as little as you like. If you’re a plant novice, start with an easy-care option. If you’ve got the budget, a mature plant is a great choice.
Bar Botanik share with us their top ten houseplants and tips for even the novice of green thumbs. For more advice and
to pick up a few green friends for your home, pop into Bar Botanik in North Perth.
Monstera Deliciosa – AKA: Swiss Cheese or Fruit Salad plant
These are native to Southern Mexico.
As an indoor plant, Monstera is very easy to care for and
tolerates extremely well with the conditions found in our modern homes. It is also a great plant for indoor styling and fun to watch when new leaves slowly unfurl over days.
Zamioculcas Zamiifolia – AKA: ZZ plant
These are native to Southern Africa.
Of all my houseplants these tolerate poor light and inconsistent watering the best. If any houseplant thrives on neglect it is the ZZ. They also have long gracefully arching stems with shiny emerald leaves. They are also great gifts as they symbolize prosperity and friendship in many cultures.
Spathiphyllum – AKA Peace Lily
Natives of the tropics of central and south America as well as most of Asia. These plants need slightly more care than others on my list but the benefits are that they have large green leaves and flower regularly inside. Give then a bright spot, keep the soil moist without overwatering and they are happy.
Saintpaulia – AKA African Violet
These plants are native to Tanzania and Kenya.
An “old fashioned” plant that like many others has recently become popular again. They do best on a bright (even sunny) window sill but given this can bloom for long periods of time
(and several times per year) making them the perfect splashes of colour in the white style of kitchen popular to modern homes.
Philodendron Hederaceum – AKA Heart Leaf Philodendron
Native to the Caribbean and Central America. These are my favourite “styling” plants. They are very easy care for and grow in a trailing or climbing habit making them perfect for styling shelves or trailing from higher locations. They are also easy to propagate or shape by trimming back.
Ficus Elastica – AKA Rubber tree
Native to most of Southeast Asia and members of the very popular Fig genus. While looking great any size, these plants are best as a large feature plant. The many colour variations include beautiful variegated leaves (such as Tineke)
Strelizia Nicolai – AKA giant white bird of paradise
Native to Mozambique and southern Africa. This handsome plant has very large banana like leaves that open symmetrically. A truly graceful house plant.
Aglaonema – AKA Chinese Evergreen
Native to most of Asia. These stunning foliage plants adapt well to most indoor conditions and actually retain the beautiful colour on their leaves better in moderate inside light conditions.
Rhipsalis – AKA Mistletoe Cacti
They are widely found throughout Africa, Asia, central America and even the middle east. There is a huge diversity of these plants but they all are epiphytes and all have slender cylindrical pedant-like stems. These are the easiest Cacti to grow indoors and also one of the best plants to use for indoor plant styling.
Epipremnum Aureum – AKA pothos
Originates from the Society Islands of French Polynesia.
Easy to care for and to propagate (they will basically live in a glass of water) with a large variety of leaf colours these trailing, climbing plants rightly deserve their place in the home. They don’t require a large amount of soil to grow in and are therefore very useful to display in small containers on shelves or underplanting larger plants.
