Ficus trees are great house plants and very easy to care for after the initial trauma of being moved to a new location. They have a tendency to drop all of their pretty green leaves on the floor when you first bring them home as they seem to despise moving to a new environment. This is the Ficus benjamina or Weeping Fig.
Ficus Benjamina Interior Plant – Weeping Fig Tree
This type of Ficus tree is notorious for being difficult to acclimate to a new environment. In fact, I would have included it on the list of best house plants if it were not for the problems many people have bringing a Ficus tree successfully through its transition to a new home.
Even those that work in the interior landscape business know the trouble that a new Ficus tree can be. However, on the positive side, if you know that it will most likely happen (some Ficus trees barely lose a leaf), you may be a little more prepared to deal with it when it does happen.
I find that most indoor plants are very adaptable as long as changes are made slowly, whether it is a change in location, lighting, or watering. This even applies to the Ficus tree. Ficus trees are often difficult to acclimate because they are quite sensitive to environmental changes and will often react by dropping most of their still green leaves quite suddenly.
This post is about Asplenium nidus, or Birds Nest Fern. There are a few types of Birds Nest Ferns, the two most common being the Japanese and Victoria Birds Nest Fern. The Victoria has thinner, more ruffled fronds than the Japanese. As far as ferns go, this is one of my favorites, along with Button Ferns and Pteris fern.
Asplenium Nidus – Birds Nest Fern
One of the easiest ferns to care for as a house plant is the Birds Nest Fern or Asplenium Nidus. It is more likely to let you get away with a few mistakes than many other ferns. An added attraction is the leaflets that often fall from other ferns, creating quite a mess, are not present on Birds Nest Fern. This makes it a clean fern in my book, unlike the messy Boston Fern. With a Boston Fern, you may end up spend more time cleaning up after it than you do taking care of it! Not so the Birds Nest Fern.
Light green fronds surround a fibrous nest, explaining the name Birds Nest Fern. The fronds are long and blade shaped with a dark midrib. Birds Nest Ferns can grow quite large and the plant pictured here was well over 3 feet tall!
Syngonium is an easy houseplant to care for and grow as long as it is placed in a bright light situation. It will tolerate lower light levels with reduced watering frequency. For the best results, bright light is best for your Syngonium houseplant.
Syngonium houseplant is a native plant of tropical Central and South America. Syngonium podophyllum is also known as Nephthytis plant. Other common names for the Syngonium plant are Arrowhead plant, Elephant Ear plant, Butterfly plant and Goosefoot plant. You can find Syngonium with an all green leaf, green and white leaf, a pale, almost white leaf, and a pink leaf. There are a couple of pictures of Syngonium plant leaves below.
If kept in a moist, humid environment Syngonium will produce aerial roots that may attach to surfaces much like a Pothos plant or Philodendron Cordatum plant. These aerial roots can also be set into the soil resulting in a nice ground cover plant. Use Syngonium in a terrarium, as a table plant, hanging plant, or a climbing houseplant.
Watering Syngonium
The soil of your Syngonium houseplant can be kept somewhat moist during spring and summer, allowing only the top inch or two of soil to dry. There should be a reduction in watering your Syngonium during fall and winter months, allowing the soil to almost dry. Do not allow to dry completely but also avoid constantly soggy soil. See sections on watering your indoor plants and indoor houseplant lighting for further information that will benefit the health of your houseplants.
Other Care for Syngonium
Bright light and high humidity will be beneficial to the Syngonium plant. It will become thin, weak, and leggy in low light so a spot next to a window with bright, indirect light is ideal. Some morning sun is okay but keep out of hot, afternoon sun.
Temperatures for Syngonium should be kept above 60°F. The Syngonium is not a plant to expose to cold temperatures.
Regular showers with room temperature water are great for Syngonium, helping to discourage insects. Water evaporates quickly from the leaves of plants so it is not very effective as a way to increase humidity in the long term.
A new plant can be somewhat prone to insect problems. I have seen Syngonium with mites, mealybugs, and thrips. Purchase healthy, insect-free plants to avoid these pesky problems. Always inspect plant roots and foliage before you buy. Distorted foliage, spots, or holes in leaves, brown soggy roots should all be avoided when purchasing a new indoor house plant.
To keep your Syngonium happy and pest free, use a spray bottle to wash down weekly with water, making sure to hit the underside of the leaves. This will discourage insects and help keep your Syngonium plants leaves free of dust.
Apply to top and lower leaf and stem surfaces of your houseplants, being careful not to saturate the soil. You can clean by hand or use a spray bottle to apply your house plant cleaning solution. I use a sponge moistened with my cleaning solution to gently wipe the top and lower leaf surfaces. Cleaning of your houseplants should be a regular part of your house plant care.
Thanks for visiting and come back soon as information on indoor plants, pictures and more are being added all of the time. I hope that your indoor tropical houseplants and all of your plants and flowers are happy, green and growing because that is why I started this site PlantAndFlowerInfo.com.
Philodendron has been in use as an indoor plant since Victorian times and is still a popular houseplant today. I have included it on my best indoor houseplants list because of its tolerance of lower light and ease of care.
While there are many different types of Philodendron, the most commonly seen and used indoors is the Philodendron Cordatum, sometimes called Sweetheart Vine or Heart Leaf Philodendron.
Philodendron Cordatum houseplant has heart-shaped, green leaves that are typically about 2-3 inches across although they can grow much larger outdoors. A trailing or a climbing plant, Philodendron Cordatum is the Philodendron variety most often used as an indoor houseplant.
Philodendron Cordatum Houseplant
Philodendron Cordatum houseplant is one of the vining, climbing types of Philodendron and is ideally used as a hanging plant or table plant. The small size of the Philodendron Cordatum also make it perfect for planting in dish gardens or terrariums.
How To Water Philodendron Cordatum
Philodendron Cordatum should be allowed to dry down almost completely in low to medium light but not to point of wilting. In bright light, allow soil to dry down at least 1/2 to 3/4 of its depth. Please see the sections on watering and lighting for your indoor plants, as these most affect your houseplants health and growth.
Other Care Ideas
Philodendron Cordatum will do best if placed in very bright, indirect light. Keep out of direct sun, bright diffused light is preferable. Most philodendrons plants will survive in lower light but, as with most other plants, will becomes leggy under lower light conditions. Additional light from a fluorescent light is suitable if available.
Philodendron Cordatum should be kept at temperatures between 65°F and 80°F, so normal home temperatures suit it well. While it will do well in normal home conditions, Philodendron Cordatum will benefit from having additional humidity. You can provide extra humidity by placing on humidity trays or grouping with other house plants.
Philodendron Cordatum is a trailing plant but can develop aerial roots and attach itself to wood, walls etc. and climb. This is most likely if there is an abundance of humidity in the air. It is a fairly fast growing plant if cared for correctly.
To keep it full, cut back the longest of your Philodendron Cordatum plant’s vines occasionally to encourage new growth. Remove any leaves that become discolored or faded. If you are watering properly and the light is good, you should get some side shoots to help keep your plant full.
Apply to top and lower leaf and stem surfaces of your houseplants, being careful not to saturate the soil. You can clean by hand or use a spray bottle to apply your houseplant cleaning solution. I use a sponge moistened with my cleaning solution to gently wipe the top and lower leaf surfaces. Cleaning of your houseplants should be a regular part of your houseplant care.
Never apply anything to the foliage of your plant while it is in the sun or when the soil is dry. Water first and move to a shady location. I hope this has been helpful as you care for your Philodendron Cordatum houseplant and that all of your flowers and plants are healthy and growing well.
Questions About Philodendron Cordatum?
If you have questions about your indoor plants, you can send an indoor houseplant question. You might also want to visit the PlantAndFlowerInfo.com Facebook Page, a great place to find a compilation of plant, flower, gardening and landscape information, trivia and even humor! Thanks for visiting…
Working in the interior landscape business for more than 30 years has gotten me lots of questions about how to care for indoor potted houseplants. Customers ask about their own plants at home. Why does my plant have yellow leaves… what causes brown leaf tips…how come the new growth on my plant is dying…I water my plant everyday but it still isn’t doing well…how much should I water my house plant?
It can be hard to diagnose every indoor plant problem when you do not have access to the plant itself. So, I generally find myself asking them questions about how they care for their plants. Most often, the problems are solved by changing watering habits or by moving the plant to a better light situation. Often doing both of those things makes a big difference.
In almost every instance, changing the way people look at watering and lighting for their indoor plants gives them positive results with their houseplants.
I care for indoor plants as my job and I know that there are not many plants that I care for that always use the same amount of water or need watering on a rigid schedule. Many different things influence a plants water use.
Customers turn off the lights, leave the lights on, turn off the air conditioning, turn up the heat, close the blinds, open the blinds, and sometimes move the plant to some undisclosed location! All of these things, and many other things, influence the way you need to water an indoor plant. But hopefully, most of these things won’t happen to the houseplants in your home.
