Houseplants are good for you.

Adding some greenery to your home is good for you. It’ll help you cope with the snow and cold of this past weekend and house plants will help clean the air and add color and form to most any room in your home. When it comes to choosing plants for inside the home, the most important factor is to make sure you select a plant that will grow and thrive in the light conditions available in the house. You can grow houseplants successfully, if you choose plants which are suited for the available light in your home. Here are some plants that are easy to grow and will do well in low light conditions.

Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema) easy to grow in low to bright light conditions (no direct sunlight). Keep the soil moist, but not soggy. Feed your plant monthly and enjoy its attractive variegated leaves.

Heartleaf Philodendron (Sweetheart Plant) is an extremely easy plant to grow. It will do fine if you let it dry out slightly, before watering and feed it once a month.

Snake Plant (Sansevieria) also known as mother-in-law tongue is the plant for you if you tend to neglect your house plants. It is tough, durable and very tolerant of low light.

Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum) is found on the floor of the rain forest, which explains why it can cope with low lighting indoors. Feed your Peace Lily every month with 20-20-20 fertilizer.

Pothos are close relatives to philodendrons. They are easy to grow in low light conditions and will still do okay if you forget to water them occasionally.

Peperomia is easy to grow and will thrive as long as you don’t overwater them. Let the soil dry out slightly before you water again.

Not sure which plant is right for you? Stop in and look at our great selection of houseplants. We’ll be glad to help you select the right plant for you.

Amaryllis care after blooming

Chances are your amaryllis has stopped blooming at this point and you may be wondering what you should do now.

When the last flower has faded, cut off the flower stalk close to the bulb, leaving the foliage intact.

Move your bulb to the sunniest location you have. Your bulb is in a growth phase now. It will need all the light it can get.

Start to fertilize monthly with a balanced fertilizer such as Fertilome 20-20-20 or Fertilome Rooting and Blooming and water regularly. You want to keep the soil evenly moist. Once the risk of frost has passed, usually Mother’s Day around here, move the potted amaryllis outdoors to a sunny location. Increase fertilizing to every 2 weeks and water daily. You can leave your amaryllis outside into fall. You’ll want to stop fertilizing and bring the bulb indoors before first frost or in late September. Remove the bulb from the pot and wash the soil off the roots. Store the bulb in a cool location for eight to ten weeks, which will allow the bulb to go dormant. Usually amaryllis will lose their leaves at this time. Check the bulb every week. After eight or ten weeks you should notice the tip of a new flower stalk begin to appear.

Repot the bulb in fresh potting soil, being careful to leave the upper third of the bulb exposed.

Water your bulb thoroughly after repotting and place the pot in a warm, sunny location. Start to fertilize monthly. You can repeat this process every year and if you provide the right growth and rest periods, your bulb will continue to grow and flower every season.