By Stacy Lyon, Store Manager & Interior Plant
Specialist
One of the easiest ways to soften a room and enhance your interior space is to add large foliage.
Here are a few things to consider before choosing which large plant is right for the interior of your home:
- Look at the directions that your windows face. Northern light in the Northwest is considered low light. Eastern facing windows offer medium light and southern facing windows will give you high light or the best light exposure during the day.
- Once you have looked at your available natural light, you can start to think about your space and how tall and wide you'd like the plant to be.
- Most tropical plants like to have some protection from direct sun rays and be placed away from heat or cool drafts. These plants like to be watered thoroughly, so that it comes through the bottom of the pot, but do not like to sit in water.
Here are a few large tropical plant suggestions that are easy-to-grow indoors with a little love.
Low Light Plants:
Image Credit: ModernFindings.com
Dracaena Lisa: (featured above) This is one variety of many dracaenas that love a lower light home. This lovely strappy plant fits perfectly in a narrow spot in your home. It has glossy green leaves and the trunks are at varied heights for visual interest. Dracaena Lisa likes to be watered thoroughly approximately twice a month. It can grow up 6 to 8 feet. Feed this plant with a well-balanced houseplant fertilizer during the months from March through October.
Bamboo Palm: This beautiful palm is dense with foliage from the bottom to the top of its arching fronds. It is one of the easiest house plants to grow. Loves to be misted and can grow from 3-10 feet tall. It should be watered thoroughly when the first three inches of soil dry out. Feed this plant with a well-balanced houseplant fertilizer during the months from March through October.
Medium Light Plants:
Schefflera arboricola: This plant is often found in small tree form. But comes as a bush as well. Often called the umbrella plant because the oval leaves spoke out of each stem like an umbrella. Sturdy and hardy this plant loves bright indirect light and can dry out between watering. Feed this plant with a well-balanced houseplant fertilizer during the months from March through October. This plant can grow up to 8 feet tall.
Image Credit: Houzz.com
Dracaena Marginata: (featured above) Great plant of structural interest for your home. Dracaena Marginata’s spiky leaves can create height, texture and drama to a room. They are easy to care for. Allow to dry out between watering. This plant can grow up to 8 feet. Feed this plant with a well-balanced houseplant fertilizer during the months from March through October.
High Light Plants:
Remembering that all tropical plants need some filtering from harsh sun rays, these two plants grow very well in a southern or filtered western exposure.
Schflerra Amate: This is shiny leaved plant is beautiful and bushy and can grow up to 8 feet tall. It has large strappy leaves that are dark green. You can let this plant dry out between watering. Feed this plant with a well-balanced houseplant fertilizer during the months from March through October.
Image Credit: ApartmentTherapy.com
Fiddle leaf Ficus: (Featured Above) The most dramatic of the ficus family, the fiddle leaf ficus loves to grow in the brightest light you can give it. Named for the shape of its leaf, this ficus comes in both tree and bush form. Little fiddle (with a smaller leaf) is also an option. It can grow up to 12 feet. This plant likes to be kept slightly moist at all times. It really enjoys to be fertilized on a regular basis. This plant loves a little added humidity in the form of misting and does not care for drafts.
No matter which large leaf tropical plant that you choose - the interior of your home will have a green makeover that not only adds a living element to your room, but also one that will make you feel more refreshed and healthier.