Displaying Indoor Plants

The purpose of a indoor plants is to provide an attractive focal point in the room. A good plan is to buy a young plants repot, repot regularly and then place it in its permanent position once it has reached the required height.

Displaying Indoor Plants

It makes good design sense to display fine examples of dramatic plants as solitary specimens. Small and medium sized foliage types however are usually best grouped together and not kept as a collection of isolated pots on shelves and windowsills.

Following factors should be considered for a specimen plant.
• The right receptacle.
• The right background
• The right lighting
• The right plant

1- The right receptacle: 

Receptacles for indoor plants are available in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

Types of receptacle
There are three basic types of receptacle
 Pot
 Pot holder
 Container

2- The right background

Light colored walls without a pattern are the ideal backcloth, although strongly variegated specimens are best displayed against a dark wall. If the background is highly colored and intricately patterned, choose a plant with all green, simple leaves. Deeply cut leaves (such as Monstera) and delicate flowers (such as Stephanotis) need a plain background.

3- The right lighting

For life-giving illumination the plants must rely on daylight or fluorescent lighting. For display purposes, the light of an ordinary bulb directed on to the foliage or flowers will greatly enhance the appearance of the specimen plant in the evening.

The best type of bulb to use is a spotlight or floodlight, but overheating can be a problem. Switch on the light and place your hand just above the leaves nearest the bulb. If you can feel the warmth then the plant is too close.

4- The right plant
The right plants have been divided into the following categories.
• Architectural plants.
• Climbing plants
• Hanging plants
• Multicolored foliage plants.
• Flowering pot plants

o Architectural plants

An architectural plant (also called a Decorator, Accent or Statement plant) has a shape which is large, distinctive and attractive. Its basic use is to act as a focal point although it may be used to either clothe a bare space or divide off section of the room.

Palms, false palms and tree like plants are the types most frequently used, and interior decorators usually choose tall specimens. Examples: Cyperus, Yucca, Palms and Dracaena are some examples.

o Climbing plants

Many climbers make excellent Specimen plants and the more vigorous ones can be used to provide a large, leafy specimen at the lowest possible cost.

You can use a foliage type (Philodendrons, vines etc.) or a flowering climber (Hoya, Thunbergia). Examples: Monstera, Passiflora, Philodenderon.

o Hanging plants

Some hanging plants are showy enough to be displayed on their own in hanging baskets or on pedestals rather than as part of a plant group.

The right position

The right position of the plant is very important. Following positions of the plants should be considered.
• Hanging from the ceiling
• Sitting on a windowsill
• Standing on the floor
• Standing on furniture
• Standing on a pedestal
• Growing against a wall

o Standing on the floor

• The place for the large specimen plant is on the floor.
• Placing a heavy pot on the table can make it unsafe.
• Bold architectural plants are the usual choice but there are other possibilities.
• Flowering standards are best displayed in this way.
• Tall climbers with large leaves (Philodendron, Monstera) also make excellent floor standing specimens.
• Use a moss stick to support climbers with aerial roots.
• A floor standing plant must be chosen with care.
• Narrow upright plants can make the ceiling look higher.

o Standing on furniture

• Small specimen plants need to be raised off the ground so that they can be enjoyed at close range. The usual way to do this is to place the pot on a windowsill, shelf or piece of furniture.
• You must use a drip tray which is deep enough to protect the surface of the furniture.

o Standing on pedestal

• A number of indoor plants produce long pendulous stems or arching leaves and the display is often spoil if the pot is stood on a sideboard or windowsill.
• The place for such plants is in a hanging container or on a pedestal.
• You can buy a reproduction antique pedestal if your home is decorated in this style, but for modern surroundings it is extremely simple to make a wooden pillar with straight sides.
• To house several pots in a pedestal like arrangement you can buy a metal or cane plant stand.

o Growing against a wall

• The plants most usually grown against a wall are flowering types ( to provide a splash of color against a pastel wall) and trailers to ( frame windows, pictures etc.)
• There are a number of difficulties.
• It is not easy to create moist conditions, the pot is often small which means that constant watering is essential and is difficult to tell when the plant requires watering in a high mounted display.
• Choose a receptacle which is soundly made, not too ornate and with a saucer which is both large and deep.