Do you fling an orchid into your basket at the supermarket checkout? Or spy a fern at the house plant shop and go weak at the knees because it’s been on your wishlist for months? House plants are so beautiful and appealing that the occasional impulse buy is inevitable, but your success rate will be roughly equivalent to how much thought you put into your choices.
The key is getting to know what the conditions are like in your home, and finding the plants that can thrive there, from among the thousands of species from all over the world that can grow indoors.
• Jane Perrone is a garden writer and host of house plant podcast . She is also the author of and
