Five easy-to-care-for houseplants

I love having plants dotted around the house – not only do they add colour and texture, they also make indoor spaces healthier by purifying the air and releasing oxygen. But as I’ve admitted before, I don’t have particularly green fingers, and over the years I’ve learnt by trial and error which plants I can keep alive, and which will soon wither away under my care. So, to help others with the same predicament, here’s a round-up of my favourite easy-to-care-for houseplants, all of which I’ve managed to keep relatively healthy for at least a year.

I’ve styled my plant picks in the beautiful new Hammershøi pots from Kähler Design, Denmark’s oldest ceramic brand, which teams up with up-and-coming and established names to create timeless pieces for everyday use. The work of Norwegian designer Hans-Christian Bauer, the pots are the latest additions to the Hammershøi collection, which also includes vases, tableware and tealight holders. All were inspired by the iconic grooved floor vases first created in Kähler’s workshop in the early 20th century by Danish artist and ceramicist Svend Hammershøi, and they have a wonderful expression that’s somehow classic and contemporary at the same time.

The flowerpots come in four sizes and two finishes: unglazed white and glazed light grey. They work with everything from small succulents to large cheese plants, and I love displaying them in clusters to show off the different textures.

String of hearts

Also known as a rosary vine, this trailing plant has delicate tendrils dotted with heart-shaped leaves and little bead-like pearls. It drapes beautifully over the side of the pot and grows quickly in the summer months, but if it gets too long you can easily prune the stems. The pearls will root if they touch the soil, so you can use them to propagate baby plants. Although not strictly a succulent, strings of hearts hold lots of water and so it’s best to treat them in much the same way.

• Plant in a succulent and cacti soil mix
• Keep in a bright spot, away from direct sunlight
• Water lightly when the soil is completely dry – once a week or so in summer but less frequently in winter, when the plant is dormant

Spider plants

Spider plants grow quickly and can tolerate a lot of abuse. They come in green or white-tinged varieties and produce ‘pups’ which dangle from the stems and can be used to propagate baby plants. Don’t worry if the tips of the leaves start to turn brown, as this is generally the result of salt build-up in the soil and doesn’t mean the plant is dying. You can try flushing out the excess salts by giving the plant a thorough watering – just make sure you let the water drain away rather than accumulating in the pot.

• Plant in normal potting soil
• Keep in a bright spot, away from direct sunlight and draughts
• Mist the leaves regularly and keep the soil evenly moist

Sanseviera

Also called a snake plant, devil’s tongue and various other names, sanseviera is incredibly tough and will survive in most environments. I have two different varieties – zeylanica, which has tongue-shaped foliage, and cylindrica, which has harder, tubular spikes. Both absorb carbon dioxide during the night so they make excellent bedroom plants – I tend to keep one on my bedside table and another on the fireplace opposite.

• Plant in a succulent and cacti mix combined with normal potting soil
• Keep in a shaded spot for the best results, though they can survive in brighter light too
• Water only when the soil is completely dry

Peperomia

Semi-succulent peperomia plants are generally small and compact, so they’re a great option for desks, shelves and other tight spaces. There are more than 1500 varieties, with a huge range of leaf shapes, colours and textures to choose from. To be honest I have no idea exactly which one I own, but all of them require the same kind of care. They also all produce small offshoots that can be divided and planted in new pots.

• Plant in normal potting soil
• Keep in partial shade, or a bright spot away from direct sunlight
• Water moderately when the soil is completely dry. Some varieties prefer humid environments and do best with regular misting, so check when you buy

Air plants

Air plants are epiphytes, which means they take their nutrients from the air around them and don’t need any soil. As a result, you can display them in all sorts of interesting ways – suspended on wires or string, inside glasses or bowls, wired onto branches or rocks, or just placed straight onto whatever surface you want. They’re native to the Americas and there lots of different varieties, some of which come from drier climates than others, but as a general rule those with silvery leaves tend to be more drought-resistant than greener ones.

• Ensure good air circulation around the plant
• Keep in a warm spot, away from direct sunlight
• Water once a week or so, but keep an eye on things to work out what’s best for the specific variety you have. Either mist with a spray bottle, or soak in room-temperature water for 15 minutes and then leave to drain before putting back in place

A few of my favourite places to buy houseplants…

• Wild Leaf – a tiny Bristol shop brimming with houseplants, along with plant-care books and pots
• Toro Studio – a small but beautiful plant shop in the Cornish town of Falmouth, with an excellent mail-order service
• Sprout London – an East London plant emporium with a great selection to buy online
• Wildernis Amsterdam – an amazing plant-filled shop in Amsterdam; there’s a web shop, too
• IKEA – it has a surprisingly good selection of indoor plants, though some look a little healthier than others

And the best books to help you keep your plants alive…

• House of Plants: Living with Air Plants, Succulents and Cacti – a practical, stylish guide created by Rose Ray and Caro Langton, the founders of Ro Co House of Plants
• Urban Jungle: Living and Styling with Plants – a fantastic tome packed with styling inspiration and plant-care tips, written by Igor Josifovic and Judith de Graaff of Urban Jungle Bloggers
• Green Home Book – a beautifully photographed guide to more than 50 different houseplants from Finnish interior stylist Susanna Vento

Kähler Design kindly gifted flowerpots for the purpose of this post, but all words and opinions are my own.

All photography by Abi Dare