Indoor Plant Problem Solver and Care Guide

Using plants to furnish your home is a great way to introduce green life into indoor areas. However, as with gardening outdoors, some consideration needs to be given in selecting the appropriate plants to suit the varying climates within the home.

Hot spots

Many homes have a room which experiences very hot conditions in summer, especially in the afternoons. This will usually be a room on the western side of the house. Plants selected for these areas need to be very hardy and it is advisable to refrain from flowering varieties unless you are willing to rotate the pot plant seasonally. Two great all year round foliage plants for hot areas include philodendron ‘Xanadu’ and for a bit more height, the golden cane palm. Be sure to plant these in a nice big pot and use a high quality potting mix such as Searles Platinum Potting Mix.

Dark conditions

Dark rooms in the middle of the home can be difficult to decorate with plant life as plants require light to photosynthesise their food. Lush foliage plants such as philodendron ‘Xanadu’, aspidistra ‘Cast Iron Plant’ and spathiphyllum ‘Sensation’ can survive these light-starved conditions, but will need to visit outside filtered light every few weeks to stay healthy. A trick for great indoor pot plants is to keep two sets of pot plants; one set can be indoors while the other set is growing in a shady position outdoors. Whenever the set indoors starts to look a little tired, it can swap positions with the outside set. While the plants are outside, take the opportunity to give them a dose of SeaMax Organic Fertiliser Liquid to keep them looking healthy, clean and glossy. If plants are regularly rotating in this way, it is advisable to keep them in plastic pots that can slide inside the indoor display pot. This will make moving them much easier as you won’t need to carry the heavy ceramic pots around.

Moist zones

Bathrooms are moist environments that are often located in a lighter area of the home and are therefore ideal for plants such as maiden hair ferns and Asplenium bird’s nest fern. If your ferns start to turn yellow there could be a few problems that need to be addressed (see the table below for symptoms, cause and solution).

Air conditioning

Whilst air conditioning makes the summer heat tolerable, the unit sucks the moisture out of the air to cool the space. This can result in plant dehydration, making the plant foliage wilt and potting mix dry out. To ensure that your plants do not suffer too badly from moisture depletion, give the plant and foliage a good water when the soil starts to dry out.

For more great tips on indoor pot plants continue