Gardening: Indestructible House Plants

Indestructible houseplants

As winter draws to a close our houseplants deserve a spring clean and a spruce up!

Have you got any plants that have outstayed their welcome in your home? Should you put them out of their misery and probable slow, miserable death? It might be a kindness to put them on the compost heap or in the Council compost bin and start afresh.

If you believe that you always kill houseplants we would suggest that you are either killing them out of kindness by watering them too much or you aren’t thinking about giving them the right conditions in which to thrive.

We have a helpful leaflet for you called ‘Indestructible House Plants’ and although the plants are all easy to look after it explains which ones need certain light conditions. So

Cacti need a sunny position with very bright light. The spider plant enjoys a position where it is ‘easy to read all day’ – say on west and east facing sills and up to 1.6m (5ft) from a window.

Indestructible houseplants - give them the right place to live and they will thrive

The Peace Lily will cope with a shady position where you can read a paper at midday. We also tell you the minimum temperature that the different plants will enjoy so if you follow these instructions you will be well on your way to having happy houseplants that will keep you happy!

The gardening project is contributed by Dougal Philip, New Hopetoun Gardens. Inspiring, informing and entertaining, for more than 40 years.