Tips for buying houseplants

By Melanie Mathieson
Gardening Guru

I have always loved houseplants. When I was a little girl growing up in Fort Frances, I remember gravitating to the floral departments in Safeway, Kmart, Woolworth’s, Ben Franklin’s or Kmart. The best selection was always in International Falls then but due to the fact we couldn’t bring plants across the border I always left very disappointed. Today houseplants are available in many locations throughout the Rainy River District so there is a great selection available. But before you buy here are a few tips to ensure your purchase is healthy and the best value.

Selecting a Healthy Plant
Look for a plant with strong, healthy-looking leaves. The leaves should have vibrant colour, without blotches; or brown, nibbled or torn edges. Leaves showing blotches; holes or nibbled edges; discoloured wiggly lines or circles are pretty much guaranteed to have a disease and/or pest infestation.
The stems should be firm and not flopped over. Weak, pale and spindly growth will continue to lead to poor growth or even death. Steams should be bright in colour, erect and compact. Curled or twisted new shoots, indicate former poor growing conditions and even if you have better conditions in the future, the damage is already done and usually will not correct itself. Move on and choose another specimen. Check the stems for oval brown spots as this indicates disease and white wooly bumps indicates pests.
Make sure you do not see mould or mildew on any part of the plant as that indicates disease and/or decay. Both are signs of a very unhealthy plant.
If the plant seems loose in its pot, wiggle the plant up a bit so you can take a peek at the roots. The roots should be bright in colour, with no signs of rot or decay. The soil should smell fresh and earthy. Any off smell will indicate rot, decay or stagnated soil, this is not healthy for the plant. If the roots look like they could be eaten, then this is a good sign that they are healthy and functioning. If the roots seem dried out, withered or shrunken then leave this plant in the store.

Other Tips
If you are looking at blooming plant try to pick one with the blooms not opened yet or just starting to open. If the plant is already done blooming it is past its best at this time. Often nurseries will force certain plants to bloom in time for special occasions. When plants are forced to bloom at a certain time, it can take a really long time for you to see that plant bloom again in your home, sometimes they never bloom again. Pick a plant with tight, firm buds for the best flower show at home. Check the plant to see if there are any buds that are brown or withered up, or if there are dead buds caught at the base of the plant or on the soil as this indicates a stress of some kind in the past. Sometimes this can be caused by lack of water but there are other causes too. If there are healthier plants available take them instead.
Make sure to examine the soil. Fungus gnats are very common in plants, planted in unsterilized or poor soils. Not only will you have poor soil you will also have to deal with an insect infestation as soon as you get the plant home. If you see bugs that look similar to black flies coming out of the plant when you pick it up, put it back immediately. Fungus gnats will quickly spread to your other plants at home. Also inspect the soil to ensure it does not have any signs of mould, the second indication of fungus gnats.
Poor soil leads to poor growth. Plants rely on healthy, fertile soil for the nutrients required for good growth. Soil that is dry and compact does not allow for the transfer of nutrients. Soil that is smelly often indicates either rotting organic material in the soil or decay of the roots themselves. Either way, soil in this state is toxic to the plant and will cause rapid decline and eventually death of the plant.
Soil with a white or grey crust built up on the surface can indicate a buildup of salts in the soil. A buildup of salts in the soil is toxic to the plant and can only be remedied by transplanting the plant into new soil.

Choosing the Size of the Plant
I like to purchase most of my houseplants in the small four inch (ten centimetre) pots. This the most economical way of purchasing plants as this size is very inexpensive and if something does go wrong and the plant dies you haven’t wasted a lot of money. The best part of the smaller plants, is the satisfaction of keeping them for many years and seeing them grow into large healthy houseplants. Healthy, smaller plants tend to be faster growing and much more adaptable to their new growing conditions. The downfall is at this stage, is that they have to be repotted into larger pots more often. The benefit of this is that you are repotting and planting in fresh soil more often.

If you are buying a houseplant gift for someone or need a plant to provide instant impact or focal point in your home, then opt for the larger plants. Although this size costs more and will take longer to adapt to the home conditions, the instant and larger impact is worth the investment.
Hopefully with these few tips you can now go to your local houseplant supplier and choose some new houseplants for your home with confidence. I always find myself “itching to get gardening” this time of year and a new houseplant or two helps tie me over until the snow melts and we are gardening outside again.