Easy Indoor Gardening

Spider Plant

• What is it? A terrific houseplant for first-time gardeners. The Spider Plant grows like wildfire, shooting its green and white stocks out from its center, creating a robust, full plant for your home.
• How do I take care of it? Spider Plants should be kept potted in a nutrient-rich soil near a window or in indirect sunlight. They should be watered about once a week, but take care not to over soak the soil. Spider Plants will grow miniature versions that suspend off of the main plant, often called “babies”. You can either leave the babies attached to the main plant for a full cascading look or you can clip the mini plants and place them in glasses of water until roots form. You can then transplant into a new basket for a whole new plant!
• Where can I put it? Spider Plants are perfect for placing in baskets made of wire mesh, moss, or plastic to hang from the ceiling of your living room or kitchen. They have been known to improve the quality of indoor air, so when it comes to Spider Plants, the more the merrier!

Ponytail Palm

• What is it? Also known as “the elephant-foot tree” for it’s stout, sturdy base, the Ponytail Palm is the ultimate low-maintenance plant. You can go on a vacation and come back to find the Ponytail’s slender green leaves as healthy as ever.
• How do I take care of it? Being native to Mexico, the Ponytail Palm is used to climates much harsher and arid than the interior of your home and will require watering every one to two weeks. Just make sure to give it plenty of space and sunlight.
• Where can I put it? The Ponytail Palm makes for a festive addition to side tables or as the centerpiece of a coffee table when they are smaller. As they grow in size, any sunny window space will do. Place a large Ponytail Palm near an entryway window or in a sunroom.

Cactus Combo Bonsai

• What is it? Bring a small reminder of the Southwest into your home décor with this precious bunch of cacti. The Cactus Combo Bonsai is a miniature cactus garden that exhibits a variety of stunning shapes and contours that will add character to any room.
• How do I take care of it? Keep your Cactus Combo Bonsai in bright light and water it about once a month. Be especially careful not to over water in the winter when the plant will stop growing and go dormant. Over watering can cause rotting.
• Where can I put it? Most Cactus Combo Bonsai’s are put into beautiful glazed ceramic containers no bigger than 10 inches in height. They make perfect additions for your desk, hallway table or windowsill.

Braided Ficus Tree

• What is it? The Braided Ficus is an intricately formed tree with aesthetically pleasing leathery green leaves. Its name is taken from the tree’s “trunk,” which is made up of several thick stems that wrap around each other like a licorice twist.
• How do I take care of it? The Braided Ficus only requires indirect, bright light and weekly watering. During the winter you can cut back to giving it water bi-weekly.
• Where can I put it? Braided Ficuses can give a fresh new look when placed next to a drab desk and chests of drawers or can infuse bay windows with a lush tropical feel. Just make sure not place it near a drafty window or door. Inconsistent watering and exposure to drafts can cause leaf drop.

Jade Plant

• What is it? The Jade Plant, also known as the friendship plant or the money tree, is a succulent plant renowned for its thick, dark green leaves, which are oval in shape. Under the right conditions, they may also produce white or pink flowers in the spring.
• How do I take care of it? You should try to place your Jade Plant in a spot where it receives about 3 to 5 hours of direct sunlight a day. Letting the soil dry between watering is essential to having a flourishing Jade Plant. Over watering will cause it to lose its leaves. Water every 10-20 days or so in the summer and only about once a month in the winter.
• Where can I put it?
  Jade Plants make excellent additions anywhere in your home that has lots of natural sunlight. Try placing a small Jade Plant on a kitchen or bedroom windowsill or on a tabletop. While some natural sunlight is ideal, extreme heat or overexposure to sunlight can cause wilting. Over exposure to cold will also damage a Jade Plant, so keep it away from drafty windows and doors in the winter.

All five of these plants are great for either the budding gardener or for those whose schedules just don’t allow us to keep up with high maintenance plants. Indoor gardening will infuse your home décor with that touch of green that gives rooms a distinct and fresh personality all their own. These indoor plants really prove the old adage “less is more” by requiring less work and giving your home décor more character.