Potted Plants – Your Guide to Buying Caring and Designing Indoor Plants –

Before filling your house with the best houseplants money can buy, it is wise to do some research to find out which plants are right for your home, what you need to do to keep them alive (dead plants are not the best decoration!), And where to place them in your home.

Today we share with you what gardening experts have to say about potted plants and their care. Read on to learn more about houseplants and care tips, to help you keep them alive and thriving, as well as styling tips to make your greenery look better.

Tips for choosing potted plants

Indoor living plants can generally come from subtropical climates, so be sure to gradually acclimatize your plant to the individual climate in your home.
Generally speaking, plants with dark green leaves photosynthesize better than those with light green or colored leaves.

This means they need less light to survive and are very shade tolerant. Colored or patterned sheets tend to need more light.
If your houseplant requires bright, indirect light, choose a room that receives enough natural light to read a book for most of the day.

When buying a plant from a garden store, be sure to check the plant thoroughly for pests, insects, or signs of general distress or carelessness. A healthy plant has strong leaves and a firm stem.

Potted plants What pot to get?

The best pots are those with drainage holes. The water may turn sour and houseplants may not thrive in pots that do not drain well or do not allow roots to breathe. If you want to use a ceramic, metal or glass pot that doesn’t drain, use it as an external pot and keep your plant in a plastic pot inside and use a layer of charcoal or moss on the base to absorb excess water and keep clean. Some pots are made as automatic watering or water-absorbing pots, which is great if you forget or travel a lot.

Terrariums

Terrariums, which function as mini ecosystems, typically have a base layer of carbon, then pebbles, and then moss to help purify the water. They grow easily in a shiny position, but it can be tricky to do any maintenance work, like trimming old fronds. Consider how easy it will be to replant the plant. Urn-shaped pots can be impossible to replant.

Maintenance of potted plants

Pruning
Indoor plants generally do not need pruning, although they do benefit from the removal of dead leaves, brown leaves, and, in the case of plants such as peace lilies and anthuriums, old flowers. Occasionally, reducing the growth of more leafy houseplants, such as figs, will promote thicker growth.

Some taller growing plants, like Dracaenas, can be trimmed to size when they are overgrown. They will then fire again from this incision. Cuttings grow roots easily, so you can make new plants by placing cuttings in a vase, allowing them to grow roots, and then planting them in a new pot with the potting mix.

Feeding

To get the best out of your indoor garden, remember to feed it. You can buy slow-release fertilizer especially made for houseplants, which will gradually fertilize plants throughout the year. Supplementing this with added plant liquid tonic, such as Nitrosol, will promote delicious green growth. This normally applies once every three weeks or so.

Irrigation
What a plant needs is species specific; however, hardy houseplants should generally be watered once or twice a week in the summer and once every two weeks in the winter. A good way to check if a plant needs water is to push the index finger towards the top layer of the soil to the first joint, if the soil is dry it needs water. Try adding rocks or drainage material to the bottom of the pot. The brown tips suggest excessive or insufficient watering.

Cleaning
Some houses may have a lot of dust inside, so when cleaning, don’t forget to clean the leaves of plants like rubber trees and violin leaf figs, which can trap a lot of dirt. If your houseplants are small enough to lift them, place them in the shower once a month under warm water for 10 minutes; This does a great job cleaning palm trees and ferns and simulates rain.

Let them drip dry, then put them back in place clean and fresh. For a final shine, wipe the top surface of your violin leaf figs, rubber trees, palm leaves, and peace lilies with a cloth lightly moistened with white oil.

Replanting
August is the ideal time to refresh houseplants with a replant. Be sure to buy a good quality potting mix. Here’s how to replant a plant:

Remove the houseplant from its pot and gently scoop out or trim the circular or tangled roots.
Plant again in the same pot or, if you want your plant to continue growing, plant a few sizes in a larger pot.

Make sure you don’t accumulate soil around the trunk or leave the roots exposed – the new level should be exactly the same as the old one. Water the plant thoroughly to remove any air pockets.

How to Stylize Your Potted Plants Indoors

1 Group them together
Assemble a gang of plants of different heights in different pots to create a display with real impact. We also love how good greens look on soft furniture with plants.

Use a wall
2.You can buy these deer horn ferns ready to assemble at your local nursery. They almost look like pieces of art on the wall! Just remember to give these beauties regular spells outside.

3. Hang them high
Create a sculptural display on top with bird’s nest ferns and creeping plants like the succulent Pearl Chain and the carefree Devil’s Ivy – perfect options for hanging flower pots.

4. Furniture inspired by nature

Tall plants, like this violin leaf fig, look very elegant and dramatic when placed in flower pots sitting on metal or wooden stands. You could even do something like this yourself.