House Plants - The Deep Dive
January 16, 2021 9:08 AM Subscribe
You love house plants. I'm looking for your favorite websites/ books/ vendors/shows etc. about house plants. Information on caring for house plants, house plant porn, information about types, basically anything house plant.
I'm looking for your favorite websites/ books/ vendors/shows etc. about house plants.
I'm looking for your favorite websites/ books/ vendors/shows etc. about house plants.
I'm not a huge house plants person but I love Hilton Carter's Instagram account. I think he has at least a couple books out about house plants.
posted by mostly vowels at 9:27 AM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by mostly vowels at 9:27 AM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
second Summer Rayne Oaks and her intro to houseplants stuff on Youtube - Houseplant 101 series
I gave a 1 hour houseplant workshop last year and it's hard to cover everything in that little time so my advice boiled down to really sharpen your observation skill and get to know your space and what will work in your home microclimate. Watch the light over a whole day and measure it with your eyes and your phone. Figure out if your indoor humidity is high or low because this will make a huge difference in what thrives (buy a hygrometer they're under $10)
I will plug Steves Leaves and Potted Elephant as my favorite online vendors but nothing beats buying plants in person so you can kick the tires. If you have access to a local nursery, pay them a visit. Beware buying plants from random sellers on Etsy or other places; the market is saturated with people selling mislabeled and diseased overpriced stuff because houseplants got even more trendy this year. Always buy in person where possible, although that's understandably a bad idea with COVID. Avoid anything labeled "rare" at all costs. There is now an uptick in poaching of wild aroids because people started paying over $200 for them and they won't survive in a home anyway, they need specialized greenhouses. Stick with stuff that has been bred for success in captivity
posted by slow graffiti at 9:32 AM on January 16, 2021 [4 favorites]
I gave a 1 hour houseplant workshop last year and it's hard to cover everything in that little time so my advice boiled down to really sharpen your observation skill and get to know your space and what will work in your home microclimate. Watch the light over a whole day and measure it with your eyes and your phone. Figure out if your indoor humidity is high or low because this will make a huge difference in what thrives (buy a hygrometer they're under $10)
I will plug Steves Leaves and Potted Elephant as my favorite online vendors but nothing beats buying plants in person so you can kick the tires. If you have access to a local nursery, pay them a visit. Beware buying plants from random sellers on Etsy or other places; the market is saturated with people selling mislabeled and diseased overpriced stuff because houseplants got even more trendy this year. Always buy in person where possible, although that's understandably a bad idea with COVID. Avoid anything labeled "rare" at all costs. There is now an uptick in poaching of wild aroids because people started paying over $200 for them and they won't survive in a home anyway, they need specialized greenhouses. Stick with stuff that has been bred for success in captivity
posted by slow graffiti at 9:32 AM on January 16, 2021 [4 favorites]
I'm into houseplants, but a specific subset of them -- like, I don't care about aroids, but I'm deep in begonias, orchids, and a couple other types of plants that require high humidity. My go-to's are:
In Search of Small Things
Glass Box Tropicals
OrchidWeb
Longwood Gardens online class on orchids
And I'm a big fan of my local begonia society, which has gone all-online.
A lot of orchid folks enjoy MissOrchidGirl, especially on more basic care, and there are also the species-specific reddits.
posted by joyceanmachine at 9:33 AM on January 16, 2021 [2 favorites]
And I'm a big fan of my local begonia society, which has gone all-online.
A lot of orchid folks enjoy MissOrchidGirl, especially on more basic care, and there are also the species-specific reddits.
posted by joyceanmachine at 9:33 AM on January 16, 2021 [2 favorites]
Seconding slow graffiti's excellent advice really, really hard.
And yeah, if you're in the northern hemisphere, buying plants and having them shipped at this time of the year with all the delays is.... exciting? in the not-fun way?
posted by joyceanmachine at 9:35 AM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
And yeah, if you're in the northern hemisphere, buying plants and having them shipped at this time of the year with all the delays is.... exciting? in the not-fun way?
posted by joyceanmachine at 9:35 AM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
Of all the social media plant superstars, I think I like House Plant Journal the best because he uses a science-based approach - for example, using light and humidity meters. I've found that a lot of stuff online is just people who got into plants like a year ago regurgitating the same stuff they randomly heard on other people's social media accounts ("Mist your plants to increase humidity!" No, that does not work.)
But after getting the basics down about individual species, I highly third slow graffiti's suggestion of using your own powers of observation (What happens when my plant is thirsty? How have my plants changed since the heat came on for the winter and the humidity dropped?) and some basic tools like light and humidity meters. I regularly found that my low-light plants did better with more light than the rules of thumb I was seeing online (if you can read a book by the light, etc.), and I was also underwatering my cacti and succulents. I look at all of my plants every day. It's really interesting to get to know them, and I'm always excited when I've discovered what my plant needs to do its best.
For household aesthetics and discovering new plants, I like to browse r/houseplants on Reddit.
posted by unannihilated at 12:06 PM on January 16, 2021 [2 favorites]
But after getting the basics down about individual species, I highly third slow graffiti's suggestion of using your own powers of observation (What happens when my plant is thirsty? How have my plants changed since the heat came on for the winter and the humidity dropped?) and some basic tools like light and humidity meters. I regularly found that my low-light plants did better with more light than the rules of thumb I was seeing online (if you can read a book by the light, etc.), and I was also underwatering my cacti and succulents. I look at all of my plants every day. It's really interesting to get to know them, and I'm always excited when I've discovered what my plant needs to do its best.
For household aesthetics and discovering new plants, I like to browse r/houseplants on Reddit.
posted by unannihilated at 12:06 PM on January 16, 2021 [2 favorites]
Here's a book on how to make paper houseplants, which are quite charming and can be used in places where plants wouldn't do well.
posted by foxfirefey at 2:44 PM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by foxfirefey at 2:44 PM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
On Youtube, my favorite newcomer to the scene is Nick Alexander. I love his deadpan humor, and he packs a lot of science and knowledge into his videos. He doesn't have a fancy set or backdrop, but his videos are very thoughtfully done. I also like Planterina, who is a little wacky but I think she's fun and her plant collection is unbelievable.
For houseplant porn, you can't beat Instagram. There are hundreds of thousands of plant accounts - I personally prefer to follow mostly local accounts, but some of the big accounts I love are plantkween (lots about plant care and self love) and Winter Morgen (huge collection, shares all her plant care routines for each variety). Planterina's account is great too.
House Plant Journal was already mentioned above. I also enjoy Leaf and Paw.
posted by keep it under cover at 3:36 PM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
For houseplant porn, you can't beat Instagram. There are hundreds of thousands of plant accounts - I personally prefer to follow mostly local accounts, but some of the big accounts I love are plantkween (lots about plant care and self love) and Winter Morgen (huge collection, shares all her plant care routines for each variety). Planterina's account is great too.
House Plant Journal was already mentioned above. I also enjoy Leaf and Paw.
posted by keep it under cover at 3:36 PM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
Oh, and for calathea specifically, I really like Addy Beez. Her videos are extraordinarily thoughtful and detailed (going through specific steps for repotting, etc.) She also has detailed videos on all the varieties of calathea, and she's been caring for this type of plant for years.
Planterina really bugs me. The more I learned about plants, the more I realized that sometimes she didn't know what she was talking about - repeating the stuff about misting to increase humidity, etc. She even admitted this in one of her videos once - and I was like, uhhh, why are you making videos to advise other people then? I stopped watching her after that. Also her plants are crazy overpriced.
posted by unannihilated at 5:03 PM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
Planterina really bugs me. The more I learned about plants, the more I realized that sometimes she didn't know what she was talking about - repeating the stuff about misting to increase humidity, etc. She even admitted this in one of her videos once - and I was like, uhhh, why are you making videos to advise other people then? I stopped watching her after that. Also her plants are crazy overpriced.
posted by unannihilated at 5:03 PM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
One of my previous asks here got some great indoor plant help.
Just before our lockdown last year I bought House Plants (author's blog, twit etc.) by Lisa Eldred Steinkopf, she's US-based so probably more applicable to you for her plant selections.
A while back I found a great article in the Fairbanks News Miner 'indoor green spaces for long winters' on an indoor plants guy, IDK if he's on the web tho'.
I have borrowed Indoor Green: Living with Plants and will probably buy it as it was way more useful than most indoor plant books.
posted by unearthed at 5:05 PM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
Just before our lockdown last year I bought House Plants (author's blog, twit etc.) by Lisa Eldred Steinkopf, she's US-based so probably more applicable to you for her plant selections.
A while back I found a great article in the Fairbanks News Miner 'indoor green spaces for long winters' on an indoor plants guy, IDK if he's on the web tho'.
I have borrowed Indoor Green: Living with Plants and will probably buy it as it was way more useful than most indoor plant books.
posted by unearthed at 5:05 PM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
I follow @botanygeek on Twitter. He does the most amazing terrariums. He is also on Instagram, and can be found at
www.jameswong.co.uk
posted by Enid Lareg at 7:10 PM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
www.jameswong.co.uk
posted by Enid Lareg at 7:10 PM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
On the Ledge podcast with Jane Perrone. Also, check out her Instagram. On the ITV section, there are a bunch of short videos she did this year, just a few minutes long each, about a single plant. Good stuff.
And yes to reddit. Not only is there a houseplant community, but also individual plants (ex: African Violets), types (ex:Succulents), things like PinkPlants and PlantMemes, and plenty of others. I find that those communities are extremely civil and helpful.
posted by AMyNameIs at 8:49 AM on January 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
And yes to reddit. Not only is there a houseplant community, but also individual plants (ex: African Violets), types (ex:Succulents), things like PinkPlants and PlantMemes, and plenty of others. I find that those communities are extremely civil and helpful.
posted by AMyNameIs at 8:49 AM on January 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by missmobtown at 9:17 AM on January 16, 2021 [1 favorite]