Living trend
Plant it up
This is how you integrate plants into your home
© Kuznetsov Dmitriy / Shutterstock
Outside it gets cold and gray, but in our home it is all the more green. Here are our tips on how to make our four walls cozy – for us and our plant friends.
The days are getting shorter and gray, the sun is less visible. Slowly but surely it is making itself felt, autumn. We now like to be in our four walls again and make ourselves comfortable on the sofa with a cup of tea and cuddly socks. The sadness can stay out there. And what’s the best way to do that? With a few green helpers. Because just because there is no longer any green in front of our front door, it can still do so in our four walls. We’ll show you how you can put your plants in the limelight and, most importantly, how you can get them safely through the cold season.
Happy plants – happy you
It has been proven that plants make you happy. If we bring a few green friends into the house, it is not only good for the interior design, but also for our well-being. On the one hand, it is a pleasure to take care of the plants. How often have we enjoyed a new baby leaf or marveled at the fragrant blossom. On the other hand, the color green contributes to relaxation. So it’s all the cooler that some planties even have a positive effect on the air in the room. They filter them and moisten them. This is of course great now, because dry heating air is not necessarily the best for our respiratory tract.
Which plants are suitable for you, of course, depends on your personal taste, but also on what conditions your apartment offers. Light and humidity play a not so small role here. Especially in the autumn and winter months, it is important that your plants get at least a little daylight. Tropical plants, which are very trendy right now, like high humidity and prefer a bright location. Even so, there are some that can get by with less light, such as the Calathea and the Monstera. Most plants, however, tend to prefer it to be bright, but few find direct sunlight good. So it is best to think about beforehand where each plant might feel comfortable in your home.
No green thumb? Not bad!
Sure, our houseplants need a little attention. Anyone who travels a lot, likes to forget about watering and maybe doesn’t have the greenest thumb of all, doesn’t necessarily have to do without a green oasis. There are some plant species that are not divas and thrive even with very little care. They often come from barren areas and are used to nutrient-poor soil and less optimal lighting conditions. Therefore, they adapt perfectly to the current situation and we don’t have to do much. Some of them even filter the air if that isn’t the jackpot!
Here come the plants that survive in everyone
- Bow hemp
- Monstera
- Efeutute
- Ficus
- A leaf
- Lucky feather
Almost all of them get by with little light, especially the lucky feather, the single leaf and the bow hemp are very frugal. The Monstera has to be watered relatively regularly, but then it grows like weeds – only nicer! – and regularly delights us with a fresh supply of leaves. However, all plants are satisfied with minimal maintenance and help us to have a greener apartment without much effort.
How do I get my plants safely through the cold season?
Our indoor plants also have an internal clock by which they are based. The days are getting shorter, the hours of sunshine less. Our green roommates notice this and go into the winter break. This means that less is often more in plant care in autumn and winter. Your green roommates now need rest, because they collect all their energy in the roots in order to wake up vigorously in spring. The important thing now is that you don’t do too much. You can reduce watering to once a week or even just every two weeks (depending on the type of plant) and your plants do not need fertilizer in the winter months. If your apartment is getting very dark now, it can make sense to buy a plant light. For tropical plants, very dry heating air is poison, always make sure that you do not place it too close to the heater and that you spray the leaves with water every now and then. Actually nothing should go wrong with these tips!