Get into gardening

Houseplants are a fabulous way to brighten up a room – they add colour, texture and smell great. Which ones you pick for your home should depend on where you plan to put them, the size of your rooms and what you like.

If you’re buying your first houseplant, choose one that’s really easy to look after. Popular plants such as Weeping Figs and the Swiss-Cheese Plant are ideal, but you shouldn’t overlook the more flamboyant Cymbidium Orchids. Despite their fragile and exotic exterior, these orchids are trouble free and practically look after themselves.

Houseplants for the bathroom

Your bathroom is often the best room in the house for growing an indoor plant. The warm, humid conditions in a well-lit bathroom are ideal for many tropical plants such as Anthurium and Caladium. Where the light levels are less good try the Peace Lily instead. However, if your bathroom has no natural light, you will have to provide it artificially using a light bulb that promotes plant growth.

Top tip:

When using the bathroom, try to avoid spraying the plants with aerosols or dusting them with talcum powder – it will coat the leaves and make them less able to photosynthesise.

Plants to try: African Violet (Saintpaulia), Angel’s Wings (Caladium), Anthurium, Baby’s Tears (Helexine), Club Rush (Scirpus), Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum), Snakeskin Plant (Fittonia), Umbrella Plant (Cyperus), Zebra Plant (Aphelandra), and Devil’s Ivy (Scindapsus).

Houseplants for the kitchen

The temperature and humidity in the kitchen usually varies a lot depending on the time of day and how often you cook. If space in your kitchen is tight, choose small plants that don’t sprawl or topple easily. Avoid placing plants where they’ll get in the way, or near hot spots like the cooker. Often the best place to grow plants is on a shelf above the work surface or in hanging baskets suspended in the window.

Plants to try: African Violet (Saintpaulia), Asparagus Fern, Begonia, Busy Lizzie (Impatiens), Cape Primrose (Streptocarpus), Coleus, Creeping Fig (Ficus), Devil’s Ivy (Scindapsus), Grape Ivy (Rhoicissus), Peperomia, and Tradescantia.

Houseplants for the hall

Although usually light and airy, halls are also prone to lots of draughts and varying temperatures – both of which will dictate what you can grow here. You need to choose tough plants that can cope like the aptly named Cast-iron Plant or Mother-in-law’s tongue. But if you’re looking for something a bit less structural, consider the pale green Pig-a-back Plant in a hanging pot.

Plants to try: Asparagus Fern, False Castor oil plant (Fatsia), Cast-iron Plant (Aspidistra), Devil’s Ivy (Scindapsus), Grape Ivy (Rhoicissus), Mother-in-law’s tongue (Sanseveria), Pig-a-back Plant (Tolmiea), Tradescantia, and Umbrella Plant (Schefflera).

Houseplants for the bedroom

Most bedrooms are kept on the cool side, so they’re ideal for growing a wide range of the most popular winter-flowering houseplants like Azalea and Cyclamen. You could train a winter-flowering Jasmine over a simple trellis to add its amazing scent to the air.

Plants to try: Azalea, Chrysanthemum, Cyclamen, Cape Heather, Persian Violet (Exacum), False Castor oil plant (Fatsia), Feather Palm, Grape Ivy (Rhoicissus), Hoya, Hyacinth, Orchids, Polka dot Plant (Hypoestes), Scented Pelargonium, and Winter Jasmine.

Houseplants for living rooms

This is the first place most people think of putting their houseplants because it’s the focus of attention and seems pleasantly warm. Unfortunately, for many plants the warm, dry atmosphere is a killer. The key to success is to maintain humidity around the leaves at all times, and to avoid changes in temperature.

If you can maintain a temperature of around 15oC and avoid a dry atmosphere, you can grow a wide range of plants. To help improve your plants chances, avoid hot spots like next to radiators or the television. You can increase the humidity locally by standing the plants on trays of moist gravel as well as moistening the foliage regularly with a hand mister.

Plants to try: Croton (Codiaeum), Devil’s Ivy (Scindapsus), Dracaena, Mother-in-law’s tongue (Sanseveria), Orchids, Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum), Philodendron, Shrimp Plant (Beloperone), Spider Plant (Chlorophytum), Swiss-Cheese Plant (Monstera), Tradescantia, Wandering Jew (Zebrina), Washingtonia, Weeping Fig (Ficus), and Yucca.