'Houseplants' is the term used to broadly describe potted plants that are used for home and office decoration but note that these are NOT the same as 'greenhouse plants'. Whereas most houseplants can be grown successfully in a greenhouse there are many plants that will live for years in a greenhouse but will perish almost immediately in a house environment. If you are to become an expert houseplant grower you need to understand the three main limitations to growing plants in your home.
The most important thing to understand about your house compared with a greenhouse or outdoors is that it is dark, dark, dark! A well lit room will typically have less than 5% of the intensity of light experienced outside on a sunny day. Humans have eyes that constantly adapt to fluctuating light levels but plants depend on light to photosynthesise - the method by which they live.
Secondly, it is almost certain that the humidity in your home will be much lower than it is in a greenhouse. This is usually of little consequence to humans and fluctuating levels of humidity go unnoticed, but to a plant that has adapted to life in a tropical jungle sufficient humidity can be the difference between life and death.
Thirdly, the roots of your potted houseplants will be confined to a fraction of the space that they would typically have in their natural environment. The roots cannot go searching for water by going deeper into the soil, neither can they 'escape' from an over-abundance of water.
An understanding of the above basic constraints will help you focus on helping your plants survive and flourish in what is to them a very alien environment. Constantly bear in mind the following:
* Be careful with watering - not too much, nor too little.
* Most plants will do better if they are near a window - preferably facing south.
* Plants that require very high humidity are best left in the greenhouse!
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