Indoor plant styling: What’s hot for 2018

It’s hard to miss all of the greenery appearing in interiors, it seems like everyone working in interior design has suddenly sprouted a green thumb.

Our home is the perfect case in point. Rollback not so long ago and other than a bunch of flowers, and the dog, there wasn’t much else living indoors (other than us!).

Compare that to now, and the inside of our house is a veritable jungle. Peace lilies, monstera, maidenhair fern (although that isn’t looking so great), a rubber plant, snake plant, the most incredible Zanzibar or zed-zed plant, and some others that I haven’t committed the names to memory yet.

Adding plants to our home has been great – spaces that seemed a little bare or forgotten are transformed with the simple addition of a lovely pot and lush plant. There’s the satisfaction of pottering about with a watering can and pair of scissors keeping them all looking their best. As well as the unseen benefits of improved indoor air quality they provide.

So, if you’ve already committed to some house plants, or are just about to, here are some tips for choosing the perfect pot, and maybe, more importantly, tips on how to keep your plants thriving.

First things first, you’ve been to your local nursery and chosen your gorgeous new plant, now you need the perfect container to put it in. Plants never look their best nor flourish in the boring black tub they come in.

The good news is that there are so many great choices – no matter what your decor, or your budget, there are planters and pot options galore to flatter and showcase your plants beautifully.

Planter choices that’ll take your houseplants from drab to fab:

Ceramic – We’ve noticed there are a lot of lovely new glazed ceramic pots on the market at the moment – the ones we’ve seen are in interesting patterns in blues and greens. Of course, the classic terracotta cone-shaped pots look great clustered and have the advantage of being very budget friendly. Both of these options will need a saucer underneath to catch any water overflow.

On legs – Planter stands are the perfect way to neatly place a plant up off the ground and on display. Use them singularly to really make a statement or as part of a cluster of different sized plants to create height and balance. They are also a great way to present a trailing plant if a hanging basket or popping it on a shelf doesn’t work. Ivy Muse really set the bar in stylish planters with their range of contemporary plant stands.

For bigger plants – If you’re lucky enough to have a gorgeous big indoor plant like a fiddle leaf fig or monstera then they really need the right pot to complement them. There are lots of painted lightweight concrete pots out there – check out Pop & Scott, Design Twins, Arc & Family – there’s a long list to choose from, just choose one that you love and suits your room.

Self-watering – We are also loving self-watering pots, especially the one that Mr Kitly designed together with Décor. In on-trend colours and a simple design, these tick both the stylish and practical boxes.

Caring for your indoor plants

The only catch with using houseplants in your decor is that you need to look after them to keep them looking good. So here are some really practical tips for keeping some of the most popular houseplants thriving, growing and healthy.

Monstera

The monstera or fruit salad plant has striking leaves and grows both high and wide. When it comes to watering and care there are two simple rules: 1) Avoid direct sunlight – it will burn the leaves, and 2) When you water your plant if you can, take it outside and give it a really good soaking, letting all the excess water run out. Monsteras really don’t like wet feet.

Rubber plant

The rubber plant is a really hardy, low maintenance houseplant option. To know if your rubber plant needs watering, simply dig your finger down into the plant’s soil a couple of centimetres – if it’s dry your plant needs watering. Like monstera, the rubber plant prefers a good soaking every couple of weeks. Also, to keep it looking its best, don’t forget to clean its glossy leaves with a soft damp cloth.

Fiddle leaf fig

The fiddle leaf fig has seemingly turned up everywhere – restaurants, cafes, friends’ houses and definitely on Insta. It’s a gorgeous plant with its large leaves, but it can be a little fussier to care for than the monstera and rubber plant. They don’t like being over-watered; they don’t like sitting in water; they don’t like cold drafts or being too close to a heater. They are slow growing and go dormant over winter, so you need to be patient!

Snake plant

If the fiddle leaf fig sounds too challenging, then consider the snake plant, one of the hardiest indoor plants around. It tolerates low light, sporadic watering, and is slow growing so won’t need re-potting often.

Maidenhair fern

I love the bright green of maidenhair fern leaves, but they really aren’t easy to keep looking good. My tip is to buy with caution and then be prepared to experiment to find the spot in your home it loves – the humidity of the bathroom often works well. Good luck!

The joy of indoor plants is seeing them grow and bring life and colour into your space. Have fun choosing your pots and containers, clustering and grouping them together and looking after them long term. Your very own homely jungle is only a couple of nursery trips away!