Indoor plants that bring the beauty of nature into the home…
Indoor plants have become part of the home, bringing living colour and energy into our domestic spaces. Foliage plants are not simply green. They offer a world of colour, pattern and texture to explore. Unlike flowering plants, they look good all year-round and many purify the air.
Begonia Polka Dot
The advantage of indoor foliage plants is that they need very little care. Most thrive with medium to bright indirect light like Begonia Polk Dot that is one of the most photogenic indoor plants.
It can tolerate lower light but not direct sunlight that will scorch its leaves. Place it near a window for filtered light. Keep it compact and bushy by regularly pinching or cutting back. Cut back just above a leaf node when stems are 15 – 16cm high.
Calathea Princess Jessie
It’s easy to fall in love with Calathea because every single variety is different. They have what’s been described as designer foliage, usually boldly patterned or striped in varying shades of green and white, often with a burgundy under leaf.
Calathea are less fussy about light but they do need a warm, humid room and lightly moist soil (never soggy. Calathea are sensitive to the chemicals in tap water. If the leaf tips or edges go brown, let the tap water stand over night before using it or switch to filter, bottled or rainwater.
Keep the leaves looking bright and glossy by wiping them every now and them with a damp cloth.
Peperomia Watermelon
This engaging little plant with leaves that look like miniature watermelons, just needs medium light, ideally an east-facing window that receives soft morning light. While too much light will fade the bright colours in the leaves, too little light may cause the stems to stretch and become leggy.
Keep the soil moist but don’t let it become waterlogged as the plant will immediately wilt and die. It shouldn’t be allowed to dry out completely either. From spring to autumn, feed monthly with a liquid fertiliser to encourage new leaves and repot only when the plant has outgrown its container.
Stromanthe Triostar
As the light catches the leaves of this variegated plant, the vibrant deep pink of the leaf reverse glows like a stained glass window. It is a thrilling plant to own and is as easy to care for as it is easy on the eye.
Bright indirect light or filtered sunlight brings out is bright and beautiful colours and keeping the leaves free of dust also keeps the colours luminous.
It grows relatively slowly and stays relatively compact making it a good plant for the coffee table, windowsill, home office, or patio. Water when the top 10cm of soil feels dry and mist its leaves to add to the humidity.
Alocasia Amazonica
A plant that cries out for a minimalist, contemporary setting is the angular Alocasia Amazonica, that’s also called the African Mask Plant. The elongated dark green leaves are silver etched with dominant silver midrib and veins. It is the star of any show and most certainly Instagram worthy.
It does best in a bright, light, humid environment and needs very little care, just watering when the top of the soil begins to dry. Feeding with a liquid fertiliser once a month in summer will keep it in glossy good health.
Article and images by Alice Coetzee.
