Houseplants: which are the best ones for winter?

Keeping a few plants in the house or in the spaces where you spend most of the day is good for your eyes and mood, especially in the winter season.

Moreover, plants, whether on the ground or hanging, always give a touch of warmth to even the most formal environment.

Of course, in the cold season they have special needs – you have to avoid temperature fluctuations and ensure an adequate amount of light and humidity.

Pothos (Scindapsus Aureus)

The perfect plant for lazy people or for those without a green thumb!

Pothos is a climbing and leafy variety and it will grow even in darker spots indoors. If given plenty of space and fed with adequate fertiliser, it fills the room with a cascade of large oval leaves, green or mottled with white.

It’s also very easy to reproduce: to make it look more luxuriant, simply pull off a small branch and pot it, keeping it moist; it will soon take root and begin to grow, offering new leaves.

Anthurium (Anthurium Andreanum)

With its elegant shape, this plant is perfect for decorating the living room with its long, glossy leaves and delicate flowers.

Native to Central and South America, it adapts perfectly to the temperatures in our homes.

Anthurium needs a bright location, but not directly exposed to sunlight. It should be watered regularly, avoiding water stagnation, and fertilised if necessary.

Remember to repot it every two to three years, following the natural growth of the plant, which can reach more than a metre in height.

Kalanchoe

A small but highly decorative plant.

The genus Kalanchoe includes about 150 species, but the most common in our homes is the Kalanchoe Blossfeldia, a small evergreen perennial plant with large fleshy green leaves and dense rosettes.

It likes bright areas, even direct sunlight for a few hours a day.

If grown in well-drained soil, freed from the parts that dry out and perhaps using a mixture of cactus and common top soil, it can live a long time and grow up to 20/30 cm.

Begonia (Begoniacee)

This beautiful species has tropical origins and its most widely spread variety in Europe is the “Begonia Rizomatosa”, which can easily adapt to medium and small pots.

This plant enjoys bright spaces, but without direct sunlight. It does not like wet soil, therefore it is recommendable to water it only once a week.

Given its size, it can be placed on a shelf or on a desk in all rooms, even the smallest ones.

The delicate scent of its flowers has been known to promote relaxation.

Ficus (Ficus Benjamina)

Would you like to have a small piece of forest in your house? Then, Ficus is the perfect plant for you.

This extraordinary plant is native of Asia and Oceania remote lands, and with a cascade of leaves and spread roots in nature can achieve 30 metres of height.

When Ficus is placed in limited indoor places, it still grows much more than the average houseplant, going over two metres and exhibiting a green and thick crown of leaves, if well exposed to sunlight.

Ficus is a perennial evergreen plant that loves light – although not direct sunlight.

This tree constantly grows and it has to be re-potted when its knotty roots get out of topsoil. Avoid backwaters. Prune it occasionally to shape its top crown.

Generally speaking, for plants living in our homes, it is necessary to remember that conditions should be recreated as close as possible to a natural, temperate environment: they suffer from both direct heat and draughts, watering should not be exaggerated and the surface layer of soil should be constantly checked so that it does not harbour stagnation mould. Finally, remember to fertilise occasionally.

Credits: ProBuild Garden Center, Thangaraj Kumaravel, Quimbaya, coniferconifer, Andy / Andrew Fogg.