The Guide to House Plants
There is something satisfying about buying a houseplant, nurturing it and watching it grow. I started my plant journey in 2015 with a single stalk of a Monstera Deliciosa given as a house warming gift from a girlfriend.
Almost five years later, that single stalk has grown into eight beautify, lush and HUGE leaves. I have also added on many other house plants to the home - strawberry caladiums, philodendron,
dwarf aglaonema...the list goes on.
A fair share of these plants were purchased from my friend Eileen of Hausplant.She is also my go-to person whenever I need plant advice, and has patiently answered many of my questions, such as "why are the leaves turning brown?!" "how do I propagate my monstera?".
Which led me to this blog post. I spoke to Eileen about her business as well as asked her for a few house plant tips.
Please tell us more about Hausplant. How and why did you start this business?
Hausplant was founded in early 2019, It originally started out as a hobby and blossomed into a passionate business due to continuous support from our followers. I realised that some rare plants and unique planters are not easily available or affordable here in Singapore and thus wanted to share the good stuffs so everyone can have a loving haus.
When and how did you fall in love with house plants?
It started off with my mom introducing me to a couple of small tabletop plants to care for after dealing with the loss of a love one. I started to read up more about the care, following all the plants account on Instagram and youtube and before I know it, I am officially the crazy plant lady.
What are your all time favourite plants?
I am attracted to variegated or collector plants personally so on the top of my list is Monstera albo-borsigiana, followed by Philodendron white wizard and Epipremnum pinnatum albo variegated.
Which are Hausplant's best sellers?
Most of our plants sold out pretty quickly as we try to bring in different varieties each time. Currently Rhaphidophora tetrasperma, Calathea orbifolia and Trachelorspemum Jasminoides are the top contender.
There are people who would love to own a house plant but are afraid of taking that step as they don't have green fingers. What 3 houseplants would you recommend a houseplant newbie?
Everyone starts somewhere! The easiest and lowest maintenance plant is probably any species under the sansevieria family followed by zamioculcas zamiifolia aka zz plant and last but not least any plants under pothos family (money plant).
Best plant for a home with:
Bright indoor space
Most houseplants will thrive in bright indirect light with the right watering. Monstera, hoyas, peperomia, cactus, ferns, alocasias etc.
Balcony with direct sunlight
Caladiums, oxalis, aloe vera, musa aeae, ZZ raven/variegated
Very little sunlight
ZZ plant, pothos, palor palm, calathea, sansevieria, chinese evergreen, scindapsus
I've always wondered how to look after my plants while I am travelling, do you have any suggestions aside from having someone come by to help water them? For example, how often do they need to have it watered, is there a self watering product I can buy?
Depending on what houseplants as they each have different light and watering needs.
For sansevieria, cactus, zz plant they literally thrives on neglect and watering every 10-14 days is good.
Other houseplants that require more frequent watering every 3-4 days can be use with self watering planter or system that can be purchase easily or DIY.
What are the proper methods of looking after a plant?
A good rule of thumb is to always underwater than overwater. Most of the time when a plant turn limp due to under-watering will perk up few hours later after a good drink.
Depending on the houseplants, most of them can be watered when the top 1-2 inch soil is dry when you poke your fingers into the media. Some plants do like to be watered only when they are completely dry so check with the people you are buying your plants from if unsure.
Mould on soil surface can be easily scraped off and place the pot in a well ventilated area so the soil get to dry off. If soil are constantly soggy and plague with mould, you can just repot with fresh media. Mould on the leaves are usually easy to resolve with fungicide.
With houseplants, sometimes pest is inevitable. They can be prevented with weekly spraying of Neem oil or organic pesticide on the leaves and soil.
Any other words of advice for someone looking to be a plant parent?
Go for it! Of course it's best to start off with low maintenance and affordable plants and work your way up instead of jumping straight into expensive collector plants without any research.
Shop for your house plants at Hausplant.
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