Selecting the Right Plant

• Selecting the right plant for the light your home has available is very importantJupiterimages/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
  
  Houseplant success is really about choosing the right plant for the kind of lighting your home receives. Plants need some sunlight to grow; no plant will survive in a room with no sunlight (unless you are using grow lights). The biggest problem is usually that the windows that receive sunlight in the winter do not receive enough light in the summer. Since it is rare for people to move plants around to different windows at different times of the year, selecting a plant that is not so dependent on direct light is a good way to be successful.
  
  

Plants that Can Handle Low Light

• Low-light situations are places in your home that receive light from windows, but are a distance away from the actual window.
  
  Arrowhead plant (Syngonium podophyllum) is a great low-care houseplant that can handle low-light situations. It is a somewhat trailing plant, with large arrow-shaped leaves.
  
  Cast iron plant (Aspidistra elata) is called cast iron because it is extremely tolerant of being ignored. It does not care much about being over or under watered, within reason, of course. It has tall, upright wide leaves that are medium to dark green.
  
  

Plants that Need Indirect but Bright Light

• Indirect but bright light is a situation where a plant needs to be near a window, but not so close that it receives direct sunlight. These two plants are easy to grow if you have this kind of lighting.
  
  Pothos (Epipremnum pinnatum Aureum) is a vining plant that needs bright, but indirect light. This translates to no direct sun, but near a window.
  
  Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) is a houseplant standby that also needs bright, indirect light to thrive. There are two varieties of this grass-like plant: solid green and one with green and white stripes.
  
  

Proper Houseplant Watering and Feeding

• Over watering is the number one killer of houseplants.Jupiterimages/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
  
  The No. 1 killer of houseplants is usually over watering. Another problem is planting in a pot without a drainage hole. Plant pots must be allowed to drain or you risk rotting the roots.
  
  The way to avoid this is to purchase a simple moisture meter at your home improvement center. This inexpensive gadget is a plant life saver. To use, insert into the soil once a week to check the moisture level of the plant pot. If it registers in the middle or higher, do not add water. If it is dry, then water well until some water comes out of the bottom of the pot. Do not water again until dry.
  
  Houseplants benefit from feeding with an all purpose houseplant food. Once every few months is more than sufficient.