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6 Plants for Inside the House
6 Plants for Inside the House
It was a long search that took me more than ten years. But finally I found it – the indoor house plant that will brighten up the end of a corridor 5 meters from my front door. The Aspidistra, commonly known as the Cast Iron plant, has graced the drawing rooms of many an otherwise drab Victorian English manor, and now graces my suburban Sydney brick home.
Many gardening experts describe the Aspidistra as one of the toughest and most adaptable house plants. Its long blades of slender dark green or variegated dark green and white leaves shoot straight out from the soil but in clumps and up to 75 cm in height and 15 cm wide.
It is such a low maintenance plant much like an even-tempered woman who does not need any fussing over but still maintains its sweet nature. It needs very low light, average temperature and humidity and just occasional watering.
Other plants that do not need much light
Low-light plants are usually defined as those that can survive in 25 to 75 foot candles – that is, a spot that is 4 to 5 metres from a bright window, just enough light to read by comfortably, but where artificial lighting switched on by day would give a brightening effect.
You can easily find the Aspidistra in your local garden center nursery. In addition, five other plants that will suit very low light situations are the following:
Aglonema (Chinese Evergreen) which are among the few plants that prefer only moderate light and adapt well to low light. It has large dark green oval then tapering leathery leaves later developing a caney base.
Drachaena deremensis varieties (also know as Happy or Fortune Plants) which are slender leafed and usually white variegated. The Drachaena family are caney plants crested with decorative rosettes of straplike foliage.
Holly fern which adapts to low light and Boston fern a fishbone type of fern that will remain in low light for many months but need a spell in brighter light to rejuvenate.
Neanthe Bella or Parlor Palm which is more suited to low light situations than most palms.
Sanseviera (also known as Mother-In-Law’s Tongue) which stands low to very bright light has waxy, erect straplike leaves usually with cream-colored margins and an unusual banding of the grey-green center.
If you are finding it difficult to find a plant that will brighten up that dark corner, why not try one of these hardy and lovely favorites of mine?
Learn about bamboo hedge and bamboo stalks at the Bamboo Flower site.
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Question by Golden Meadows: In Victorian times were most ordinary peoples houses dark and grimy inside?
Been watching Little Dorrit on BBC1 and the houses are dark inside, as they are on all victorian era films. Did they have paint but just couldn’t afford it?
I know they only had gas lights and candles for lighting but they looked dark in the day as well, and they look like they didn’t paint the walls inside.
Best answer:
Answer by Gun Toting Survivalist
I imagine the paint was probably darker to hide some of the dirt and smoke from the coal stoves. There’s a BBC show called 1900 House, it’s rather interesting.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Published in: Victorian Articles and QA
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they had what they called whitewash which basically was a paint made from milk. it was also made from powdered lime but the
previous poster is quite correct. Due to the enormous numbers of
coal fires and candles there was soot and smut everywhere in London and other large towns not to mention the stuff coming from from all factories due to the Industrial Revolution. Gas didn’t come in to popular
use until very late in the 1800s and early 1900s. Coal was used so
much that the British Parliament in the early 1900s actually struck
a committee to investigate the concern that they would run out of
coal and there would be no other sources of heat or light. (this was before gas was used)