Houseplants make a house a home, writes Elly West, who this month shares some top tips designed to help indoor plants with tropical origins thrive in the UK.
My first proper job was on a newspaper post-graduation back in 1998, where I was given an aloe vera plant by the photographer when she was having a clear out at home. I still have its descendants going strong in various containers around my house to this day and I’ve also shared it with friends, one of whom recently mentioned that she calls it her ‘Elly-vera’ plant, which made me smile.
Plants often remind us of people, and many of the gardens I design have plants that I’m asked to work around and include plants that have been given as gifts for an anniversary or wedding, for example, or grown from a cutting from a parent’s garden. A plant is one of the nicest things to share in my opinion; something that grows, that brings happiness and a sense of well-being and calm.
Along with my aloe vera plants, many other houseplants are equally prolific. A tiny piece of Crassula ‘Hottentot’ was given to me by a local succulent expert Chris Rixton, when I was writing a feature on succulents for this magazine in 2020. It snapped off in my fingers when I was touching the plant (oops!) and he said to take it home and just lay it on the surface of a pot of damp soil and it would grow into a brand new plant. Easy peasy. It now fills and cascades over the edges of a much larger pot in my bathroom.
Spider plants are one of the most well-known houseplants and another favourite of mine. One will quickly become many, with ‘babies’ produced on long trailing stems that can be left in situ, or removed and placed in jam jars of water, sitting with their base just touching the water, until a network of roots grows and they can be potted up.
Houseplants, for me, make a house a home. They provide instant impact and if well looked after will grow and change, perhaps with flowers, but at the very least sending out new leaves and getting bigger, increasing their effect. They can also have a positive influence on our mental health. Caring for plants is a mindful and rewarding activity that connects us with nature and removes us from the stresses of everyday life.
In hospitals, plants have been shown to boost pain tolerance, and in offices some studies have shown they can improve worker productivity and attention span, as well as reduce stress levels. There is also evidence that they improve our indoor air quality by absorbing toxins and adding oxygen and humidity as they photosynthesise.
When growing plants indoors, it’s very much a case of right plant, right place. When visiting the RHS Malvern Spring Festival last year, I chatted to Jessy Edgar, who runs the independent plant shop Sprouts of Bristol based in Kingsdown. Her show garden Beneath the Canopy (pictured above) aimed to highlight good plant care based on understanding where our plants come from, so as to give them the best chance to thrive indoors. Many of our houseplants originate from the tropical rainforests, and have adapted to life beneath a dense jungle canopy, meaning they can survive the low light conditions found indoors.
As Jessy explains, “It’s very shady below the canopy, so even though people think tropical plants will need lots of sunlight, that’s often not the case.”
Her show garden used plants exclusively from the Amazonian rainforest, and for these types of plants she advocates plenty of humidity, so avoiding placing them near radiators, or letting the soil dry out. Grouping plants, using self-watering pots, and standing the plants on a pebble tray filled with water can all help increase humidity. Tropical plants often do well in bathrooms. Jessy’s garden included many household favourites, such as the classic 1970s’ cheese plant (Monstera), flamingo flower (Anthurium), spiderwort (Tradescantia), leopard lily (Dieffenbachia) and purple shamrock (Oxalis).
Succulents and cacti on the other hand are desert plants. “These need lots of sun and not much water,” she says. “A soaking, rather than regular light watering is much better. I’ve got big statement cacti that I’ll water three times a year, when they start to look a bit wrinkly.”
Jessy suggests checking on your plants once a week to see how they are faring. Crispy, wilting, brown foliage and dry soil indicates underwatering, while signs of overwatering (one of the most common causes of plant failure) include wilting and yellowing leaves. Check the pots have adequate drainage and aren’t standing in pools of water. Air circulation is also important to prevent plants rotting. Lack of light can cause smaller, paler leaves, with more stem growth between each leaf as they try to reach for more light. Moving it closer to a window and rotating the plant will help it to grow more evenly.
Elly West is a professional garden designer, working in and around the Bath and Bristol areas; find her at ellyswellies.co.uk
