Al’s is always here to help you with all your houseplant needs! Whatever your houseplant skill level is, from easy-care low maintenance to a challenging houseplant, we can help you figure out the best fit for your home.
Low Maintenance: Snake Plant
Are you a first-time houseplant owner and do not know where to start? Look no further than a Dracaena formerly known as Sansevieria, also known as Snake Plants & Mother's in Law Tongues. They are a low maintenance houseplant that likes medium to low light and their soil to dry out in between watering. Dracaenas have a variety of options for color and sizes. They have many foliage variations including green with yellow edges, silver and very dark green, and dark green and light green. Foliage can be described as spear shaped and adds nice height and length to a space. Personally, I think they look great in a corner or in the back of a grouping of plants because they have height that allows you to see it from behind shorter plants. If you are looking for a plant to fill a dark corner or office space this is the plant for you!
Our Houseplant expert gave us a fun fact about Dracaena, botanists have run new DNA sequencing tests and have determined that Snake Plants are really in the Draceana genus. They were previously called Sansevierias so you may see them called both until we are used to their new genus name!
Next Level: Jade
Ready for the next level? We recommend Jade plants as the next step on your houseplant list. They are most well-known for their dark green, thick textured, oval foliage. Jade plants like bright direct light and you need to let the soil dry just a little bit between watering. Being a succulent they like more arid climates and dryer soils. In the winter as light levels go down and it gets colder in your home the moisture will stay in the soil a lot longer. Be sure to watch out and not over water your Jade plants. A good way to stay accurate about watering is to purchase a plant moisture meter. If there is no moisture in the soil that means it is time to water!
Challenge: String of Pearls
Our challenging houseplant is String of Pearls or Seneciorowleyanus. What a mouth full! This houseplant is a bit more of a challenge to take care of because it is very easy to over water and it likes bright light. The pearl beads act as water storage so if they start to shrivel that tells you that they need more water. Be careful not to overwater though because that may lead to root rot. Since they have quite a bit of water storage in their leaves you can water them less frequently. A good way to tell when to water is if the top two inches of the soil is dry, if it is dry that is a good indicator that it is time to water!
Always keep in mind in the winter moisture will stay in the soil of your houseplants longer because of the darker days and colder weather. It is super easy to overwater your houseplants because in the summer they take in a lot more water and it feels wrong not to keep on watering and nurturing them. Trust me, I am still getting the hang of when to water my own plants and it goes against everything in me not to give them more water.
Problem: No direct sunlight on my house!
I try and try, a little defused light is all I have. Bamboo sometimes stays alive for awhile, but very boring! Mostly my plants leaves just start turning brown, one by one!
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