All of us admire the enjoyment that houseplants deliver to an area, however, traditionally, they’ve lent themselves greatest to extra maximalist schemes. If you happen to’re a stickler for minimalism, you could be searching for a extra pared-back method with regards to incorporating foliage into your interiors. Our suggestion? A spread that survives with out soil.
There are a complete host of advantages that come up from adorning with crops, from injecting coloration into impartial schemes and introducing nature into your own home, to purifying the air and even enhancing productiveness. From a solely aesthetic perspective, nonetheless, you additionally need to be certain your crops complement your model. If you happen to’re a fan of a extra minimalist look, the very last thing you need is a large houseplant in a cumbersome pot that does not fit your house.
As a substitute, discover a plant that shares your philosophy and does extra with much less. Right here, we checklist the six greatest houseplants that survive with out soil and do not require a container for a extra pared-back method to crops, alongside some skilled insights.
Lilith is an skilled at following information and tendencies internationally of inside design. She usually shares easy options to assist brighten our houses and a private favourite of hers is houseplants. For this piece, she spoke with plant consultants to study all concerning the houseplants that may survive with out soil for a extra minimalist method to adorning.
6 houseplants that do not want soil
Consider it or not, some houseplants can survive with out soil. Actually, many of those species are extra low-maintenance than their extra frequent cousins, making them simpler to take care of and more durable to kill. Listed below are our high picks for a minimalist method to crops.
1. Tillandsia (air crops)
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Tillandsia is extra generally often known as the air plant and, because the identify suggests, they survive solely from vitamins within the air – no water or soil essential. Meaning if you happen to’re not particularly green-thumbed, then these spikey-fronded pals are the one for you.
‘Air crops are epiphytes, that are crops that develop on high of different crops (usually bushes) co-existing in essentially the most harmonious, innocent manner,’ explains Paris Lalicata, plant skilled at The Sill (opens in new tab). In line with Mo Bhula, plant skilled at The Botanical Archive (opens in new tab), they are often discovered rising in quite a lot of habitats together with deserts, rainforests, and even on phone wires in city areas, anchoring themselves to crops or buildings the place they then develop.
In the case of incorporating them into your minimalist designs, what makes them so sensible is they do not want any sort of container in any respect. ‘They are often mounted on a bit of driftwood, held on a wire or glass terrarium, or just positioned in an ornamental dish or bowl,’ Mo explains. ‘Spanish Moss is one other species of Tillandsia that may type a protracted curtain of skinny strands that make an attention-grabbing characteristic within the extra humid elements of your houses. We’ve even seen them used as an alternative of bathe curtains in some houses!’
Whereas they do not want watering in your common sense, they’ll profit from the occasional mist or soak each week or two, relying on the humidity ranges in your house. ‘It is necessary to keep away from letting water gather within the middle of the plant, nonetheless, as this will result in rot,’ provides Mo. If you happen to’re vulnerable to forgetting water schedules attempt placing them in a steamy house (they’re among the finest crops for bogs).
2. Staghorn ferns
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One other epiphytic plant is the staghorn fern. Additionally a kind of air plant, this leafy foliage with its distinctive horn-shaped fronds will cling to different crops to develop. Caring for them is equally simple. ‘They require shiny, oblique gentle and ought to be misted or soaked in water usually to maintain them moist,’ says Mo. ‘They will additionally profit from occasional fertilization with a balanced fertilizer.’
As a houseplant, they are often mounted on a bit of driftwood or different construction. ‘Staghorn ferns are a preferred selection for indoor gardening lovers attributable to their distinctive and putting look,’ Mo provides. ‘They can be utilized so as to add a contact of pure magnificence to any house, and are sometimes included into ornamental shows or held on partitions as dwelling artwork items. They’re an incredible cruelty-free different to mounted stag skulls that may complement extra trendy rustic-themed interiors.’
3. Bromeliads
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Bromeliads are a plant native to tropical and subtropical America. They’ve quick stems with rosettes of stiff spiny leaves that may be purple, pink, or orange in coloration. Whereas some varieties require soil, there are additionally epiphytic varieties that may survive with out.
Mo suggests mounting them on a bit of wooden or putting them in a glass jar the place they are often held in place by pebbles. ‘Or they are often mounted on a bit of cork bark with sphagnum moss as an alternative of planting instantly into soil as that is how they might naturally develop within the wild,’ says Paris. ‘Bromeliads are often known as monocarpic species which implies they flower as soon as of their lifetime and die. Nonetheless, earlier than they die they often save vitality to create offsets (mini replicas of themselves) from the bottom of the plant/soil. These can be utilized to propagate and remount.’
Caring for epiphytic bromeliads will likely be much like the opposite air crops on this checklist. Give them loads of shiny, oblique gentle, and, with regards to how usually to water your houseplant, you should definitely mist or soak them not less than as soon as a fortnight to maintain them at their greatest.
4. Vanda Orchids
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Probably the greatest trailing houseplants, the vanda orchid is among the most beloved decorative crops. They produce gorgeous clusters of blooms in a bunch of colours, with lengthy cascading aerial roots which may make an actual assertion in an in any other case minimalist house.
‘Vanda orchids are a gaggle of orchids that develop on bushes excessive within the cover, however indoors they have a tendency to develop with their roots hanging freely from a hanger,’ Mo explains. ‘The flowers are extremely showy and make an actual assertion and their roots can develop fairly lengthy. All it is advisable do is spray the roots as soon as every week to permit them to soak up water and allow them to do their factor.’
Whereas these orchids can develop in most elements of your own home, shiny oblique gentle is preferable. ‘You may be happy to mount orchids to cork bark utilizing sphagnum moss and fishing line,’ says Paris. ‘To greatest take care of a mounted orchid, you’ll simply need to take it to a sink each 7-10 days to soak the roots/sphagnum moss and let it drip dry earlier than putting it again on show. They’ll additionally get pleasure from greater humidity if attainable.’
Whereas common orchids are historically offered with their bloom stalks mounted up, they don’t naturally develop like this within the wild both, and their bloom stalks really cling off of bushes. As Paris notes: ‘You may design your orchid and mimic this by eradicating the stake and clips from the bloom stalk and let your orchid blooms cling over a shelf or whereas it’s mounted on bark on a wall.’
5. Fortunate Bamboo
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‘Fortunate bamboo is native to tropical rainforests in Southeast Asia and is characterised by its lengthy, slender stems and small, shiny inexperienced leaves,’ Mo explains. ‘Apparently this plant just isn’t associated to the bamboo plant and is extra carefully associated to the asparagus discovered within the kitchen.’
Probably the greatest Feng Shui crops for a house workplace, this ornamental houseplant has luscious inexperienced stems that may be braided or educated into spiral shapes with tufts of lengthy, skinny leaves on the high. They’re usually grown in water quite than soil, however cannot survive within the air like epiphytes. ‘You may organize it in any sort of vessel that’s deep sufficient to submerge the roots, including rocks/pebbles of any coloration/form to the vase helps to anchor down the plant,’ Paris explains.
They will thrive greatest in shiny oblique daylight, and Paris recommends altering the water each 4-5 weeks (extra usually if you happen to discover algae buildup). ‘Utilizing bottled water, distilled water, or rainwater can be greatest since bamboo is delicate to arduous minerals in chlorine that may be present in faucet water,’ she explains. ‘On the occasions you do a whole water change it might be greatest so as to add in a bamboo-specific fertilizer to the water, solely about 5-6 occasions a yr.’
6. Philodendron cordatum
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Final on the checklist is the philodendron cordatum, a vining plant native to South America with leafy foliage that likes to climb. ‘The Philodendrons are within the Aroid household who’ve ancestors which have tailored to extra moist, swampy situations,’ notes Paris. ‘Due to this fact, this plant may be propagated in a glass vessel of water and left to stay that manner indefinitely.’
Whereas the plant grows a lot slower if grown in water, when organized in glass jars with its roots uncovered it may be a wonderful addition to a extra minimalist house. ‘To take care of a philodendron in water, present med-bright oblique gentle,’ says Paris. ‘When the water stage will get low you may high it off with contemporary water, but when algae begins to develop you’ll need to wash out the vessel.’
After the primary yr of the plant rooting in water, Paris suggests including fertilizer to the vessel throughout spring and summer time to provide it some additional vitamins in the course of the rising season. ‘The easiest way to fertilize is to dilute the fertilizer within the can that you just’d be utilizing in your different crops and simply high off the vessel along with your philodendron in with that very same water,’ she provides. It is value noting that its life will likely be shorter than it might in soil, nonetheless.
