How to Buy Plants

Plants are a wonderful way to spruce up both the inside and outside of your home. By bringing a splash of color, a little life and perhaps even something edible into our homes, plants can make us feel happier and give us practice taking care of something.

Buying houseplants

The best place to start if you’re new to keeping plants is buying a few houseplants. There are lots of choices and many plants that require little care, so you don’t have to be a master gardener to keep them alive.

Before you go shopping for houseplants, consider where you would like to have plants in your house. Do you have a sun room or a sunny windowsill, or do you need something to brighten up a darker corner of your home? Light requirements vary from plant to plant, though most houseplants will do better in high light than in low light. If your only option is to put plants somewhere without a lot of natural light, you can buy a lamp with a grow light bulb (or put a grow light in an existing lamp) to help the plants along.

Here are a few easy to grow houseplants for you to consider starting out with:

• Aloe vera: A great plant to have on hand for treating minor cuts, sunburns and other skin irritation, aloe is easy to grow, tolerates lowish light (like in the bathroom) and requires little water. Plant it in soil made for succulents, and water when you remember, or when the soil is completely dry. To use aloe, pinch off the tip of a frond and squeeze out the clear liquid. It’s a little sticky but you’ll wonder how you got along without it.

• Cacti: Speaking of succulents, cacti are great for high-light spots and require little water. There are many different varieties of cacti available now, even some where one cactus has been grafted on another so it looks like the cactus is blooming. They thrive on little water, so put them in a sunny spot and leave them alone except for watering once or twice a month.

• Philodendrons: If you’ve ever been to an office of any sort, chances are you’ve seen a philodendron snaking its way around the place. Philodendrons have broad green or green and white leaves and they grow long tendrils that don’t usually latch on to thing but can be trained to wind around bookshelves, on strings or basically wherever you’d like a little bit of color. While not the most exciting plants in the world, they are incredibly popular for being almost care free. They aren’t fussy about light and will droop to let you know they need water, though they tend to grow better in higher light and when well cared for.

• Shamrocks: Usually found in stores only around St. Patrick’s Day, shamrocks have tall stems, green shamrock leaf clusters and cute little white flowers that bloom intermittently. Shamrocks are the ultimate low-maintenance houseplant in that they’re almost impossible to kill. You’ll think you’ve killed it, but just keep watering the pot every now and then and it’s almost guaranteed to come back. Shamrocks like light.

When choosing houseplants, pick plants that look healthy and are not incredibly root bound (where the roots have grown in circles around the pot). Choose a new pot for your plant that is one size bigger than the pot it was in. Fill the new pot with potting soil, make a dent for the plant to go in, and place the plant in the pot, being careful to cover all the roots but not heap soil on the stem of the plant. Water well and enjoy.

Buying outdoor plants

Plants add great color, texture and interest to your yard, or even in a windowbox or a collection of pots on the balcony. The variety of plants you choose is only limited by your imagination, the climate zone you live in and your budget.

If you don’t know anything about the USDA climate zone you live in, make sure you buy plants locally. Your local gardening shops will only carry plants that can survive where you live, and the people who work there can give you advice on how to care for your plants and where to plant them if you don’t know which plants are best for sun and shade.

The cheapest outdoor plants tend to be annuals, which means they live and flower for one season, then die back in the winter and do not return in the spring. These plants are economical and bring color to places (like shady spots) that might not otherwise support flowers, but they do have to be replaced every year.

Perennials, which come back every year or don’t die back in the winter, tend to be more expensive but are worth it in the long run because you don’t have to replace them annually. Perennials come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and colors. Most of them enjoy a lot of sun. They may take more care in the early years while the plants are getting established in your garden, but many require little maintenance other than regular watering once established.

Outdoor plants can be planted in containers as described above or in the ground. Dig a hole no deeper than the plant’s roots in an area of your yard that is optimal for the plant (check the plant tag if you don’t know for sure), place the plant in the hole and pack lightly with soil. You can fertilize with a slow-release fertilizer either sprinkled in the hole before you plant the plant or use a liquid fertilizer when you water. Again, plants should be healthy looking and have strong roots, but not be root bound. Stay away from “leggy” plants, those that are long and not a vibrant green color. These plants haven’t had sufficient light growing up and are likely to remain unhealthy.

Edible

Save some space in your sunny window, on your porch or in your garden for some plants you can eat. Herbs are easy to grow in containers or in the garden and will reward you with a season full of delicious meals.

Grow herbs that you would like to eat, whether that’s basil, oregano, parsley, cilantro, rosemary, thyme, sage, all of the above, or something else. Herbs with grassy stems like cilantro, parsley, chives and mint can be direct seeded into your pot. Seeds are available at many grocery stores and garden supply stores. Just make a little trough (the package will tell you how deep), sprinkle in the seeds and cover lightly with soil. Water regularly and you will be rewarded with tasty herbs to snip and cook with.

Other herbs are better bought as plants and planted in pots or in your garden. They can be planted in the same manner as any other plant. Herbs can be more delicate than other plants, so they need to be protected from harsh wind, dramatic changes in temperature and excessive drying out. Herbs left outside in the summer may need to be watered every day.

To test if a plant needs water, poke your finger a few inches into the soil. If the soil down there feels dry, give the plant some water.

The more you work with plants the more plants you will want in your house and the more you will learn about how to keep them healthy and happy. The plants, likewise, will bring you pleasure, a sense of accomplishment and maybe even food.