Whether you want something to brighten and freshen up your living space or simply find a therapeutic hobby, cultivating plants at home is something you can easily do. The trick is in finding the right plants that best suit your lifestyle and living conditions.
1. Durable plants for absolute newbies
For those who lack experience in gardening, it’s best to start with plants that are not too delicate. Succulents and lucky bamboo are some of the most common starter plants for beginners because they are quite easy to maintain and can be great decorative pieces for any part of the home. They also come in various sizes, so you can start with a miniature one and gradually upgrade to bigger sizes whenever you’re ready for more.
If you want to feel the satisfaction of successfully blooming flowers without much tending, plants like peace lilies, African violets, and bromeliads are great options. All are perennial plants, which can live for more than two years, and have flowers that bloom all year round. They’re also quite easy to maintain and can survive different lighting conditions.
2. Sturdy and non-toxic plants for pet lovers
Living with pets and having plant babies at home could mean trouble if you don’t find the perfect match. Two things you need to consider when selecting a pet-safe plant: 1) it has to be resilient enough to withstand rough handling in case your pets run or play around, and 2) it should be free of elements that can be toxic for animals.
The rattlesnake, spider, prayer, and friendship plants are among the top veterinarian-recommended plants you can have around your pet-friendly home. Some palms like the parlor, date, and ponytail palm also tick off both characteristics for pet-safe flora and are also quite easy to maintain.
3. Low-maintenance plants for those who work from nine to five
Plants, like any other living thing, need tender loving care. But if you don’t have enough time to spare for plant maintenance due to the daily demands of your work, you can still successfully keep a plant at home.
Choose plants that can thrive even with a few plant care mistakes, like missing a day or two of watering or forgetting to bring it out for some sunlight (basically, hard to kill). Rubber plants, ZZ plants, jade plants, desert roses, and milkweed are among the plants that don’t need a lot of watering and fertilizing. Meanwhile, Chinese evergreen, cast-irons, dracaena, peacock plants, and peperomia are some examples of plants that don’t need much sunlight and you can leave indoors for longer periods.
4. Small-size plants for condo/ small house dwellers
Since condominiums and small apartments/ houses usually have limited space to put potted plants on the floor and other surfaces, you can opt to get hanging plants instead. Not only will these add a unique touch to your interiors, they are also low-maintenance and usually require minimum soil.
The lace flower vine (also known as chocolate soldier), pothos (also known as devil’s ivy), varieties of tillandsia, and different types of ferns like Boston, bird’s nest, and maidenhair are among your top choices.
Another great option is to get a terrarium. A terrarium is usually contained in a sealed or unsealed glass bowl or jar, and features a variety of plants like succulents, ferns, moss, violets, and airplants curated to look like a mini garden or forest.
Terrariums are really pretty to look at and require minimal upkeep. Under favorable environmental conditions, terrariums can also last a very long time. The longest known terrarium in the world reportedly lasted 53 years.
5. Healing plants for the health conscious
Not only do plants help beautify our space and help us feel relaxed inside our homes, they also bring great health benefits for us. Air purification is one such benefit brought by plants like Kimberly queen fern, flamingo lily, pineapple plant, kentia palm, and aloe vera.
It’s also a great idea to keep medicinal herbs at home, which you can use to treat common illnesses like lavender, echinacea, lemon balm, and St. John’s wort. Other medicinal herbs that double as food ingredients like oregano, turmeric, spearmint, cilantro, basil, parsley, and dwarf moringa are also advisable.
Regardless of your experience in horticulture, anyone can become a plantito or plantita with the right mindset, plant care information, and set of tools.
For all your plant care needs, visit your nearest SM Supermalls branch and find a selection of decorative plant pots, gardening tools, fertilizers, and more. If you’re lucky, you can even catch the limited-time farmer’s market and garden fairs in select branches where you can buy plant seedlings to help you kickstart your plantito/ plantita journey.