Houseplant Shopping Guide for Beginners
If you would’ve asked me last year if I’d prefer fresh flowers or houseplants, my answer would undeniably be fresh flowers. A lot has changed since then and I can’t even remember the last time I bought fresh flower! When I decided to become a #PlantDad a couple years ago, I didn’t know where to begin. It seemed as If there were so many options to choose from and it became overwhelming quite honestly.
Fast forward to today, I have 19 plants and counting. When we moved into our townhouse back in October, we had only two plants. The rest of them died. I believe my first houseplant ever was a Snake Plant that I ended up killing by overwatering. -Had I told my Grandma about that, I’m sure she’d try to pop me upside my head; she taught me better than that. LOL
Before you begin shopping for plants, The first thing you should do assess the amount of lighting your home gets throughout the day. The best way to do this is to watch how the lighting changes in your home as the sun moves west. You’d want to pay attention to the corners that get the most light because those will be the best corners for your plant babies to thrive. Be sure to pay attention to to spots that get intense direct sunlight because that could burn the leaves and they’ll begin to brown and fall off.
After assessing your lighting situation, set a plant budget for yourself because it’s so easy to want to buy a million plants each trip when you begin your #PlantParent journey! Yes, I said it --BUDGET! My rule of thumb is a $20 for small/medium plants, $50-$75 for medium/large size plants along with the occasional splurge of $100+ on larger options like a 7’ Fiddle Leaf Fig tree or a Birds of Paradise Palm. I highly advise your start small and learn how to care for your babies. Once you feel more comfortable with plant care, you could graduate to more finicky houseplants like the Fiddle Leaf Fig.
When it comes to cost, plants at local nurseries tend to be more expensive than the big box retails like Home Depot and Lowes. But I shop at all of them because you never know what you may come across!
Below is a list of my favorite stylish and low maintenance house plants!
Snake Plant (Sansevieria)
Rubber Plant (Ficus Elastica Burgundy)
Monstera
ZZ Plant
The best places to find good houseplants are first, your local nursery because we support local small businesses. If you can’t find anything that stands out to you or isn’t within budget, head over to Home Depot or Lowes!
THINGS TO CONSIDER
Don’t buy a plant with visible damage. Starting out you want to be growing a plant, not bringing one back to life. You can do that in your more advanced stage of plant parenting. Pay special attention to discolored leaves, I’d hate for to bring home an already suffering plant.
Look past dusty leaves. Have some heart, that plant went through a lot getting from the earth to the retail store! She may look a bit dusty in store, but there’s nothing a little soapy towel won’t fix.
Don’t worry about repotting your plants right away. My advice is to leave your plants in their original plastic container until the roots begin to sprout through the bottom holes. This also makes watering your plants easier as well. You can simply remove the plant and water it in the sick!