by Lisa Truesdale
Color and Texture the Low(er)-Maintenance Way
UBER-TRENDY YET ultra-classic, succulents and air plants are a quick and easy way to add color, texture and beauty to your indoor landscape.
These popular plants are available in an almost dizzying array of sizes, shapes and hues—from dainty rosettes with pink-kissed, petal- like leaves to pointy, jade-green spikes tipped with sunset orange.
They’re also a bit easier to care for than most, making them the perfect choice for self-identified brown thumbs, soon to be green thumbs once they get their hands on these little gems.
Aryne Chacon believes that any plant can be easy to care for, even finicky African violets, but if you’re looking for houseplants that are low(er) maintenance, definitely try succulents and air plants. Each is different, but they can be grown—and look great—together.
“Just think of your plants as people,” advises Chacon, greenhouse manager at Rehm’s Nursery and Garden Center in Albuquerque. “They’ll thrive if their basic requirements are met and they get into a routine they like.”
To ensure success with any plant, be sure to read the care instructions that come with it, and be consistent. “Even the low-maintenance ones can still die if they don’t get what they need,” Chacon says.
Succulents
With thousands of species of succulents, it’s easy to find a wide variety of colors, shapes and sizes. They can look rounded, spiky, feathery, needle-like, ruffled or even berry-like, with a veritable rainbow of accent colors ranging from soft, powdery white to sundrenched yellow and even the hippest eggplant purple.
The plants’ thick leaves and stems are designed to store water for enduring long periods of drought. But just because they can endure drought doesn’t mean they should, says Chacon. Water when the soil is completely dry, normally about once per week, though that can vary depending on the temperature and the dryness of the air. Direct the water at the soil, not the leaves, as wet leaves can rot. (Don’t purchase any plants with soggy or black leaves, as those are already rotting.) And definitely don’t overwater; the leaves could bulge and possibly burst open.
“Just think of your plants as people. They’ll thrive if their basic requirements are met and they get into a routine they like.”
– Aryne Chacon
Another key to success with succulents is choosing the right pot. Since their root systems are shallow, they do best in shallow containers with good drainage. Chacon suggests unglazed terra cotta, which can help absorb any extra moisture. Favorable these days are the puckish cast concrete pots, which make a mod statement.
Air Plants
Air plants (genus: Tillandsia) are just what they sound like—plants that live out in the open air, no soil or pot required. The leaf surface is covered with specialized cells, able to efficiently absorb any water that gathers on them.
These wispy little balls or bunches (more than 650 types in all) can have subtly variegated leaves in soothing shades of green, or dramatic swaths of colors like near-neon fuchsia.
Always-thirsty air plants appreciate a good soak in a bowl of water weekly for 20–60 minutes, plus misting with a spray bottle a few times per week. Chacon also suggests soaking a clump of sphagnum (peat) moss, then placing the plant on top to absorb the moisture.
You can get creative with air plants, placing them just about anywhere that gets bright, indirect sunlight. But don’t glue your air plants to anything, warns Chacon, as that can cause suffocation. Instead, try displaying them singly or in groups on a piece of driftwood or right on a bookshelf, or arranged in a basket, glass terrarium or seashell.
