5 Best Indoor Flowers and Ways to Incorporate Greenery Into Your Home
Indoor flowers are one of the easiest ways to bring life to your interior. Also, they purify the air, they don’t cost much, and many species are easy to maintain.
But many homeowners run out of ideas about what to grow, which may result in the decision not to grow flowers at all. In this article, we have picked the five best indoor flowers that are cheap to buy and easy to maintain. This way, there will be no more excuses for you not to grow these in your home!
5 Best Indoor Flowers That Don’t Need a Lot of Maintenance
1. African Violet
African Violet is one of the best indoor flowers for beginners. It doesn’t need a lot of care and will look beautiful in any interior.
Although this flower can bloom at any time of the year, experts recommend growing them indoors during autumn and winter.
To let it grow and bloom well, this plant needs four basic things: constant temperature (heat), regular watering, enough light, and not too dry air.
Although African Violet is an undemanding flower, it doesn’t like to be moved around from one place to another. So, make sure to pick the best spot and leave it there for the rest of the plant’s life.
After purchasing the plant, remove it from the temporary pot, and transplant it into a small one with nutrient-enriched soil.
When choosing the most suitable place for this plant, keep in mind that African Violets love light, but they don’t like direct sunlight. So, placing a pot on a windowsill is not a good idea. The ideal room temperature for this flower is 62 to 73 degrees.
When watering the flower, pour water to the plate under the pot and leave it until the roots absorb it. Avoid spilling water on this plant’s leaves as they turn brown and start to rot. Prune leaves once in a while to allow more light to reach all parts of the plant.
The common problem of having this plant is excess watering, which can result in the decline of quality and decreased number of leaves. Lack of light can result in yellowing leaves, too.
2. Peace Lily
Peace Lily is another easy-to-maintain flower that will look beautiful in any home. It doesn’t need much light nor heat and is one of the best indoor flowers that purify the air.
Location and temperature. These flowers love light and warmth, but they don’t like direct sunlight. So, make sure you don’t place it on a windowsill. Peace Lily isn’t a temperature-sensitive flower and grows well all year round at 59 to 71 degrees.
Peace Lily should be transplanted every 1-2 years. It grows well in standard indoor plant soil, but you can also add peat or compost to improve drainage. The flower also likes more space, so, if possible, choose a wider pot.
Peace Lily likes moisture. During summer, it grows fast, so it needs more watering. To keep the flower healthy, you should also frequently spray water on its leaves. Like many other indoor flowers, Peace Lily needs more watering in summer and less in winter.
You can fertilize this flower during growth and blooming every two weeks, and monthly during autumn and winter. It is best to use liquid fertilizer.
3. Kalanchoe
Kalanchoe is a beautiful flowering plant with thick fleshy leaves and striking colors. There are several varieties–pink, red, yellow, white, and orange flowers. This wide range of colors makes it one of the best indoor flowers, not to mention that they are very popular and easy to grow. Kalanchoe usually blooms in late summer or early spring. Once picked and placed in a vase, these flowers do not fade for a very long time.
Kalanchoe flowers like bright spaces and moderate irrigation. When watering, make sure that the water doesn’t accumulate at the pot’s base. Remove the excess water from the plate after each irrigation. Also, allow the surface layer of the soil to dry between waterings.
Kalanchoe needs a lot of light, especially in winter, when the days are shorter. So, it is advisable to place it in bright places.
When transplanting Kalanchoe, make sure to use a substrate with good drainage capacity, which may have some compost and sand.
4. Christ Plant
Euphorbia Milii is a vertically growing perennial shrub plant that belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family. It is native to Madagascar and some countries in South America. Christ Plant is a highly branched shrubby plant that can exceed 3.3 ft in height in its natural habitat.
Generally, in cultivation, the plants are kept in smaller dimensions. The plant is very thorny, which refers to its names such as ‘Christ Plant’ or ‘Crown of Thorns.’
The Christ Plant is an easy-to-grow, low-maintenance plant. If the growing conditions are excellent, it is very resistant to pests and diseases. Its main enemy is an excess of irrigation or poor drainage that causes root rot and the general deterioration of the plant. So, you need to track the irrigation and provide the plant with perfect drainage. Keep the plant in an environment with moderate temperatures, too.
The Christ Plant is one of the best indoor flowers as it’s easy to grow. All it needs is a draining substrate that contains sand. It’s suitable for growing in pots –– both cold and warm climates ––as a houseplant. To transplant the Christ Plant, you can use soil for succulent plants and cacti mixed with a multipurpose substrate. To fertilize the plant, apply fertilizer for cacti once or twice a month during the growing season in spring and early summer.
As for the watering, you only need to water it when the soil is dry. Avoid soaking the substrate and remove any excess water because it can cause damage to the roots.
Christ Plant doesn’t need pruning — just remove the damaged and dry stems or leaves to keep the plant healthy. To avoid injuring yourself with the thorns, wear appropriate gloves when removing the leaves.
5. Amaryllis
If you are looking for an indoor plant capable of decorating any corner by itself, Amaryllis is the way to go. It’s a beautiful plant that boasts large and unique flowers of intense colors that varies from red and orange to salmon pink.
It is a bulbous plant and, depending on when you plant the bulb, it will be able to bloom from winter to early summer. So, to enjoy its beautiful flowering during the coldest months of the year, you will have to plant it in early autumn.
When the Amaryllis finishes its growth cycle, you can remove the bulbs from the soil and store them in a cool, dry place for about two months. Then, you can plant them again.
Other Ways to Incorporate Greenery Into Your Home
Although these best indoor flowers do not need a lot of maintenance, they need at least some of your time. That’s the main reason why many people choose not to grow plants in their homes at all. Without our attention, the flowers will die, which is not a huge motivation to start over.
But don’t just give up plants yet! There are many reasons why you shouldn’t; there are other ways you can incorporate greenery into your home. Here are a few of them:
1. Succulents
Succulents are a common choice for gardening enthusiasts and those who have nothing to do with plants. Two reasons make them so popular: they take up little space and they grow almost anywhere.
Taking care of succulents is very straightforward. But it’s necessary to know how to do it correctly to help the succulents grow strong. Succulent plants can absorb moisture from the environment and keep it in their leaves, stems, and roots. So, they need very little water, which means that overwatering can be lethal for them.
During the cold months, you will only need to water them every fifteen days, while in the hot months, you can do it once a week.
Although succulents need a lot of light, they don’t like direct sunlight. They need to save water reserves, and direct exposure to the sun dehydrates them. If this happens, the leaves will turn red, which is a sign that they are burning. In this case, find a better location for them.
You can grow succulents anywhere–in a glass terrarium, pot, on rock, etc. For this reason, they don’t need fancy substrate rich in minerals but, rather, poor soil, such as sand mixed with cacti substrate.
2. Cacti
Cactus is an obvious choice. It needs little maintenance, and you can choose from a large number of varieties and types. As a decor element, cactus will look excellent in any interior. Combined with succulents, they will bring more greenery into your home, both of which don’t need regular maintenance.
3. Cut Flowers and Bouquets
Last but not least, there are cut flowers and flower bouquets. Although it’s not a long-term option, it’s an excellent way to incorporate greenery into your home. Cut flowers and bouquets give you more flexibility than potted plants. For example, you can get custom flower arrangements for different occasions: birthdays, holidays, etc.
There are many options when it comes to flower bouquets. Roses, tulips, buttercups, which are called the “Rose of Spring”, peonies, anemones, etc. Any of these flowers will be the central decor element of your home for a few days. And, what can be better than a sweet scent of fresh flowers?
So, you don’t need to be a gardening expert to bring more greenery into your home. Planting a cactus or Peace Lily, putting a vase of fresh-cut flowers on your dining table, or occasionally decorating your home with a gorgeous bouquet is all it takes.