Foliage House Plants
- Most are easy to grow with a minimum of care
- Splendid range of variegated and patterned foliage
- Many plant types and sizes
- Do well in lower light than flowering plants
- Excellent health benefits with better air quality
Local Advice for Local Gardeners
What an endless diversity of choices we have when it comes to leafy houseplants, with a wealth of foliage textures, shapes, and colors, and plant habits that sit, climb, cascade, and tower. The best live for years with a minimum of care. Bringing greenery into the home is as natural as breathing, and, besides the feelings of well-being their presence give us, foliage houseplants have been shown to help purify the air of pollutants, increase humidity and oxygen levels, and reduce noise levels.
Choose from these types
- Tree-like, for a stately focal point
- Vine, to train around windows or up a trellis
- Bushy, giving a full leafy effect
- Extremely colorful or patterned
- Suitable for hanging in baskets, cascading prettily
- Drought tolerant, for the minimal of care
Foliage House Plants like
- Potting mix - Crumbly (rather than fine) houseplant-formulated soil-based potting mix
- Light - Bright light with some sunshine suits most, although many will tolerate much less; check plant labels for specifics
- Temperature - Most are adaptable to average home temperatures (65-75º F day, 60-65º F night)
- Moisture - Overwatering kills. In general allow soil to dry slightly between watering thoroughly with room-temperature water. Never let plants sit in water. All benefit from extra humidity
- Fertilizer - Overfeeding can be a problem. Give half strength all-purpose soluble houseplant fertilizer only to healthy plants with wet soil, generally monthly in growing season
- Remember to check new plants for insects or disease problems before buying; look under the leaves
- Never stand a plant near or on top of a radiator, a television, in front of an air conditioner, or use a pot with no drainage holes
Where to grow plants
- Bright with some sun - Most foliage houseplants will do best here, especially in morning sun
- Sun most of the day - Thicker-leaved plants can take the most sun. Others need protection from hottest afternoon light.
- Bright but no direct sun - Most adapt fine here
- Low light with no sun - While flowering houseplants suffer in dim light, these foliage ones adapt well: Cast-iron plant, Calathea, Dracaena ‘Janet Craig’, Peace Lily, Maranta.
- Terrariums and dish gardens - Small plants with small leaves can make lovely combinations.
- Topiary - Ivies are especially suited for training on topiary forms
- Bathrooms - The extra humidity of a bright bathroom is great for ferns and many others
Seasonal care
- Spring - Usually repotting time as new growth emerges, but only if needed (see below)
- Summer - Give houseplants a summer outdoors, protected from hot sun, putting those in clay pots inside another pot lined with moss to prevent quick drying out. Extra watering will probably be needed
- Fall - Bring plants back indoors well before the danger of frost, inspecting and cleaning plants first
- Winter - Offset the drying effect of the heating system with extra humidity; watch for pests such as whitefly; wash them off with a strong spray of tepid water, or wipe with water mixed with a gentle soap. Reduce fertilizing
- Repot? - Only if new leaves are smaller than previous leaves, lower leaves turn yellow, plant always wilts between watering, and/or if roots begin to show
- Occasionally rinse dust off leaves in a mildly warm shower
Terrain’s Top Ten Foliage House Plants
- Aloe
- Bromeliad
- Boston Fern*
- Dracaena ‘Janet Craig’*
- Ficus Alii*
- Painted Begonia
- Miniature Date Palm* (Phoenix roebelinii)
- Philodendron*
- Peace Lily* (Spathiphyllum)
- ZZ Plant*
*Proven especially good for cleaning and purifying the air.
Did you know… Humans are so genetically programmed to live with leafy plants. While we can see only a few shades of red, we can distinguish between 2,000 shades of green.
Written by Graham Rice