Stephanie Horton, AKA Botanical Black Girl, loves plants. While she's known as a plant consultant or a plant doctor, Stephanie ultimately see herself a plant enthusiast.
I recently spoke with Horton on the Being Home With Hunker podcast where she laid down some ideas, advice, and knowledge on ideal indoor plants to add to our homes.
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For her own personal plant style, Horton shares that "I've realized I like specific genuses." The reason why is because there are "so many different species under that umbrella where generally they all kind of have the same care." So, you can get a plant collection that may visually look different, yet it'll have similar care needs. This makes plant care simpler and more manageable.
Below, Horton suggests some plants that can work best in specific areas of our home or for specific decor styles. Keep in mind, though, that everything depends on the type of lighting you have in your home. So, be sure to consider your lighting first.
Tip
Before you buy any plant for your home, read How to Know How Much Light You Have for Your Houseplants.
For the Kitchen
For the kitchen, Horton says, "You can probably get away with many aroids, so like philodendrons, monsteras. And I would try to keep things relatively small because you don't want a huge plant … unless you have a huge kitchen."
She goes on to say, "I like more trailing plants, so like, Philodendron micans or even a pothos. Those are great. They're very resilient. They grow like crazy."
Horton says that her kitchen doesn't have any windows, so she has a strip grow lights to help provide lighting. Right now, she has a couple of peperomia plants in her space.
Tip
Tip: If lighting in your kitchen is an issue, as it is for Horton, consider using strip grow lights. She installed strip grow lights underneath her kitchen cabinets to help her plants grow.
For the Bathroom
For plants that can thrive in a bathroom, Horton says that "ferns do really well in humidity." She specifically suggests staghorn ferns because "you can mount them, you can leave them potted, so you have more flexibility on the display … that way you're not taking up any counter space, because this is prime real estate in the bathroom."
She personally has a Philodendron Calkins Gold in her bathroom, also with a grow light.
Tip
You might also like These 6 Plants Are Best for Bathrooms and You Can Actually Keep These 7 Plants INSIDE Your Shower
For the Bedroom
While Horton doesn't have any plants in her bedroom right now, she's considering adding a Dracaena marginata dragon tree.
"You often see them in like mid-century mod looks… the skinny trunk with the spiker leaves," says Horton. "They usually come in like twos or threes. So, you've got variation of height. Because I want a more statement plant in my corner."
Tip
Since her bedroom is dark, Horton is considering placing a floor lamp next to the plant with an added grow light bulb to provide supplemental light.
For Modern, Minimalist Decor
For a home that celebrates modern, clean lines, Horton recommends cacti plants. She says that "cacti generally are very linear." And they can be "pack a big punch in a room depending on how they're staged."
Horton suggests any Peruvian Apple Cactus. "Especially if you can get a really large one," she says.
She also suggests snake plants and a Ficus Audrey as the perfect complement for modern decor because of their visually linear stems — and Horton loves the velvet leaves on the Ficus Audrey.
For a Lush Look
When you want a lush, deep tropical vibe, look, say in your living room, Horton suggests the Monstera deliciosa. "I think that is the synonymous plant when it comes to lush tropical," says Horton. "You immediately recognize those bigger split, heart-shaped leaves."
Also, Horton likes the Philodendron giganteum. She says, "as the name states, it does get gigantic." And "they can be a really easy-growing plant to take up, like, a corner to kind of give you that lush vibe, and then you can plant smaller ones or have potted smaller plants around it to kind of fill in."
More On Lighting for Indoor Plants
