GREEN INDOOR PLANTS: WHICH ONES TO CHOOSE TO DECORATE YOUR HOME

Green apartment plants, in addition to embellishing the interiors with their colors, can have more or less particular shapes and different sizes to adapt well to any room in your home. Especially if you don't have a garden or a green space on your balcony, choose one of these green plants suitable for keeping in the apartment. Before leaving you to the advice on their care, here is a video on the language of flowers.

How to choose green indoor plants

While it might seem the opposite, choosing the right houseplant is not that simple. We must be able to find something that fits our lifestyle and also the characteristics of the environment we live in. The main aspects to consider are these.

The size of the spaces

How much space do we have to dedicate to plants? If the rooms are small and already occupied by a lot of furniture, it will be better to prefer small plants that do not grow very much; if, on the other hand, the spaces are wider, then we can opt for plants that grow in height.

The exposure of the house to light

Most plants need sunlight to grow well, so before placing them indoors you will need to carefully consider where they will look best. If the house is north-facing and therefore will be very shady, the ideal is to choose plants that prefer half-light.

The temperature of the rooms

Some houses have a tendency to always have rather cold rooms, while in other houses the opposite happens. Our advice is to choose plants that are well suited to climatic changes, avoiding the types that are too delicate.

Green Indoor Plants: What You Need to Know

Having the right advice is useful for knowing how to take care of green indoor plants and be able to guarantee an "excellent flowering. Each variety and type of plant requires special attention, but which ones are the most interesting? And the best known? For each one we will try to find a solution. provide you with information relating to its characteristics, specific needs, diseases and the most common parasites.

Boston Fern

The Boston Fern (Nephrolepis) it has a dense and luxuriant foliage that needs a lot of humidity. Despite this, it is easy to care for as long as it is not exposed to direct sunlight and watered often. C "is to be considered that it is a plant that has a rather fast growth.
It is native to the rainforests and resists up to 7 °; the ideal soil is a mixture of heather and compost over a layer of gravel.
Every day, both in winter and in summer, the leaves should be sprayed, using limescale-free water if possible. In addition, the plant must remain in a place with a temperature between 15 ° -20 °.
Remember to regularly remove dry fern leaves to encourage new ones to grow.
Although the Boston fern is a typical green house plant, consider that it can be subject to attack by insects such as cochineal, and is hyper sensitive to the lack or excess of water.

Areca

If we talk about green indoor plants, we cannot fail to mention the Areca (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens), a small palm that can reach two meters in height, with thin, lanceolate leaves, of a bright green color.
Its strengths? It is cheap and very easy to find around. However, consider that it grows a lot in height and needs to stay at a temperature of about 10 °.
The Areca is the perfect green house plant for those who have just moved home. The reason lies in the fact that it manages to remove polluting and toxic particles from paints and building materials. If you have pets at home, be careful: this plant is toxic if ingested, especially for cats. It needs a mixture of soil, compost and sand, and lots and lots of light.
In summer it needs to be watered 1-2 times a week, but in winter it does not need to be wet. Also in this case it is often the victim of the attack of insects such as ladybugs and red spider mites.

Wax flower

The wax flower (Hoya Carnosa) is a perennial green plant with bright leaves, reaching 70 cm in height. To grow and stay healthy it needs a temperature of at least 7-13 °.
It is called Fiore di cera because it has flowers gathered in umbrellas with a particular waxy consistency; moreover, the flowers are white with an internal inflorescence of a different color, and have the shape of a star. Often the inflorescences of this houseplant are from fuchsia to pale yellow, from red to pink and have the particular characteristic of scenting only at night.
It can be considered a climbing plant, so it needs a support on which to attach itself. It prefers a mix of peat, sand, bark, leaf compost and charcoal. It must be exposed to direct sun and requires a temperature between 19 and 24 °.
During the summer it should be wet very and often, but without ever creating stagnant water. If the temperatures become too high, it is better to move the Hoya carnosa, in a shaded area.
It should never be pruned, because the buds form on the stems of the previous year. Beware of insects such as flour butterflies, aphids and red spiders.

Medinilla

Medinilla is a plant that forms a small erect shrub, with broad, dark green leaves. The small flowers 1 to 3 cm in diameter have waxy pink or coral red petals with yellow stamens. The origins of this green houseplant are tropical, which is why it fears frost and should not be placed at temperatures lower than 15 °.
It is not an easy plant to grow, but if you are already used to caring for orchids you can easily familiarize yourself with Medinilla care.
If the sun is strong, it is better to put it in the shade, otherwise direct light is fine. It is necessary to use a universal soil and periodic watering (2 times a week in summer and once in winter). The foliage can be sprayed, even with rain water, and the withered flowers must be removed after flowering.

Christmas cactus

There Schlumbergera it is a green house plant that sees its maximum flowering during the Christmas period: this is the reason why it is called Christmas catus, even if it has very little to do with cacti. For example, it has smooth, flat, and thornless leaves, with flowers that can be white, pink, or red.
If well kept, avoiding sources of heat and direct sunlight, it can last a long time and maximize its beneficial and depolluting effects. A well-drained, pH-neutral mixture of heather and sand must be used. To ensure a beautiful flowering, it is good to prune it in spring and remove the withered flowers. It has extremely delicate flowers that may fall off even if you only move the plant slightly. Once flowering is complete, stop watering for about a month and a half to allow the plant to rest. Resume irrigation when a new stem is formed. Ladybugs are the main enemies.

Norfolk pine

The Norfolk Island pine (Araucaria heterophylla) is considered one of the rarest green indoor plants, which can reach up to one and a half meters in height indoors. Don't worry, we want to reassure you by telling you that it grows very slowly!
At the time of purchase, you will need to make sure that the needles are green, tight, flexible and sticky. In the adult tree, the leaves become very dense, scaly and curved.
The Norfolk Pine prefers woodland soil and will be perfect to place it near a south-facing window, without the strong midday sun.
During the summer season it is watered twice a week, in winter it will be enough to keep the soil moist. It is advisable to cut the low branches and not to turn the tree upside down.

Misery grass

L "Misery Herb (Tradescantia fluminensis) is a hanging green houseplant characterized by high resistance to drought, heat, humidity, light. The foliage is available in many shades of green, depending on the species, including striped or bi-colored.
It blooms in spring with small white flowers and develops well at a temperature between 10 ° and 22 °. Due to its ease of cultivation and speed of reproduction it is strongly recommended for those who do not have a green thumb. We reveal a secret: the Misery Grass is the ideal plant to introduce children to the world of gardening.
You will need to use a universal soil with a little sand, or half garden soil and half peat, and always with excellent drainage at the bottom. Direct sun will cause the leaves to turn yellow, but a good source of light will still be needed. It must be watered abundantly twice a week in summer, while in winter it is enough once.

Ficus

Ficus is a generic name which corresponds to about 800 species of green house plants and more. It does not bloom and extreme care must be taken that it is not eaten by children and pets as it could be toxic. It has a depolluting function for the environment because it is able to absorb the formaldehyde emitted by the furnishing materials and paints. The ideal is to keep it at the entrance of the house, where it will make an excellent impression. It needs a fertile and well-drained soil, enriched with compost. It tolerates the half-light well, but at the same time, it also needs light. It needs regular watering in summer, much less frequent in winter.Like many indoor plants, it can be attacked by spider mites, ladybugs and mushrooms.

Let's see the most famous and suitable Ficus species for interiors:

Beniamina o Ficus benjamina, has slightly inclined branches and abundant bright green leaves.
Ficus rubiginosa, with leaves similar to beniamina, but grows straighter.
Ficus diversifolia, with small, almost round leaves.
Ficus elastica, is similar to rubber and is recognizable by the leaves up to 40 cm long, robust and shiny, sometimes mottled with red.
Ficus lyrata, with large glossy leaves up to 45 cm long, characterized by a serrated edge
Ficus benghalensis, grows rapidly, with small, slightly hairy leaves
Ficus pumila or Ficus repens, creeping with small leaves