This quarantine in the Philippines and even the whole world has a huge impact on everyone’s emotional and mental health. At the beginning of the lockdown/quarantine phase, many started cooking and baking simple recipes like cookies, muffins, and other pastries. Some became an online seller in an instant to help them survive and pay bills as well.
And then many became plant enthusiasts. I, myself have been growing vegetables in my small garden since the last quarter of 2019. I started growing herbs like basil and onion chives then I planted lettuce and radish from seeds which I bought in a supermarket. I was very successful with these vegetables and I’m able to harvest these vegetables and herbs for more than 6 months.
Since I transferred to our new house, I needed to beautify my garden and inside our house. Around November of 2019, we started buying a few ornamental plants like bamboo and croton varieties. However, this 2nd quarter of 2020, I was fascinated to add more indoor plants primarily medium and big size plants.
To all plantitas and plantitos who just started collecting plants or perhaps wanted to start collecting plants, here are my Top 6Starter House plants:
Snake Plant
This plant is a no-brainer, as it is one of the easiest and less caring plants you can ever have. It doesn’t need much watering, its easy to propagate, and you just need to water them when the soil is really dry. In the Philippines during summer months, you may water your snake plants every 5 -7 days and during rainy days you can water them once every 2 weeks. However, this will depend in the kind of soil you are using.
Aglaonema
This variety of plants can be seen all over Asia. It is one of the most popular tropical plants and in the Philippines, most households would have this plant in their garden. A popular variety is Silver Queen and Dumb Cane.
Pothos
This vine plant can be seen in most houses, gardens, restaurants, and even alongside the road in Metro Manila. It’s so much easy to propagate this plant because you just need to cut the plant close to its node and dip it in the water for 2-4 weeks and it’ll start rooting. And once the roots are about an inch to 2 inches, you can now transfer it to the soil.
Zz Plant
Also known as Welcome Plant. In Sout Korea, people give this as a gift for a house warming or opening the establishment of their friend or family. It is poisonous to house pets when they eat it and poisonous to humans if they consume it. People with sensitive skin may have a rash if they touch the sap of the plant when it’s cut. So make sure you will immediately wash your hands or the part of your skin that was touched by the leaf or the sap.
Selloum
If you wanted to have a medium-size plant, then this variety of Philodendron is a must-have in your indoor plant collection. You will only water the plant if the topsoil id dry, however, you need to keep the soil moist but not drowning with water.
Bacularis
A variety of succulent is a great accent to your dining table or perhaps in your office table. Treat it as cacti that don’t need to water often. In the Philippines during summer, you may water your bacularis once a week, and during the rainy season, water it every 2 weeks. They can tolerate drought just like the snake plant.
All these plants can tolerate medium to bright, indirect light inside your house. Also, make sure that your pots have holes at the bottom so when you water your plants, it will penetrate all the way to the bottom of the excess water so your plants will not have root rot and fungi.
You may also feed your plants with a complete fertilizer 14-14-14 or you may use vermicast and fish emulsion for organic fertilizing.
I hope this gives you a better understanding of having indoor plants and if you have questions, feel free to comment below.
Happy gardening!
6 Starter House Plants For all Plantitas and Plantitos
