Indoor plants help clean the air and elevate your mood. And people who don't have a garden can still get satisfaction from growing a plant in the window. It's a hobby and a life-long love for Signal Mountain Nursery horticulturalist Celia Mattingly.
She and a couple of local plant lovers list their Top 10 recommendations for easy-to-grow indoor plants.
Donna Dent holds up a braided sansevieria plant at The Barn Nursery.1. Succulents, recommends Crabtree Farms greenhouse assistant Andy Boyd.
Different kinds of succulents are very popular because they're very hardy. They don't require a lot of water. You can let them dry out in between waterings and they're still fine, says Boyd. But succulents do need a lot of light, so place them near a window. Other than that, succulents are great for beginners because you can let them dry out and they still live. They won't wilt or anything.
Perhaps best known is aloe vera, which Crabtree Farms grows because of its medicinal and cosmetic purposes, he says.
On its website, The Huffington Post lists the aloe plant first in a list of "10 Houseplants To De-Stress Your Home." The plant helps clear the air of pollutants in chemical cleaning products. When the amount of harmful chemicals in the air becomes excessive, brown spots show on the plant's leaves, according to the website.
2. Peace lily is another really good low-light plant, says Donna Dent, custom designer at The Barn Nursery.
It's a good classic, low-maintenance plant. It doesn't need a lot of repotting or trimming. It makes a nice white bloom. They can also help reduce the number of toxins in the air, she says.
3. Pothos ivy is another great plant that adapts to low or high light, says Dent. It's very tolerant of abuse. If it gets overwatered, it's OK. It has a trailing heart-shaped leaf.
4. Snake plant, also known as mother-in-law's tongue or sansevieria. Dent says there are several varieties of this easy-to-grow houseplant. It can tolerate low light or high light and needs little water.
It's also a good oxygenator, which helps in the removal of pollutants like formaldehyde, benzene, trichloroethylene and carbon monoxide, according to hgtv.com.
Mattingly, at Signal Mountain Nursery, says her only complaint is its common name. As a mother-in-law, she wishes people called it snake plant instead of mother-in-law's tongue.
5. Bromeliads are also really nice, says Boyd. Usually you buy them with a bloom on them. They bloom in bright colors and last a long time, sometimes longer than a year. They're very easy and hardy. Boyd says the main thing to remember about bromeliads is that after that bloom dies, the main plant dies too. So the bromeliads only bloom once, but they will send out little baby plants from the base that you can grow.
6. Dracaena comes in several varieties, says Dent.
It has a long thin leaf that comes to a point, sort of like the point of a pineapple. They come in different color variations and different heights and sizes. And they're another good indoor plant that likes medium to bright light. It's a low water user. Warning: Dracaena can be toxic to both dogs and cats if they eat the leaves. It could lead to vomiting, depression, weight loss, hypersalivation and dilated pupils.
Donna Dent, a team leader at The Barn Nursery, poses with a fern at The Barn Nursery.7. Tropical ferns are another of Boyd's favorites.
They do really well with lower light conditions, he says. Most anything indoors is going to get less light than if it were outside. They do need a decent amount of watering, he says, "but otherwise they're pretty easy to grow."
8. Orchids, despite their reputation as being difficult houseplants. Boyd says he's also grown a fair amount of orchids indoors. They're fairly hardy, survive fairly well and put up with quite a bit.
9. Ficus trees, says Mattingly. Everybody grows the fiddle-leaf fig, but there are all kinds of varieties. It's a higher-light plant so it wants to be in a window. The fiddle-leaf fig is popular now because it's featured a lot for decorating on HGTV shows, she says. It can grow to about 6 feet or taller, according to HGTV.
10. Arboricola schefflera can be either a tree form or a bush form, says Mattingly. Some people want a floor plant that takes up space. This wants to be in a window. It's also referred to as a parasol plant or dwarf umbrella plant.
Contact Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.