Starting in the summer of 2019, my boyfriend and I have been slowly accumulating a variety of houseplants for our room. We now have 12 houseplants, and although we are still learning the tricks and trade of caring for plants, we are slowly getting better! In this post I will share with you the houseplants that we have purchased, as they are the highlight of our room!
1. Cactus - My boyfriend purchased this cactus from Trader Joes (I believe it was $5.99) a month ago, and it has been flourishing. We have always been a fan of succulents as they are pretty hardy and easy to take care of, but we have never owned a cactus-shaped succulent, so we had to buy it. My boyfriend leaves it alone besides watering it when its soil is relatively dry, and it is a nice addition to our room.
2. Parlor Palm (aka Chamaedorea elegans) - My boyfriend purchased this plant from Trader Joes for about $5.99 and it has also been flourishing. Ours is quite small as of right now, but they can grow to be quite tall and full. When the first few inches of its soil is dry, we water it until the water begins to drip out of the drainage hole at the bottom of the pot. The parlor palm prefers indirect light, and is a pretty easy plant to take care of.
3. Snake plant (aka Sansevieria) - I purchased this plant from one of our local nurseries for $24.99. There are a variety of Sansevieria plants that each have unique leaf patterns and arrangements, but they all have the characteristic stiff, straight leaves that come to a point at the top. These plants can tolerate a variety of growing conditions, and I have mine in a spot of the room where it gets indirect light. Snake plants are also prone to root rot from overwatering, so I try not to water mine too often.
4. Peace lily (aka Spathiphyllum) - My boyfriend purchased this plant back in the summer, and it has been flourishing. It has grown so much that it already needs a new pot! We love the peace lily because of its large green leaves that are accompanied by flowers. Peace lilies are easy to take care of. Its leaves will begin to droop when it needs water, and typically you want to water it when the first few inches of soil are dry. Our peace lily is in a lower light area of the room and is still growing, although would probably prefer more of a brighter light. Its leaves also accumulate dust, so we wipe its leaves down every few weeks.
5. Split leaf philodendron - This plant was the biggest plant purchase that my boyfriend and I made. We probably spent around $50 on the plant, and $40 on the pot, soil, dish, etc. Despite this, we have a love-hate relationship with this plant. It started off looking great, then slowly drooped over time. Although we are providing it with all of its necessities (according to what the employees at the nursery tell us to do), it is continuing to droop. Despite looking not super healthy, it is continuing to grow new leaves, which is leaving me and my boyfriend a bit dumbfounded. We still love this plant, but find it the most difficult to take care of out of all our other houseplants.
6. Spider plant (aka Chlorophytum comosum) - This plant was my first houseplant that was a venture away from succulents. Spider plants are super easy to take care of, can grow in a variety of conditions, and have little problems except for occasional browning on the tips of its leaves. My spider plant gets indirect light and I water it when the first few inches of the soil is dry. Its leaves can also accumulate dust, so I wipe its leaves down every few weeks.
7. Zebra plant (aka Aphelandra squarrosa) - This is one of my boyfriend's most recent houseplant purchases. This plant is striking because of its leaves, which have a striped pattern on them. It prefers more of a brighter indirect light, and doesn't like to have its soil too dry, but also not overly wet. I also read that it requires a higher temperature in order to flourish, so misting of the leaves may be recommended. We put this plant in front of our window during the day to ensure it gets the maximum amount of light possible.
8. Money tree (aka Pachira aquatica) - My boyfriend purchased this plant at the same time he bought the zebra plant. This plant sits on our nightstand next to our bed, right in front of the window, so it receives bright indirect light everyday. I was drawn to this plant because of its braided trunk, which is characteristic of this plant. It prefers to have a drier soil, so we water it when the first few inches are dry. Our money tree is quite small right now, but I have seen videos of huge ones as well, so I am excited for the day when it grows to be that size.
9. Chinese money plant (aka Pilea peperomioides) - This plant was my most recent purchase, and was $12.99 from my local nursery. I absolutely love this plant. It sits on my nightstand next to our money tree plant, and receives bright indirect sunlight everyday. They have leaves that shoot up out of the soil and grow into little saucer shapes and they grow in a variety of directions, thus making the plant unique. I water my Pilea when its soil is dry, but another sign that it needs water is when its leaves begin to droop slightly. I also recommend rotating this plant maybe once or twice a week in order to ensure the leaves do not all grow in one direction.
10. Succulents - We own a variety of different succulents, and we have so many that it would be a waste of time to mention them all in this post. We got the majority of our succulents from local nurseries, and we love them because they are super easy to care for, grow really easily, and do not need a lot of water to flourish. We keep our succulents outside in the summer, and inside in the fall and winter.
** One youtube video I watched stated how you can sometimes find good deals on houseplants at grocery stores, which is where we got a few of our plants. I highly recommend browsing the plant section at your local grocery store, as you may find a cute little plant to add to your collection!
1. Cactus - My boyfriend purchased this cactus from Trader Joes (I believe it was $5.99) a month ago, and it has been flourishing. We have always been a fan of succulents as they are pretty hardy and easy to take care of, but we have never owned a cactus-shaped succulent, so we had to buy it. My boyfriend leaves it alone besides watering it when its soil is relatively dry, and it is a nice addition to our room.
2. Parlor Palm (aka Chamaedorea elegans) - My boyfriend purchased this plant from Trader Joes for about $5.99 and it has also been flourishing. Ours is quite small as of right now, but they can grow to be quite tall and full. When the first few inches of its soil is dry, we water it until the water begins to drip out of the drainage hole at the bottom of the pot. The parlor palm prefers indirect light, and is a pretty easy plant to take care of.
3. Snake plant (aka Sansevieria) - I purchased this plant from one of our local nurseries for $24.99. There are a variety of Sansevieria plants that each have unique leaf patterns and arrangements, but they all have the characteristic stiff, straight leaves that come to a point at the top. These plants can tolerate a variety of growing conditions, and I have mine in a spot of the room where it gets indirect light. Snake plants are also prone to root rot from overwatering, so I try not to water mine too often.
4. Peace lily (aka Spathiphyllum) - My boyfriend purchased this plant back in the summer, and it has been flourishing. It has grown so much that it already needs a new pot! We love the peace lily because of its large green leaves that are accompanied by flowers. Peace lilies are easy to take care of. Its leaves will begin to droop when it needs water, and typically you want to water it when the first few inches of soil are dry. Our peace lily is in a lower light area of the room and is still growing, although would probably prefer more of a brighter light. Its leaves also accumulate dust, so we wipe its leaves down every few weeks.
5. Split leaf philodendron - This plant was the biggest plant purchase that my boyfriend and I made. We probably spent around $50 on the plant, and $40 on the pot, soil, dish, etc. Despite this, we have a love-hate relationship with this plant. It started off looking great, then slowly drooped over time. Although we are providing it with all of its necessities (according to what the employees at the nursery tell us to do), it is continuing to droop. Despite looking not super healthy, it is continuing to grow new leaves, which is leaving me and my boyfriend a bit dumbfounded. We still love this plant, but find it the most difficult to take care of out of all our other houseplants.
6. Spider plant (aka Chlorophytum comosum) - This plant was my first houseplant that was a venture away from succulents. Spider plants are super easy to take care of, can grow in a variety of conditions, and have little problems except for occasional browning on the tips of its leaves. My spider plant gets indirect light and I water it when the first few inches of the soil is dry. Its leaves can also accumulate dust, so I wipe its leaves down every few weeks.
7. Zebra plant (aka Aphelandra squarrosa) - This is one of my boyfriend's most recent houseplant purchases. This plant is striking because of its leaves, which have a striped pattern on them. It prefers more of a brighter indirect light, and doesn't like to have its soil too dry, but also not overly wet. I also read that it requires a higher temperature in order to flourish, so misting of the leaves may be recommended. We put this plant in front of our window during the day to ensure it gets the maximum amount of light possible.
8. Money tree (aka Pachira aquatica) - My boyfriend purchased this plant at the same time he bought the zebra plant. This plant sits on our nightstand next to our bed, right in front of the window, so it receives bright indirect light everyday. I was drawn to this plant because of its braided trunk, which is characteristic of this plant. It prefers to have a drier soil, so we water it when the first few inches are dry. Our money tree is quite small right now, but I have seen videos of huge ones as well, so I am excited for the day when it grows to be that size.
9. Chinese money plant (aka Pilea peperomioides) - This plant was my most recent purchase, and was $12.99 from my local nursery. I absolutely love this plant. It sits on my nightstand next to our money tree plant, and receives bright indirect sunlight everyday. They have leaves that shoot up out of the soil and grow into little saucer shapes and they grow in a variety of directions, thus making the plant unique. I water my Pilea when its soil is dry, but another sign that it needs water is when its leaves begin to droop slightly. I also recommend rotating this plant maybe once or twice a week in order to ensure the leaves do not all grow in one direction.
10. Succulents - We own a variety of different succulents, and we have so many that it would be a waste of time to mention them all in this post. We got the majority of our succulents from local nurseries, and we love them because they are super easy to care for, grow really easily, and do not need a lot of water to flourish. We keep our succulents outside in the summer, and inside in the fall and winter.** One youtube video I watched stated how you can sometimes find good deals on houseplants at grocery stores, which is where we got a few of our plants. I highly recommend browsing the plant section at your local grocery store, as you may find a cute little plant to add to your collection!