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As many of you know, my husband Nathan and I recently moved into a brand new house just 3 months ago. While house shopping, one want I had that was high on my wish list was a north facing house. Our last home faced north and I got accustomed to the bright south facing light at the back of the house. Perfect for sun loving house plants like my fiddle leaf fig tree I bought last year.
Outfit Details: Prairie Gardens Shacket, & Jeans, Express Tank, Sperry Shoes Room Details: Snake Plants, Pothos, Plant basket, & Plant Stand With Legs from Prairie Gardens
Recently, I added several new house plants curiosity of Prairie Gardens/Jeffrey Alans to our brand new builders grade home to make if feel more homey. Since I wanted several plants to fill our space I focused on only getting only low maintenance house plants that are easy to care for. Today I thought it would be fun to share the house plants I got, and how simple it is to care for them.
Outfit Details: Prairie Gardens Shacket, Jeans, & Purse, Sperry Shoes Porch Details: Prairie Gardens Hanging Baskets $19.99 each
1. Airplane Plants – Perfect Indoor Outdoor Transitional Plant
First, I’ll start with the outside of the house. Although these aren’t house plants yet, they’ll soon be once the weather drops below 50 outside. If you haven’t thought about bring your hanging baskets inside before you definitely should! That way you can enjoy them all year long.
Care:
Location – The best place for a airplane plant is in bright, indirect sunlight. My airplane plants are hanging at the front of the house which faces north and they seem to be very happy there.
Water – water them whenever the top of the soil feels dry. I water mine daily since they’re outside and the weather is hot right now. Otherwise I can imagine watering them a lot less frequently once they’re inside. Also, don’t allow the pot to sit in water since they’re are susceptible to root rot. Make sure they’re sitting in a saucer where you can remove the excess water if needed.
Fertilizer – To keep them looking great you can give them an all-purpose liquid fertilizer made for indoor plants according to what the bottle says during the months of April-August.
Pro Tip – I’ve never used plant fertilizer before, but last year I started saving the water after I boil eggs for my salads. I use the leftover egg water whenever I water any of my plants all year long and they all seem to love it! Otherwise I just use regular tap water
Prairie Gardens Ficus Tree $89.99 & Pot $99.99
2. Ficus Tree
Olive trees seem to be everywhere right now, but from what I can tell they are high maintenance, expensive, and hard to find. When I came across this low maintenance ficus tree that has a similar look I was sold and couldn’t wait to style it in my home!
Care:
Location – Ficus trees like bright indirect light. I have my tree upstairs in our bedroom next to a south facing window and it seems to be happy there.
Water – Water when the the top layer of soil is dry up to your first knuckle. Make sure the pot has drainage holes in the bottom because these trees don’t like to sit in water, or dump the excess water once it drains out. I like to keep ALL my plants in their original black plastic containers because they already have drainage holes, and there’s no mess when putting them inside of a decretive pot! Since this tree is huge and the pot didn’t come with a saucer I been making sure I put in just the right amount of water so the tree is not sitting in it. 3 cups of water once a week seems perfect for a tree this size.
Humidity – Since this is a tree that likes lots of humidity I also placed a humidifier right next to it on my nightstand. I like to have a humidifier running while I sleep and the tree benefits from it too. Otherwise you can mist them with water regularly.
Fertilizer – Ficus trees require plenty of nutrients to grow well. Fertilize them once a month to every other month to keep them happy.
Pro Tip – Once you know what your plant wants it’s easy to keep it on a schedule. If you find yourself forgetting set a reminder in your Google calendar.
Prairie Gardens Snake Plant & Planter With Stand
3. Snake Plants
Snake plants are known for how easy they are to care for since they thrive even when forgotten about. These beautiful house plants add height and architectural shape to a room, plus NASA research has shown that they are able to help keep the the air clean inside your home.
Care
Location – Snake plants like indirect sunlight. I have two snake plants, one in my family room, and one I keep in my husbands office. Both rooms have south facing windows and my snake plants have been happy there.
Water – You don’t need to water snake plants very often, and It’s actually better to let them dry out in-between waterings. Depending on your plant and the environment it’s best to go at least 10 days in-between watering. I’ve been watering mine 2x a month and it’s been happy with that.
Prairie Gardens Philodendron & Pot
4. Philodendron
This is my first time taking care of a philodendron and I’m happy to report they’re very easy to care for. I’ve always admired their beauty, and they remind me of my grandma since she had a large one of these in her home.
Care
Location – Philodendron’s like bright indirect sunlight where the sun’s rays never directly touch the plant. I placed mine in an interior spot of our home that get’s low light. Across from it is an east facing window, plus it get’s a little indirect light from the bedrooms on either side of it.
Water – Allow the top inch of soil to dry out in-between waterings. I’ve been watering mine weekly.
Fertilizer – Water the plant with a houseplant fertilizer monthly in spring and summer and every two months in the fall and winter.
Prairie Gardens Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree & Pot
5. Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree
Fiddle leaf fig trees can be know for being finicky, but once you know what they want they are very easy to take care of. I’ve had this tree for just over a year and It’s already grown 4 new leaves at the top!
Care
Location – The location of your FLF tree is very important. Since they’re tropical plants make sure you pick a spot with very bright indirect light. I have my FLF tree in the kitchen across from a south facing window. Once you find a place they like don’t move it. FLF trees will thrive when they are left alone.
Water – I water my FLF tree 1 cup of egg water once a week. Depending on your trees size water it 1/2 cup to 2 cups of water weekly. FLF trees don’t like to sit in water so make sure your pot has a saucer at the bottom like mine to catch any extra water so your tree is not sitting in it.
Fertilizer – If you don’t have boiled egg water like I do then you can buy a liquid FLF fertilizer. Just follow the directions on the bottle and add the liquid fertilize to the water it when you water it. Before I started using fertilizer (aka my egg water) my FLF was not able to grow new leaves.
Humidity – Just like the ficus tree, FLF trees like humidity too. You can place a humidifier near it (I do this every once in a while when I think of it) or mist your plant about once a week.
Pro Tip – Once a month rotate your FLF tree so it doesn’t grow lopsided and dust the leaves with a damp cloth so it has no trouble getting lots of sunlight. Then leave the plant alone. It doesn’t like to be moved, bumped, or messed with very often or else it may start dropping leaves.
Prairie Gardens Arboricola & Pot
6. Arboricola
I’ve had several of these plants over the years and they are very easy to take care of. I just water mine weekly and forget about it.
Location – The arboricola prefers bright indirect light but can tolerate lower light conditions as well. I have mine in our bedroom next to a south facing window.
Water – I water mine weekly and you can wait until the soil is dry before watering. Overwatering will kill it.
Pro Tip – This plant will also lean towards the light like the Fiddle Leaf Fig tree. To keep it looking full and even rotate it a quarter each moth like the FLF tree.
7. Pothos
I’ve always wanted a plant that grows into long vines and this plant seem very easy to maintain.
Care
Location – Bright indirect light is best, but this plant also thrives in areas that don’t get a lot of sunlight.
Water – These plants are also easy to maintain because they like their soil to dry out completely in-between waterings. If left in damp soil the plant will rot. I just check to see if the soil is dry weekly when I’m watering my other plants. If it’s still moist I don’t water. Simple enough!
Fertilizer – If you want to give this plant fertilizer you can monthly or every other month with any houseplant fertilizer but these plants are not heavy feeders.
Pro Tip – Since these plants grow quickly (often 12 to 18 inches a month!) they’re a beautiful low maintenance way to get a dramatic cascade of leaves down a bookshelf with minimal effort.
8. Pilea Glauca
I couldn’t help but pick up one more fun cascading plant for this shelf in our laundry room.
Care
Location – This plant likes to be near a window with bright indirect light. I placed my piles glauca next to this east facing window.
Water – Water when the top layer of soil is dry to your first knuckle. Allow the excess water to drain out so that the plant is not sitting in water. I like to add a little water to my plant each week and it’s happy. If you allow the soil to dry out completely it will loose a lot of leaves.
I hope you found these low maintenance house tips helpful! Save one of the photos above to your Pinterest account for easy reference the next time you’re out shopping for a new houseplant!
If you would like a video tour of our new home click here for part 1 and here for part 2.
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