Everyone who knows me well by know knows that I’m a hardcore plant mom. Ever since I got my very first solo apartment last fall, my plant collection has been steadily growing. I got my plant obsession from my family - my parents’ home is filled with plants (many gifted from friends and family), and I distinctly remember my grandmother’s rooftop garden in Benares when I was a child growing up in India - filled with the most fragrant shiuli flowers, jasmines, roses, aparajitas, and rajanigandhas.
Of course, the environment in DC is hardly tropical, but I’m on a mission to make my home into a tropical paradise. Taking care of my plants is incredibly rewarding and calming, and I absolutely love propagating cuttings to give as gifts for my friends and family - in old, colorful wine bottles, of course! On the weekends, I love giving my plants a spa day - I water them, give them a shower if needed, and cut off any dead/dying leaves. If you aren’t a plant parent - don’t be shy! Caring for plants can be very therapeutic, and gives you the joy of caring for a living thing, without having to worry about cleaning up any poop, ha!
If you’re a black thumb or not sure where to start, try a few of these hard-to-kill plants below, pictured below:
pothos (also called devil’s ivy or money plant) : a beautifully trailing vine with glossy, heart shaped green leaves. Pothos can thrive in low light and basically any kind of humidity, making them ideal office plants. Of course, the more light and humidity these plants get, the longer the vines get! Pothos come in a variety of cultivars, such as golden pothos, jade pothos, marble pothos and neon pothos. I have my pothos cascading over windowsills, over tables and shelves, and pinned up against the wall (with some clear command hooks) to create a living wall.
zz plant (zamioculcas zamifolia, also called a zanzibar gem): a very hardy plant with glossy, dark green foliage, native to Eastern Africa. Zz plants don’t need a lot of water, and can survive with less than ideal light. Zz plants are all the rage these days, but with good reason - they grow like crazy in ideal conditions, and are incredibly majestic to look at!
spider plant: these are fairly common plants, and extremely easy to propagate from the babies produced by mature plants, and can survive some neglect as well! I love seeing the mature plants and their babies cascading over shelves and edges.
snake plant (sadly, I forgot to take photos of mine!): a plant that you can basically neglect and it’ll still survive! Snake plants can take low light and a forgetful watering schedule - and come in some very charming varieties. In fact, these plants do best when watered less, are they are prone to root rot if water watered.
While many might scoff at the plants listed above as “beginner plants,” they are all gorgeous, and absolutely thrive when well taken care of. A bonus of the majority of these plants is that they can thrive in less than ideal lighting conditions. My apartment, while bright, doesn’t get any direct sunlight, as all my windows face north, but my plants are thriving with a mix of natural light and grow lights. My apartment is filled with pothos cuttings - I have an entire windowsill in my kitchen where I grow my cuttings in upcycled wine bottles, and I have one vine that has completely overtaken a wall, much to my delight - so I’m well on my way to transforming my apartment into the indoor jungle of my dreams!
Of course, I have quite a few other plants that require a bit more specialized care - including an ever-growing monstera deliciosa (named Hector), a stately alocasia polly, a very adorable dwarf schefflera (umbrella plant), and a rather temperamental - but beautiful - prayer plant (maranta leuconeura), to name a few. Each one, no matter how temperamental, is a joy to care for!
Happy planting :)
