Choosing the Perfect Plant

You can increase a house plant’s chances for a long and healthy life if you choose a robust one at the start. A wise buyer inspects plants closely before he chooses, for looks tell much about how the plant has been grown and readied for sale.

Choose those that are of pleasant build, that is, short and stocky, rather than tall and spindly, and that have abundant foliage growing right down to the top of the pot; such characteristics indicate vigorous health and, for flowering plants, promise prolific blooms. Plants on which the first buds are about to open are preferable to those with full-blown blossoms because you will be able to enjoy their beauty from the beginning.

All foliage plants under the brand name of Exotic Angel Plants® are grown indoors under glass and are lower light acclimated for your home. However, most foliage house plants have been grown outdoors in places like Florida or Southern California, where they have ample sun and moisture and are fertilized frequently to stimulate maximum growth. When they are sent to less equable climates for sale the conditions change, often dramatically: the plants are shipped, displayed and sold for use in indoor environments where they get less light, lower humidity and less food.

To minimize the shock of such changes, many growers acclimatize or “finish” their plants over a period of several days to several weeks, the time depending on the species. They gradually reduce light and moisture levels and withhold fertilizer so the plant becomes tough enough to withstand store and home conditions. Bargain plants, in contrast, may not have been allowed to remain in the greenhouse long enough to become acclimatized. Their root system may not be capable of absorbing the considerable quantities of water needed when moved to the dry air of living rooms. They are not good buys, and their appearance gives them away.

What to Look For

When shopping for a plant, there are several ways you can tell whether a particular specimen is sound. First, look at the leaves. Leaves should not exhibit any browning of the edges, a symptom of too much fertilizer or too much heat, and the lower leaves should show no indication of becoming pale or yellow, a sign of improper watering.

Look critically at the intervals between leaves on the stems. On a plant that has been fed and watered heavily to promote abnormally fast growth, this spacing may be great enough to make the plant appear tall, sparse or leggy; new leaves will not grow to fill in the gaps. Unless the foliage is reasonably dense, reject the plant in favor of another, bushier one. While inspecting the leaves, you should also look closely for evidence of insects at the tips of new branches, where the leaves join the stems and on the undersides of leaves.

Avoid plants with symptoms of pest infestation. Look at the undersides of the leaves for tiny spots that are lighter than the rest of the leaf: if you find any, you know that insects have been sucking the plant’s juices, to its detriment. Examine leaf surfaces near the tip of new growth for the minute green, yellow, pink, black or brown insects called aphids, or plant lice. Check for spider mites, which are too small to be seen without a magnifying glass, but the damage they cause is not: they manifest their presence with speckled, whitish discoloration of the leaves and make webs if infestation is bad. Look at the leaf axils—the points where leaves and stems join—for a white, cottonlike substance that is really a community of mealy bugs.

Once you are satisfied that all is well with the plants you have chosen, make sure they are properly wrapped if the weather is chilly. Many houseplants suffer quickly from cold, and even if your car is only three steps from the greenhouse door, your purchases will require protection in freezing temperatures.