House plants can be a challenge. How much do you water? Will the plant get enough sunlight? These and other questions tend to keep people from trying to grow plants in their homes. Erik Helland of Landscape Garden Centers in Sioux Falls says growing house plants can be simple and rewarding.
“Generally, people are going to say, ‘Well, I don't know how to grow a houseplant. I don't know what I should do with a house plant. I don't think I can make it work,’” said Helland. “So typically, people get worried that, ‘Hey, I can't grow a houseplant because if I put a plant outside, mother nature helps me take care of it. Plants on the inside, well, what do I do?’ Well, just remember there's so many different types of houseplants. Houseplants, either they're low light, medium light, or high light, which just means how much sun - how much natural light. Is it at a west window or a south window or is it east or north? Just figure out where you want it within your house. Kind of look at the light, see how dark it is or how light it is. And then, when you're picking out your house plant, choose the size - what size it's going to become, what size you want it to become. If you want a plant that's going to grow from the floor on up - something that's going to be taller - that's going to be low light or high light.”
Helland says knowing how much water to give houseplants can be a challenge.
“Now is a perfect time to get your plants inside the house to let them adapt. And then the main problem with houseplants is watering. Most people will over-water their plants. They think they must treat it like an outdoor plant. So if it's hot outside, well, I’d better put water on the plant inside. Wrong. Turns out to be a mess. Your plant will just wither up and it becomes really a big struggle. So under-water houseplants, maybe watering them once a week. You might even be able to stretch that out to 10 days or every two weeks.”
Helland says people who want to have green things living inside their house have a lot of choices.
“There are plants that you can hang along a wall that will just grow off the wall. There's hanging plants that'll just flow over the edge of the pot. There are even smaller plants, miniature plants. So use them for your office; use them for your home office. You’ve got the kids going to college? Get them a houseplant. That's a great, great gift. It just helps the spirit. Everybody's attitude changes when you're around something green and houseplants can provide that. There are also houseplants that bloom. Orchids are a great plant to use.”
If you have questions for Erik Helland, send them to: IntheMoment@sdpb.org. He may answer your question on-the-air during the South Dakota Home Garden segment, Wednesdays on SDPB Radio's "In the Moment."