Indoor plants

Indoor plants are generally the plants that tolerate low light conditions. “Low light conditions” however does not translate to mean dark nooks and corners. For the plants to survive indoors, the general rule of thumb is that there should be enough natural light entering the space where the plant is placed, to allow us to read a book without switching on a light or straining our eyes. Give a plant this much natural light in indoor spaces and it will be contented plant. Of course, for a party night or evening of guests at home, you can place the plants for a day or so wherever you want.

The hardiest and fuss free indoor plants that are easily available at Technocare are as follows:

• Aglonemas varieties: Aglonemas are one of the perfect indoor plants as they love shade, hate frost, have wonderful glossy rich looking foliage. The foliage of aglonemas is in muted shades of greyish green for those who love understated elegance. They also come in brighter shades of reds and whites for those love drama in their green spaces.

1. Aglonema Dow : Aglonema with broad leaves and dull greyish variegation. Looks great as filler green along with more dramatic foliage plants
2. Aglonema silver queen: Narrower, slimmer leaves than its “Dow” cousin. Has brighter more pronounced silver grey variegation.
3. Aglonema White Rajah: Long gracefully arching foliage on cream coloured stem and subtle cream variegation makes this plant a gorgeous one for indoor locations
4. Aglonema Snow white: This is one of our favourite indoor plants. Oval glossy leaves with bright cream variegation and a tremendous capability to thrive in indoor light conditions.
5. Aglonema Lipstick: Reddish variegation on smooth polished leaves makes this plant one of the most colourful and dramatic ones for indoor use.

• Beaucanea Recurvata or pony tail palm: The Ponytail Palm need bright light . So its makes sense to place it in the sunniest corner of your house. It’s got beautiful exotic looking bulb like stem that stores water and from the top of this gorgeous rustic looking stem emerges like a fountain a clump of slender, gracefully arching foliage.resembling a bouncy ponytail. This is a plant that is ideal for more laid back plant parents. Needs very little water and even more little care.
• Chlorophytum comosum or spider plant: One of the most well know houseplants along with pothos or money plant. Need brightly lit spaces. Hates over-watering and water logging. Called spider plant because of the shape of its suckers that resemble spiders hanging from their webs.
• Croton species: Crotons are a riot of colours. They have in their foliage brightest of yellows, mustards, browns, maroons and many more. They come in a variety of leaf sizes and shapes. Their bright, dramatic, multi-hued foliage makes them a favourite of plant lovers. Though many plant parents would love to have crotons indoors, but crotons are reluctant houseplants that require plenty of light. So while one needs to place them near brightest of windows, it also needs to be ensured that they don’t suffer from sunburn. Once the crotons settle into their space, they can go on in the same space for months together.
• Dieffenbachia species: Dieffenbachia is a popular plant loved for its big showy leaves which come in variety of variegation combinations of white and green, cream and green, or all-green leaves that can be speckled, splotched, or loosely striped. They love bright indirect light. They can grow pretty well in bright neon lights of commercial spaces too. A word of caution though, it is a plant that is toxic for pets and children if ingested.
• Dracaena Draco or the Dragon tree: The dragon tree (Dracaena draco) is an evergreen succulent tree from subtropical regions. Though it can very well be grown outdoor in gardens, it also makes for an excellent indoors house plant. It loves bright indirect light, does not require too much water and hardly demands any attention. It has a beautiful rustic looking thick cylindrical trunk from which sprout beautiful rosettes of glossy, gracefully arching thin sword-shaped leaves. It is one of our favourite house plants. A word of caution, though. The plant is toxic to animals, especially cats.
• Epipremnum or money plant varieties: The epipremnum or the money plant or the pothos is our “the” most favourite indoor plant. And it does come in plenty of colour variations – neon, golden, plain green, marble queen in green and white variations and a few others. Their immense popularity stems from the fact that they thrive in artificial indoor light as well as they do in bright indirect natural sunlight. They love being pot bound and can grow surprisingly bushy even in the smallest of pots demanding very little attention from its human partners but for watering it when needed and fertilizing and feeding it during the time of vigorous growth.
• Monstera Deliciosa: This again is one of our top favourite indoor plants. Monstera deliciosa, commonly called split-leaf philodendron or swiss cheese plant, is a climber with large, dramatic, thick, glossy perforated, leaves growing on a thick stem from which emanate equally dramatic long cord-like aerial roots. It loves brightly lit spaces away from direct sun that can burn its leaves. It is a hassle free, fuss free plant that adds instant visual appeal to any indoors.
• Palm Rhaphis or lady palm: Again an amazing indoor plant that demands little attention or care. Its slow growing and can grow in lesser light conditions than most plants. Its dark green, glossy fanlike leaves add a touch of sophistication and grace where ever you decide to place it. But avoid placing it in very dark corners because that reduced the life span of this beautiful plant quite a bit.
• Palm Areca or parlour palm: An all time favourite indoor plant with most people. A tropical plant from Madagascar it grows about 15 to 20 feet in height when planted outside in the soil but it also does fantastically well as indoor potted plant also with its long feathery fronds supported on delicately curving stems. This is a plant that instantly adds glamour and grace to any indoor space. But it does need brightly lit corners as well regular watering.
• Palm Chamaedorea costaricana or cane palm: It’s a very popular, clustering variety of palm that draws its appeal from clumps of dense thin, green bamboo-like stems on which it bears thin feathery leaves. It is a highly versatile plant that does extremely well outside as well as indoor capable of thriving in a wide range of temperature and light conditions.
• Palm Phoenix roebelenii or dwarf date palm: True to its name it indeed looks like a dwarf version of the grand date palms. A very versatile and hardy plant in terms of its light and temperature requirements. Grows extremely well outdoors to a mature height of 10-12’ feet on slender trunk but does equally well as potted indoor plant when placed in a bright sunny corner.
• Philodendron salloum: It’s a non climbing variety of philodendron which is an instant statement piece in any room. Its large, deep green, glossy, deeply lobed foliage adds tremendous character to any green space. Its requires regular watering but hates water logging. And bright indoor light away from direct sunlight is what makes it thrive.
• Philodendron xnadu: This delightfully easy to grow member of the philodendron family with beautiful glossy highly lobed leaves is a plant lovers delight. Its gains less in height and tends to become a bushy compact indoor potted plant. But like with other potted indoor plants, it needs bright indoor light without direct sunlight. Place it in dark corners and it will become sickly, leggy and loose its bushy character.
• Sansevieria or the snake plants: These are amongst the most hassle-free indoor plants. They now come in a wide variety of shapes and colour variegations, in various hues of green, greys, yellows and silver. You literally have to work quite hard to kill a snake plant. Yes, but place it in a dark and dingy corner, or over-water it, or not provide a well-draining pot and soil, you will have a dead snake plant on your hands.
• Syngonium or arrow head plant: For small bushy plants to place on window sills, on table tops, in random nooks and corners, nothing is really better than syngoniums. They need bright indirect light to thrive, of course and regular watering. But after these basic needs are fulfilled, they are pretty low on demands they put on their plant parents. They come in a variety of colour combinations – in pure green, with white variegation, in neon coloured hues and in shades of pink. These are easy to maintain and pretty easy to afford too.