Indoor Green: The Top 5 Low Maintenance Indoor Plants For Your Home Or Office
Plants have a way of entering our lives by happenstance. They are donated like strange pieces of furniture, passed along from dwelling to dwelling. They are gifted by design-minded friends who swear hanging baskets are the new chandeliers. Neighbors may thrust them into your arms before moving out of state, or surrender the ones that are toxic to their pets. Perhaps your resourceful children rescue them from trash bins. Perhaps your tiny office is now cluttered with whimsical gray succulents, rescued from trash bins. Acquiring a plant extemporaneously can leave you feeling fraught. Plants are living organisms, after all. And staring at a morgue of withered houseplants may not inspire the feelings of tranquility that come from, say, an hour of restorative yoga in a lush greenhouse overflowing with verdure.
Fear not, friend. Taking care of indoor plants is not too complicated for you. If you choose them wisely and adhere to a few simple practices, they are no more difficult to tend than a bowl of decorative pinecones. Below, you’ll find five of the greatest hits for any reluctant plant parent.
SNAKE PLANT
Snake plants are native to Africa and Southern Asia. They have a complicated taxonomic history, and you can park your van over them without feeling guilty. Unlike maladaptive martyr plants that merely tolerate low light, snake plants can actually thrive in it. Just make sure you let the soil dry out between waterings, and water less frequently in winter. (Plan on neglecting them for a maximum of about five weeks if you keep them in very dim conditions). They grow in dramatic spears and twists. They are also excellent purifiers of air and dark urges, like the urge to get panicky and overwater your snake plant.
JAPANESE SAGO PALM
The Japanese sago palm belongs to the cycad family, an ancient group of vascular plants that dates back to the Jurassic-era. How many things in your office date back to the Jurassic-era? (Trackball mouse? Mitch from accounting?) The Japanese sago palm prefers bright, indirect light, but will manage fine in low light and needs watering only when the soil is a sliver away from bone dry. These are ancient plants, but they are fashionable. They are punk. They look like menacing pineapples. Imagine them sneering, “Try and kill me, I dare you.” No reason to be intimidated, they’re slow growers. Appease your Japanese sago palm with a splashy, hand-thrown statement pot and a single, nonconformist earring.
ZZ PLANT
Everything about the ZZ plant screams diva, from its smooth, glossy leaves to its exaggerated architectural appearance. Eye-catching looks aside, the ZZ is an undemanding drought-resistant plant, staunch in its refusal to languish. Like most starlets, bright light will help it grow to its full potential (up to three feet tall, splaying in luscious bends and arches). Nevertheless, you can stash one next to a hamper of damp towels in whatever corner serves as a holding cell for your dirty laundry. The ZZ will still shine.
OX-TONGUE
Succulents are cute in a way that summons the urge to wrap them in tiny blankets and dote over their every expression. Unfortunately, many of them are petulant little curmudgeons with a yen for punishment. Give them the side-eye and they’ll flop from their containers and rot in a heap on your carpet. One way to resolve this issue is to speak with a Cactus & Tropicals designer who will create an easy-to-tend succulent arrangement just for you. Another option is to acquire a hardy specimen like the fleshy ox-tongue. How many tongue-shaped leaves will the ox-tongue drop? Zero. Zero leaves will decay around the feet of your mid-century planter. Keep these quirky chunkers in a fast-draining medium, give them a soak, let them dry out, repeat and wait for teeny orange and chartreuse blooms in spring.
CAST IRON PLANT
Also known as a bar-room plant, the cast iron features long, belt-like leaves and an indifference to dark and drafty spaces. Like arsenic and locks of dead people’s hair, the cast iron plant was a popular fixture in Victorian households. Cultivars can be found with patterns of speckles, stripes and blended ombré hues. Keep this one out of direct sunlight and give the long leaves an occasional wipe down to help maximize the light they can collect. If you keep its soil evenly moist (not drenched), your cast iron plant will probably hang around for time immortal.
Whether these appeal to you or not, it’s important to remember that plants take up less space than roommates (i.e., if you aren’t sure about the ones you have, you can always get more). If you have questions, or want help choosing the right plant for your interior, feel free to stop by Cactus & Tropicals in Salt Lake City or Draper and speak to a plant expert.